Map of Zimbabwe

Map of Zimbabwe

Links have been established between Christians Aware members, with Intermediate Technology, and with the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. The focus is on community development.

Map of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

officially REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE, formerly (1911-64) SOUTHERN RHODESIA, (1964-79) RHODESIA, or (1979-80) ZIMBABWE RHODESIA, landlocked country of southern Africa. It is bordered on the north by Zambia, on the northeast and east by Mozambique, on the south by South Africa, and on the southwest and west by Botswana, and its extreme western corner touches Namibia. The capital is Harare (formerly Salisbury; see photograph). Area 150,873 square miles (390,759 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 10,123,000.

The Land

A dominant feature of Zimbabwe's landscape is the Highveld, a broad ridge lying between 4,000 and 5,000 feet (1,200 and 1,500 m) above sea level, which covers about a fourth of the country. The Highveld begins in the southwest and extends the length of the country, joining the Inyanga Mountains in the northeast. On each side of this central spine lies the wider plateau of the Middleveld, which, at an elevation between 3,000 and 4,000 feet (between 900 and 1,200 m), accounts for about two-fifths of Zimbabwe's land area. Farther northwest and southeast lies the Lowveld, which covers about a fourth of the country and lies mostly above 1,000 feet (300 m) in elevation.

The Zambezi River forms the country's northwestern boundary with Zambia along a trough formed by major faulting. In 1959 a major dam was completed on the Zambezi that created Lake Kariba, which, at more than 2,000 square miles (5,200 square km), is one of the world's largest man-made lakes. The Highveld forms the divide separating the Zambezi basin in the northwest from the Limpopo and Sabi river basins in the southeast. Much of the country's total runoff is carried by these three rivers, eastward through Mozambique, to the Indian Ocean.

Although it lies within the tropics, Zimbabwe enjoys a subtropical climate because of its high average elevation. Mean monthly temperatures range from 52° F (11° C) in July to 65° F (18° C) in October at Inyanga to 57° F (14° C) in July to 70° F (21° C) in October at Harare. An extended winter dry season occurs throughout the west from May through August; average annual precipitation increases generally from southwest to northeast, averaging less than 16 inches (400 mm) in the Limpopo valley along the border with South Africa to more than 40 inches (1,000 mm) in the eastern highlands.

Zimbabwe is mostly savanna (tropical grassland) country, with a generous tree growth encouraged by the wet summers. Hwange (formerly Wankie) National Park has much of its area devoted to game reserves. The country's rich and diverse animal life includes lion and other cats, hyena, jackal, elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, gorilla, chimpanzee, baboon, many antelope species, crocodile, lizards, and snakes.

The People

The predominant ethnolinguistic groups in Zimbabwe are the Shona, who make up about 70 percent of the population, and the Ndebele, who number about 16 percent of the total; whites constitute about 2 percent of the population. English is the official language, though the Bantu languages of the Shona and Ndebele are much more widely spoken. Nearly half of the population are Christian, many allied with indigenous African churches, while an almost equal number follow animist beliefs. Some three-fourths of the population live in rural areas.

Zimbabwe's population is growing rapidly, though more slowly than that of most other African countries. Its birth and death rates, while high by world standards, are relatively low for Africa. The population density is also comparatively low, however, and the government has expressed satisfaction with the rate of population growth. The country's life expectancy is one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa at 58 years for men and 61 years for women.

The economy.

Zimbabwe has a semideveloped mixed economy with some state participation. The gross national product (GNP) is not growing as rapidly as the population, and the GNP per capita, though well above average for southern Africa, remains relatively low by world standards. With manufactured goods constituting about one-third of its exports and the gross domestic product (GDP) well dispersed over several economic sectors, the country has a more diversified economy than most in sub-Saharan Africa.

Agriculture produces about one-eighth of the GDP and employs about one-quarter of the labour force. Commercial crop production, primarily on large farms (mostly white-owned), which occupy approximately half the total farmland, includes corn (maize), sugarcane, wheat, seed cotton, tobacco, sorghum, and soybeans. The remaining land (primarily black-owned) is in small farms raising subsistence crops, including corn, millet, peanuts (groundnuts), cassava, potatoes, dry beans, bananas, and oranges. Coffee and tea have been introduced in an effort to diversify crop production.

Zimbabwe's agriculture is plagued by cyclical droughts, tsetse fly infestation in some areas, and land-redistribution problems. After the country became independent in 1980, the government began a program to settle more black farmers on land bought from emigrating white farmers, but it avoided forcible expropriation even after emigration slowed. Rangeland and pastures occupy about one-eighth of Zimbabwe's land area. The principal livestock include cattle, goats, and sheep. About half of the cattle are held by blacks practicing traditional pastoralism.

Zimbabwe has abundant mineral reserves, though mining produces only about one-twelfth of the GDP while employing about one-twentieth of the labour force. Gold is the leading mineral (by value) produced in Zimbabwe, followed by nickel and asbestos; coal, copper, chrome, iron ore, silver, and tin are also produced.

Manufacturing is fairly well diversified, largely because sanctions against Rhodesia until 1980 compelled the country to become largely self-sufficient. Manufacturing produces more than one-fourth of the GDP and employs about one-sixth of the labour force. About half of all industry processes agricultural products. Other industrial output includes crude steel, pig iron, and steel semimanufactured products; cement; electrical and other machinery; cotton textiles, clothing, and footwear; chemicals, plastics, and rubber products; and fertilizers and pesticides. One-third of the country's electrical power is generated by hydroelectric plants and the remainder by thermal plants. Tourism, which had fallen during the civil war of the late 1970s, rose sharply in 1980, but subsequent hostilities between the Shona and Ndebele peoples again cut the number of visitors; the industry was revived in the mid-1980s. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, located in Harare, is the principal labour federation, to which all unions organized by industry are affiliated.

