Zimbabwe

<p>The hunter-gatherer San people first inhabited the area that eventually became Zimbabwe. Farming communities migrated to the area around A.D. 500 during the Bantu expansion, and Shona-speaking societies began to develop in the Limpopo valley and Zimbabwean highlands around the 9th century. These societies traded with Arab merchants on the Indian Ocean coast and organized under the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in the 11th century. A series of powerful trade-oriented Shona states succeeded Mapungubwe, including the Kingdom of Zimbabwe (ca. 1220-1450), Kingdom of Mutapa (ca. 1450-1760), and the Rozwi Empire. The Rozwi Empire expelled Portuguese colonists from the Zimbabwean plateau, but the Ndebele clan of Zulu King MZILIKAZI eventually conquered the area in 1838 during the era of conflict and population displacement known as the Mfecane. <br><br>In the 1880s, colonists arrived with the British South Africa Company (BSAC) and obtained a written concession for mining rights from Ndebele King LOBENGULA. The king later disavowed the concession and accused the BSAC agents of deceit. The BSAC annexed Mashonaland and then conquered Matabeleland during the First Matabele War of 1893-1894, establishing company rule over the territory. In 1923, the UK annexed BSAC holdings south of the Zambezi River, which became the British colony of Southern Rhodesia. The 1930 Land Apportionment Act restricted Black land ownership and established rules that would favor the White minority for decades. A new constitution in 1961 further cemented White minority rule.<br><br>In 1965, the government under White Prime Minister Ian SMITH unilaterally declared its independence from the UK. London did not recognize Rhodesia’s independence and demanded more voting rights for the Black majority in the country. International diplomacy and an uprising by Black Zimbabweans led to biracial elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, who led the uprising and became the nation's first prime minister, was the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) from independence until 2017. In the mid-1980s, the government tortured and killed thousands of civilians in a crackdown on dissent known as the Gukurahundi campaign. Economic mismanagement and chaotic implementation of land redistribution policies periodically crippled the economy. General elections in 2002, 2008, and 2013 were severely flawed and widely condemned but allowed MUGABE to remain president. In 2017, Vice President Emmerson MNANGAGWA became president after a military intervention that forced MUGABE to resign, and MNANGAGWA cemented power by sidelining rival Grace MUGABE (Robert MUGABE’s wife). In 2018, MNANGAGWA won the presidential election, and he has maintained the government's longstanding practice of violently disrupting protests and politicizing institutions. Economic conditions remain dire under MNANGAGWA.</p>

Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia

20 00 S, 30 00 E

Africa

about four times the size of Indiana; slightly larger than Montana

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)

mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east

coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals

1,740 sq km (2012)

<p>Zambezi (shared with Zambia [s]), Angola, Namibia, Botswana, and Mozambique [m]) - 2,740 km; Limpopo (shared with South Africa [s], Botswana, and Mozambique [m]) - 1,800 km<br><br><strong>note:</strong> [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth</p>

Upper Kalahari-Cuvelai-Upper Zambezi Basin

aside from major urban agglomerations in Harare and Bulawayo, population distribution is fairly even, with slightly greater overall numbers in the eastern half, as shown in this population distribution map

recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare

landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural river boundary with Zambia; in full flood (February-April), the massive Victoria Falls on the river forms the world's largest curtain of falling water; Lake Kariba on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border forms the world's largest reservoir by volume (180 cu km; 43 cu mi)

African 99.6% (predominantly Shona; Ndebele is the second largest ethnic group), other (includes Caucasian, Asiatic, mixed race) 0.4% (2022 est.)

Shona (official, most widely spoken) 80.9%, Ndebele (official, second most widely spoken) 11.5%, English (official, traditionally used for official business) 0.3%, 13 minority languages (official; includes Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Shangani, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa) 7%, other 0.3% (2022 est.)

Apostolic Sect 40.3%, Pentecostal 17%, Protestant 13.8%, other Christian 7.8%, Roman Catholic 6.4%, African traditionalist 5%, other 1.5% (includes Muslim, Jewish, Hindu), none 8.3% (2022 est.)

1.82% (2025 est.)

28.18 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-3.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

aside from major urban agglomerations in Harare and Bulawayo, population distribution is fairly even, with slightly greater overall numbers in the eastern half, as shown in this population distribution map

1.578 million HARARE (capital) (2023)

20.3 years (2015 est.)

