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Zimbabwe

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Republic of Zimbabwe
Coat of arms of Zimbabwe
Coat of arms
Motto:"Unity, Freedom, Work"[1]
Anthem:
Simudzai Mureza wedu WeZimbabwe(Shona)
Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe(Sindebele)
Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe[2]
Location of Zimbabwe
Capital
and largest city
Harare
Official languages
Ethnic groups
(2003)
Demonym(s)Zimbabwean
GovernmentSemi-presidential republic
Emmerson Mnangagwa
Constantino Chiwenga
LegislatureParliament
•Upper house
Senate
•Lower house
House of Assembly
Independencefrom the United Kingdom
11 November 1965
• Recognised
18 April 1980
15 May 2013
Area
• Total
390,757 km2(150,872 sq mi) (60th)
• Water (%)
1
Population
• 2016 estimate
16,750,327[4](72nd)
• Density
26/km2(67.3/sq mi) (170th)
GDP(PPP)2013 estimate
• Total
$7.731 billion[5]
• Per capita
$589[5]
GDP(nominal)2013 estimate
• Total
$10.978 billion[5]
• Per capita
$837[5]
Gini(2009)50.1[6]
high
HDI(2015)Increase0.516[7]
low·154th
Currencyvariousa
Time zoneUTC+2(Central Africa Time)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+2(not observed)
Driving sideleft
Calling code+263
ISO 3166 codeZW
Internet TLD.zw
  1. TheZimbabwean dollaris no longer in active use after it was officially suspended by the government due tohyperinflation.The United States dollar (US$),South African rand(R),Botswana pula(P),Pound sterling(£) andEuro(€) are now used instead.[8]The United States dollar has been adopted as the official currency for all government transactions.

TheRepublic of Zimbabweis a country in the southern part of the continent of Africa. Itscapitalcity isHarare.

Geography[change|change source]

Zimbabwe is surrounded by other countries, and so it has nocoaston the sea. This type of country is calledlandlocked.The countries that surround Zimbabwe areZambia,Botswana,South Africa andMozambique.

Zimbabwe is home to the famouswaterfall,Victoria Falls,which are a feature of the riverZambeziand also the Great Zimbabwe, the ancient architectural monument from which the country was named after.

Vegetation (Fauna and Flora)[change|change source]

The country is mostlysavanna.In the east it is moist and mountainous with tropical evergreen and hardwood forests. Trees includeteakandmahogany,knobthorn, msasa and baobab. Among the many flowers and shrubs are hibiscus, spider lily, leonotus, cassia, tree wisteria and dombeya.

Elephant at water hole in Hwange National Park

There are around 350 species of mammals in Zimbabwe. There are also many snakes and lizards, over 500 bird species, and 131 fish species.

History[change|change source]

The area that is now Zimbabwe was added to the British Empire around 1890. Zimbabwe is also known by its old name ofRhodesia.In 1965, it became an independent country when Prime Minister Ian Smith announced the Unilateral Declaration of Independence(U.D.I). The government was mostly controlled by the white population, similar to South Africa at the time. African citizens were given full equality in 1980, and the country's name was officially changed to Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe led the country as the Prime Minister and President for 37 years. Though Mugabe was elected fairly at first, he became a dictator, and had put in place a number of cruel and disastrous laws. On November 21, 2017, Mugabe resigned as President of Zimbabwe.[10]

Language[change|change source]

The country Zimbabwe has a mixture of languages; Shona, Ndebele, Venda, Manyika, Nyanja, Chagani, and a unique-unified Zimbabwean English.

Economy[change|change source]

Zimbabwe uses the currencies of several other countries. The government uses the United States dollar. The economy is currently in a bad situation. Foreign currency reserves are at very low levels, and the Zimbabwean Dollar has become verydevalued.Just recently, three zeroes were taken off the Zimbabwean dollar (for example, $1,000,000 (one million dollars) would become $1000 (one thousand dollars)). Many observers link this to Mugabe's controversial Land Reform programme.

  • Agriculture: Most people in Zimbabwe work in the field of agriculture: cattle, poultry, pigs, vegetables, millet, sorghum, maize, rice, cassava, tea, coffee, groundnuts, cotton, wheat, sugar cane, timber.
  • Mining: Copper, silver, tin, coal, nickel, cobalt, gold, iron ore, asbestos, chrome.
  • Manufacturing: Iron, steel, food processing, textiles, brewing, wood, furniture, tobacco.
  • Other: Tourism centring on the Victoria Falls and the game parks

2017 coup d'état[change|change source]

See the main article:2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état

On November 15, 2017, PresidentRobert Mugabewas placed under house arrest[11]as Zimbabwe's military took control in acoup.[12]On November 21, 2017, Mugabe resigned the Presidency.

Provinces[change|change source]

Provinces of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is divided into 8 provinces and 2 cities that are the same as a province.

Province Capital
Bulawayo Bulawayo
Harare Harare
Manicaland Mutare
Mashonaland Central Bindura
Mashonaland East Marondera
Mashonaland West Chinhoyi
Masvingo Masvingo city
Matabeleland North Lupane District
Matabeleland South Gwanda
Midlands Gweru

Cities[change|change source]

The largest cities are:

Cities in Zimbabwe
Rank City Population Province Image
Census 1982 Census 1992 Census 2002 Est. 2007
1. Harare 656,011 1,189,103 1,444,534 1,607,022 Harare
2. Bulawayo 413,814 621,742 676,787 713,340 Bulawayo
3. Chitungwiza 172,556 274,912 321,782 352,204 Harare
4. Mutare 69,621 131,367 170,106 193,629 Manicaland
5. Gweru 78,918 128,037 141,260 148,935 Midlands
6. Kwekwe 47,607 75,425 93,072 103,210 Midlands
7. Kadoma 44,613 67,750 76,173 81,008 Mashonaland West
8. Masvingo 30,523 51,743 69,993 80,630 Masvingo
9. Chinhoyi 24,322 43,054 56,794 65,109 Mashonaland West
10. Marondera 19,971 39,384 52,283 60,291 Mashonaland East

Sports[change|change source]

Footballis the most popular sport in Zimbabwe.Rugby unionandcricketare also popular. Zimbabwe has won eight Olympic medals.

Zimbabwe has also done well in theCommonwealth Gamesand All-Africa Games.Kirsty Coventrywon 11 gold medals in swimming.[13][14][15][16] Zimbabwe has also been atWimbledonand theDavis Cupin tennis. Zimbabwe has also done well in golf. