Zimbabwe: Fact file
Updated May 2008
| Name | Republic of Zimbabwe |
| Area | 390 757 sq km (Frame 2008, 1304) |
| Capital | Harare |
| Major cities | Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Mutare, Gweru, Kwekwe, Kadoma, Masvinga (Frame 2008, 1304) |
| Boundaries | Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana (landlocked) |
| Population | 13.1 million, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Pop growth rate | 1.0%, 2005-15 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Urbanisation | 35.9%, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Life expectancy | Female 40.2 yrs, male 41.4 yrs, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Infant mortality | 81/1000, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 15.6%, adults, 2007 est (Zimbabwe National Monitoring and Evaluation Taskforce 2008, 4) |
| Adult literacy rate | Female 86.2%, male 92.7%, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Military expenditure | 2.3% of GDP; 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Health expenditure | 3.5% of GDP; 2004 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Legal system | Roman-Dutch, customary Law (Saki & Chiware 2007) |
| Independence | 18 April 1980 (from UK) |
| GDP | US$0.641 billion, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| GDP per capita | US$55, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| GDP growth rate | -6.1%, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| Main exports | Gold, tobacco, iron alloys, platinum, cotton (Frame 2008, 1308) |
| Currency | 1 Zimbabwe Dollar (Z$) = 100 Cents |
| Unemployment | 70%, 2005 est (Frame 2008, 1305) |
| Inflation rate | 10 453%, 2007 (IMF 2008a) |
| External debt ratio | 20.1% of GDP, 2007 (IMF 2008b) |
| Roads | 61 630 km rural; 19 000 km State roads, 7 500 tarred (SADC 2007, 284) |
| Rail | 2 760 km (National railways of Zimbabwe Undated) |
| Airports | 17 paved; 3 international (Harare, Bulawayo, Kariba) (Avigation Networks Undated) |
| Ethnic groups | Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%; Asian 1%; White 1% (Nations Encyclopedia 2007) |
| Languages | Official: English; Major: Shona, Sindebele, Manyika, Kalanga; 15 others (Ethnologue.com undated) |
| Religion | Christian 67.5% (Independent 40.3%, Protestant 15.0%, Roman Catholic 9.6%), African Traditional Religion 30.1%, Nonreligious 1.0%, others 1.3% (Religious Freedom 2001) |
References
AVIGATION NETWORKS UNDATED "Airports in Zimbabwe", [www] http://worldaerodata.com/countries/Zimbabwe.php [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2007).
ETHNOLOGUE.COM UNDATED "Languages of Zimbabwe" [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=ZW [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
IMF 2008a World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/index.aspx [opens new window] (accessed 21 Apr 2008).
IMF 2008b Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2007/AFR/ENG/sreo0407.pdf, 118 [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 22 Apr 2008).
NATIONAL RAILWAYS OF ZIMBABWE UNDATED "Corporate Information", [www] http://www.nrz.co.zw/about/corporateinfor.html [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
NATIONS ENCYCLOPEDIA 2007 "Zimbabwe: Ethnic groups", http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Zimbabwe-ETHNIC-GROUPS.html [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 2001 "Nation profile: Zimbabwe", [www] http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Zimbabwe/rbodies.html [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
SADC 2007 "Zimbabwe" IN Country Profiles, [www] http://www.sadcreview.com/pdfs07/zimbabwe2007_08.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
SAKI, O & CHIWARE, T 2007 "The Law in Zimbabwe" IN GlobaLex, Hauser School of Law Programme, [www] http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Zimbabwe.htm [opens new window] (accessed 25 April 2007).
UNDP 2007/8 "Zimbabwe", IN Human Development Report 2007/8, [www] http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_ZWE.html [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
ZIMBABWE NATIONAL MONITORING AND EVALUATION TASKFORCE 2008 "United Nations General Assembly (UNGASS) Report on HIV and AIDS Follow-Up To The Declaration Of Commitment On HIV/AIDS: Zimbabwe Country Report", [www] http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/zimbabwe_2008_country_progress_report_en.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 5 may 2008).