358 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

3.42 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.68 (2025 est.)

0.14 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

15.5% (2016)

9.6% (2024 est.)

62.2% (2022 est.)

deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; poaching; toxic waste and heavy metal pollution from mining

tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)

14.5 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

20 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

presidential republic

8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands

mixed system of English common law, Roman-Dutch civil law, and customary law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

Citizens Coalition for Change <br>Movement for Democratic Change or MDC-T <br>National People's Congress or NPC <br>Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF <br>Zimbabwe African Peoples Union or ZAPU

ACP, AfDB, ATMIS, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNSOM, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

18 April 1980 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 18 April (1980)

<strong>description:</strong> seven equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green, with a white isosceles triangle edged in black based on the left side; in the middle of the triangle, a yellow bird is on top of a five-pointed red star<br><br><strong>meaning: </strong>the bird represents the long history of the country; white stands for peace, green for agriculture, yellow for mineral wealth, red for the blood shed to achieve independence, and black for the people

Zimbabwe bird symbol, African fish eagle, flame lily

green, yellow, red, black, white

low income Sub-Saharan economy; political instability and endemic corruption have prevented reforms and stalled debt restructuring; new Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency latest effort to combat ongoing hyperinflation; reliant on natural resource extraction, agriculture and remittances

$44.188 billion (2024 est.)

sugarcane, beef, maize, cabbages, potatoes, tomatoes, milk, onions, bananas, wheat (2023)

mining (coal, gold, platinum, copper, nickel, tin, diamonds, clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), steel, wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages

2.7% (2024 est.)

6.386 million (2024 est.)

38.3% (2019 est.)

7.2% (of GDP) (2018 est.)

UAE 45%, China 18%, South Africa 15%, Mozambique 4%, Hong Kong 2% (2023)

gold, tobacco, nickel, minerals, diamonds (2023)

South Africa 37%, China 15%, Bahamas, The 5%, Singapore 5%, UAE 4% (2023)

refined petroleum, fertilizers, trucks, soybean oil, stone processing machines (2023)

government owns all local radio and TV stations; foreign shortwave broadcasts and satellite TV available; in rural areas, access to TV broadcasts is extremely limited; analog TV only, no digital service (2017)

.zw

Z

144 (2025)

5 (2025)

Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF): Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ)<br><br>Ministry of Home Affairs: Zimbabwe Republic Police (2025)

approximately 30,000 active Zimbabwe Defense Forces (2025)

the ZDF inventory is comprised mostly of Russian/Soviet-era and Chinese armaments with smaller quantities of older or obsolescent material from countries such as Brazil, France, Italy, South Africa, the UK, and the US (2025)

18-22 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (enlisted personnel); 18-24 for officer cadets; 18-30 for technical/specialist personnel; no conscription (2025)

the primary responsibilities of the Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF) are protecting the country’s sovereignty and territory and securing its borders; it also has a role in domestic security and socio-economic development projects and has continued to be active in the country’s politics since the 2017 military-assisted political transition;<br>the ZDF is part of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Standby Force and provided troops for the SADC military deployment to Mozambique from 2021-2024; Zimbabwe has defense ties with China and Russia<br><br>the ZDF was formed after independence from the former Rhodesian Army and the two guerrilla forces that opposed it during the Rhodesian Civil War (aka "Bush War") of the 1970s, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA); the ZDF intervened in the Mozambique Civil War (1983-1992), the Democratic Republic of Congo during the Second Congo War (1998-2003), and the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002) during the late 1990s (2025)

Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA; established in 2019 and officially launched in 2021) (2025)

has a nascent program with the goal of using space technologies in economic development, including remote sensing capabilities to assist with monitoring or managing agriculture, food security, climate change, disease outbreaks, environmental hazards and disasters, and natural resources, as well as weather forecasting; has cooperated with Japan and Russia (2025)

2020 - began a program (BIRDS-5) sponsored by Japan to promote the development of a domestic space program by designing, building, testing, launching, and operating the first satellites for participating countries <br><br>2021 - established satellite ground communications station and completed national wetlands mapping project<br><br>2022 - first nano-sized remote sensing/educational satellite (ZIMSAT-1) built with Japan’s assistance and launched by Japan under the BIRDs-5 program<br><br>2024 - second RS satellite (ZIMSAT-2) built with Russian assistance and launched by Russia