The World Factbook (1982)/Zimbabwe

by the Central Intelligence Agency

ZIMBABWE

(See reference map VII)

LAND

391,090 km²; 40% arable (of which 6% cultivated); 60% available for extensive cattle grazing; 39% owned by Europeans (farmed by modern methods); 48% worked communally by Africans; 7% national land, 6% not alienated

Land boundaries: 3,017 km

PEOPLE

Population: 8,090,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.5%

Nationality: noun—Zimbabwean(s); adjective—Zimbabwean

Ethnic divisions: about 97% African (over 70% of which are members of Shona-speaking subtribes, 20 to 25% speak Ndebele); about 3% European, less than 0.5% coloreds (people of mixed heritage) and Asians

Religion: 51% syncretic (part Christian, part animist), 24% Christian, 24% animist, a few Muslim

Language: English official; Shona and Ndebele also widely used

Literacy: 25-30% of blacks; nearly 100% of whites

Labor force: (1981) 1,048,000 total; 35% agriculture, 25% mining, manufacturing, construction, 40% transport and services

Organized labor: about one-third of European wage earners are unionized, but only a small minority of Africans

GOVERNMENT

Official name: Republic of Zimbabwe

Type: independent since 18 April 1980; a British-style parliamentary democracy

Capital: Salisbury

Political subdivisions: eight provinces

Legal system: British common law tradition

Branches: legislative authority resides in a Parliament consisting of a 100-member House of Assembly (with 20 seats reserved for whites) and a 40-member Senate (10 elected by white members of the House, 14 elected by the other members of the House; 10 chiefs, 5 from Mashonaland and 5 from Matabeleland, elected by members of the Council of Chiefs; 6 appointed by the President, on the advice of the Prime Minister); executive authority lies with a Cabinet led by the Prime Minister; the High Court is the superior judicial authority

Government leaders: President Canaan BANANA; Prime Minister Robert MUGABE

Suffrage: universal over age 18

Elections: at discretion of Prime Minister but must be held before expiration of five-year electoral mandate Political parties and leaders: Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), Robert Mugabe; Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), Joshua Nkomo; Republican Front (RF), Ian. Smith; United African National Council (UANC), Bishop Abel Muzorewa; others failed to win any seats in Parliament

Voting strength (February 1980 elections): ZANU (also known as ZANU-PF), 57 seats; ZAPU (also known as the Patriotic Front), 20 seats; RF, 20 seats; UANC, 3 seats

Communists: negligible

Member of: IAEA, IBRD, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, UN, UPU, WHO

ECONOMY

GDP: $4.75 billion (1980), $630 per capita; real growth 8%

Agriculture: main crops—tobacco, corn, sugar, cotton; livestock; self-sufficient in foodstuffs

Major industries: mining, steel, textiles, chemicals, and vehicles

Electric power: 1,453,000 kW capacity (1980); 7.5 billion kWh produced (1980), 1,110 kWh per capita

Exports: $1,445 million (f.o.b., 1980), including net gold sales and reexports; tobacco, asbestos, copper, tin, chrome, gold, nickel, meat, clothing, sugar

Imports: $1,287 billion (1980); machinery, petroleum products, wheat, transport equipment

Net merchandise trade earnings: $160 million (1980)

Major trade partner: South Africa

Aid: economic commitments—Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF (1970-79), $77 million

Budget: FY80—revenues $1,422 million, expenditures $2,200 million, deficit $778 million

Monetary conversion rate: 1 Rhodesian dollar=US$1.59 (1980)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

COMMUNICATIONS

Railroads: 2,743 km narrow gauge (1.067 m); 42 km double track

Highways: 85,237 km total; 12,243 km paved, 28,090 km crushed stone, gravel, stabilized soil: 23,097 km improved earth; 21,807 km unimproved earth

Pipelines: 8 km refined products (nonoperating)

Civil air: 19 major transport aircraft, including 3 leased in

Airfields: 447 total, 431 usable; 19 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m, 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 31 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: system is one of the best in Africa; consists of radio-relay links, open-wire lines, and radiocommunication stations; principal center Salisbury, secondary center Bulawayo; 214,400 telephones (2.8 per 100 popl.); 8 AM, 15 FM, and 6 TV stations

DEFENSE FORCES

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,708,000; 1,048,000 fit for military service

Military budget: for fiscal year ending 30 June 1982, $464.8 million; 17.2% of central government budget