Since independence, government has gradually assumed a larger role in controlling industry. A government-controlled agency was created to market mine production (except gold), and all new mining ventures require government participation. In agriculture a plan was adopted to settle farmers on better land and give them technical assistance, seed, and fertilizer. Purchase prices for crops have been raised, and wage rates and working conditions have been equalized for blacks and whites. A major goal has been to disarm the former guerrillas and settle them as farmers.

Zimbabwe's railway network, one of the densest in sub-Saharan Africa, is government-operated and covers some 1,700 miles (2,700 km). About one-tenth of it is electrified. Almost one-fifth of the country's extensive road network is paved; most rural areas, however, suffer from poor roads. There is an international airport at Harare, and there is domestic air service between the principal cities.

Trade deficits after independence were worsened by sharply rising consumer demand and a worldwide recession, but by the mid-1980s the nation's trade balance had become favourable. Major exports include tobacco; gold, iron, steel, and ferroalloy products; corn; and cotton--mainly shipped to Germany, the United Kingdom, South Africa, the United States, Botswana, and Japan. Imports consist mainly of machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, chemicals, and basic manufactures, which are obtained mostly from the same trading partners.

Government and social conditions.

Zimbabwe is a multiparty state--an independent republic with the president as head of state and a parliament consisting of a unicameral, 150-member House of Assembly. One hundred twenty seats are elective, 10 members are chosen by traditional chiefs, and 20 members are appointed by the president. A cabinet, led by the prime minister, is chosen from the parliament. The president is elected by the parliament for a term of six years, and the members of the House of Assembly serve for six years. The judiciary is appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission.

Medical and public-health facilities compare well to other African countries and include mother and child care, disease control, school health, environmental sanitation, and rural health immunization programs, provided through hospitals and district and rural health centres. The success of these programs is reflected in the country's relatively low infant mortality rate, one of the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria, schistosomiasis, and tuberculosis remain chronic problems, however, and measles and pneumonia are major causes of death. There is a severe housing shortage in urban areas, and many new houses have been constructed for lower-paid workers to alleviate the shortage. There is a three-tiered system of education, comprising primary (which is free, and, since 1987, compulsory), secondary, and university education. The University of Zimbabwe, originally chartered in 1955 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, is located in Harare. The news media are strictly controlled by the government. Radio Zimbabwe broadcasts are in English, Shona, and several other local languages.

Cultural life.

The architectural heritage of the country is evident in the Great Zimbabwe, the ancient stone citadel, located in south-central Zimbabwe, that has given the country its name. Handicraft items are made of woven or plaited fibres, grasses, and reeds. The tradition of oral literature in Zimbabwe, especially poetry, is rich. Novels centre on the conflict between traditional, rural culture and modernizing urban life. There is a National Gallery of Zimbabwe, and museums are at Harare, Mutare (formerly Umtali), Nyanda (formerly Fort Victoria), and Bulawayo. The National Archives is one of the major sources for historical material.

History.

Remains of Stone Age cultures dating back 500,000 years have been found in present-day Zimbabwe. The first Bantu-speaking peoples reached the region between the 5th and 10th centuries AD, driving the San (Bushmen) inhabitants into the desert. A second migration of Bantu-speakers, fleeing the Zulu chief Shaka, began about 1830. One tribe, called the Ndebele, carved out a kingdom in the Zulu pastoralist tradition, in the process mastering the Shona tribes. During this period British and Afrikaner hunters, traders, and prospectors moved up from the south with missionaries.

In 1889 the British South Africa Company was formed by Cecil Rhodes to colonize and promote trade in the region. During the 1890s additional European settlers began to arrive and lay claim to prospecting rights. This caused armed uprisings by the Ndebele and the Shona, but by 1897 the region had been pacified. The country continued to be governed by the company until 1923. In a referendum in 1922, the 34,000 Europeans chose to become a self-governing British colony instead of joining the Union of South Africa. In 1923 Southern Rhodesia was annexed by the British crown.

The interwar period was one of material progress and a reasonably prosperous economy under white domination. In 1953 the colony united with Nyasaland (Malawi) and Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) to form the Central African Federation of Rhodesia. During the 10 years of the federation, the black African nationalist movement, led by the National Democratic Party (NDP), intensified. The NDP was subsequently banned and split into the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), led by Joshua Nkomo, and the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), led by Ndabaningi Sithole and later by Robert Mugabe. The federation dissolved in 1963, and Southern Rhodesia reverted to its former colonial status.

In 1965 the conservative white Rhodesian Front government, led by Ian Smith, unilaterally declared independence from Britain for the country. This act led to the installation of economic sanctions against Rhodesia, first by the United Kingdom and later by the United Nations. The economy suffered from these sanctions during the 1960s and '70s but survived with the help of South Africa.

ZAPU and ZANU guerrilla organizations were formed in Zambia and Mozambique, respectively, from which they launched numerous attacks on Rhodesian security forces. Sporadic warfare over nearly a decade caused thousands to die and almost a million persons to be uprooted. The white minority finally consented to hold multiracial elections supervised by the British in 1980, and Robert Mugabe of the Shona-based ZANU won a landslide victory. Mugabe assumed the duties of prime minister and defense minister and for a time admitted former guerrilla rivals into the government. Mugabe eventually established a one-party Marxist-oriented state, which, however, liberally included former foes. A multiparty system was established in 1990.