Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe (/zɪmˈbɑːbw, -wi/), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the north, and Mozambique to the east. The capital and largest city is Harare, and the second largest is Bulawayo.

Republic of Zimbabwe
Motto: "Unity, Freedom, Work"
Anthem: "Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe"
Location of Zimbabwe (dark green)
Capital
and largest city
Harare
17°49′45″S 31°03′08″E
Official languages16 languages:
Ethnic groups
(2017)
Religion
(2017)
  • 10.2% no religion
  • 4.5% traditional faiths
  • 1.2% others
Demonym(s)Zimbabwean
Zimbo (colloquial)
GovernmentUnitary presidential republic
 President
Emmerson Mnangagwa
Constantino Chiwenga
Kembo Mohadi
LegislatureParliament
Senate
National Assembly
Independence from the United Kingdom
 Declared
11 November 1965
 Republic
2 March 1970
1 June 1979
18 April 1980
15 May 2013
Area
 Total
390,757 km2 (150,872 sq mi) (60th)
 Water (%)
1
Population
 2024 January estimate
16,868,409 (73rd)
 2022 census
15,178,957
 Density
39/km2 (101.0/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
 Total
$44.448 billion (131st)
 Per capita
$2,749 (175th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
 Total
$32.424 billion (106th)
 Per capita
$2,005 (149th)
Gini (2019) 50.3
high
HDI (2021) 0.593
medium · 146th
CurrencyZimbabwean dollar
U.S. dollar ($) (USD)
South African rand; Other currencies
Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Driving sideleft
Calling code+263
ISO 3166 codeZW
Internet TLD.zw

A country of roughly 15 million people as per 2022 census, Zimbabwe's largest ethnic group are the Shona, who make up 80% of the population, followed by the Northern Ndebele and other smaller minorities. Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most common. Zimbabwe is a member of the United Nations, the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Beginning in the 9th century, during its late Iron Age, the Bantu people (who would become the ethnic Shona) built the city-state of Great Zimbabwe; the city-state became one of the major African trade centres by the 11th century but was abandoned by the mid 15th century. From there, the Kingdom of Zimbabwe was established, followed by the Rozvi and Mutapa empires. The British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes demarcated the Rhodesia region in 1890 when they conquered Mashonaland and later in 1893 Matabeleland after the First Matabele War. Company rule ended in 1923 with the establishment of Southern Rhodesia as a self-governing British colony. In 1965, the 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 de jure sovereignty as Zimbabwe in April 1980.

Robert Mugabe became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in 1980, when his ZANU–PF party won the general election following the end of white minority rule and has remained the country's dominant party since. He was the President of Zimbabwe from 1987, after converting the country's initial parliamentary system into a presidential one, 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. From 1997 to 2008 the economy experienced consistent decline (and in the latter years, hyperinflation), though it has since seen rapid growth after the use of currencies other than the Zimbabwean dollar was permitted. In 2017, in the wake of over a year of protests against his government as well as Zimbabwe's rapidly declining economy, a coup d'état resulted in Mugabe's resignation. Emmerson Mnangagwa has since served as Zimbabwe's president.

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