Zimbabwe

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"ZWE" redirects here. For other uses, see ZWE (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 20°S 30°E

Republic of Zimbabwe

13 other official names[show]

Flag of Zimbabwe

Flag

Coat of arms of Zimbabwe

Coat of arms

Motto: "Unity, Freedom, Work"[1]

Anthem: "Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe"[2]

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Location of Zimbabwe (dark blue) in the African Union (light blue)

Location of Zimbabwe (dark blue)

in the African Union (light blue)

Capital

and largest city

Harare

17°50′S 31°3′E

Official languages 16 languages:[3]

ChewaChibarweEnglishKalanga"Koisan" (presumably
Tsoa)NambyaNdauNdebeleShanganiShona"sign language"SothoTongaTswanaVendaXhosa

Ethnic groups (2012 Census[4])

99.38% Black African (mainly Shona and Ndebele)

0.22% White African

0.18% Coloured

0.08% Asian
0.02% Other

0.01% Not Stated

Religion (2017)[5]

84.1% Christianity

—69.2% Protestantism

—14.9% Other Christian

10.2% No religion

4.5% Traditional faiths

1.2% Others

Demonym(s) Zimbabwean

Zimbo[6] (colloquial)

Government Unitary dominant-party presidential constitutional republic

• President

Emmerson Mnangagwa

• Vice-Presidents

Constantino Chiwenga

Kembo Mohadi

Legislature Parliament

• Upper house

Senate

• Lower house

National Assembly

Independence from the United Kingdom

• Declared

11 November 1965

• Republic

2 March 1970

• Zimbabwe Rhodesia

1 June 1979

• Republic of Zimbabwe

18 April 1980
• Current constitution

15 May 2013

Area

• Total

390,757 km2 (150,872 sq mi) (60th)

• Water (%)

Population

• 2019 estimate

14,215,809[7] (74th)

• 2012 census

12,973,808[8]

• Density

26/km2 (67.3/sq mi) (170th)

GDP (PPP) 2019 estimate

• Total

$41.031 billion

• Per capita

$2,621[9]

GDP (nominal) 2019 estimate

• Total

$22.290 billion

• Per capita

$1,424[9]

Gini (1995) 50.1[10]

high

HDI (2019) Increase 0.571[11]

medium · 150th

Currency Zimbabwean dollar

Time zone UTC+2 (CAT[12])

Driving side left

Calling code +263

ISO 3166 code ZW

Internet TLD .zw

Zimbabwe (/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ, -wi/), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia,[13] and
Zimbabwe Rhodesia, is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa, between the Zambezi and
Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. The capital and
largest city is Harare. The second largest city is Bulawayo. A country of roughly 14 million[14][15]
people, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages,[3] with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most common.

Since the 11th century, present-day Zimbabwe has been the site of several organised states and
kingdoms such as the Rozvi and Mthwakazi kingdoms, as well as being a major route for migration
and trade. The British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes first demarcated the present territory
during 1890 when they conquered Mashonaland and later in 1893 Matabeleland after a fierce
resistance by Matabele people known as the First Matabele War. Company rule ended in 1923 with
the establishment of Southern Rhodesia as a self-governing British colony. In 1965, the conservative
white minority government unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia. The state endured
international isolation and a 15-year guerrilla war with black nationalist forces; this culminated in a
peace agreement that established universal enfranchisement and de jure sovereignty as Zimbabwe
in April 1980. Zimbabwe then joined the Commonwealth of Nations, from which it was suspended in
2002 for breaches of international law by its then-government under Robert Mugabe, and from
which it withdrew in December 2003. The sovereign state is a member of the United Nations, the
Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Common Market
for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). It was once known as the "Jewel of Africa" for its great
prosperity.[16][17][18]

Robert Mugabe became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in 1980, when his ZANU–PF party won the
elections following the end of white minority rule; he was the President of Zimbabwe from 1987
until his resignation in 2017. Under Mugabe's authoritarian regime, the state security apparatus
dominated the country and was responsible for widespread human rights violations.[19] Mugabe
maintained the revolutionary socialist rhetoric of the Cold War era, blaming Zimbabwe's economic
woes on conspiring Western capitalist countries.[20] Contemporary African political leaders were
reluctant to criticise Mugabe, who was burnished by his anti-imperialist credentials, though
Archbishop Desmond Tutu called him "a cartoon figure of an archetypal African dictator".[21] The
country has been in economic decline since the 1990s, experiencing several crashes and
hyperinflation along the way.

On 15 November 2017, in the wake of over a year of protests against his government as well as
Zimbabwe's rapidly declining economy, Mugabe was placed under house arrest by the country's
national army in a coup d'état.[22][23] On 19 November 2017, ZANU–PF sacked Robert Mugabe as
party leader and appointed former Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa in his place.[24] On 21
November 2017, Mugabe tendered his resignation prior to impeachment proceedings being
completed.[25] On 30 July 2018 Zimbabwe held its general elections,[26] which was won by the
ZANU–PF party led by Emmerson Mnangagwa.[27] Nelson Chamisa who was leading the main
opposition party MDC Alliance contested the election results and filed a petition to the Constitution
Court of Zimbabwe.[28] The court confirmed Mnangagwa's victory, making him the newly elected
president after Mugabe.[29][30]

Contents

1 Etymology

2 History

2.1 Before 1887

2.2 Colonial era and Rhodesia (1888–1964)

2.3 UDI and civil war (1965–1980)

2.4 Independence era (1980–present)

2.5 Gukurahundi genocide (1983-87)

3 Geography

3.1 Geology

3.2 Climate

3.3 Biodiversity

3.4 Environmental issues

4 Government

4.1 Human rights

4.2 Armed forces

4.3 Administrative divisions

5 Economy

5.1 Agriculture

5.2 Tourism

5.3 Water supply and sanitation

6 Science and technology

7 Demographics

7.1 Ethnic groups

7.2 Largest cities

7.3 Refugee crisis

7.4 Languages
7.5 Religions

8 Culture

8.1 Arts

8.2 Cuisine

8.3 Sports

8.4 Media

8.5 Scouting

8.6 National symbols

9 Health

10 Education

11 Gender equality

11.1 Discrimination in the work force

11.2 Domestic violence

11.3 Political representation

11.4 Society and culture

12 See also

13 References

13.1 Citations

13.2 Sources

14 Further reading

15 External links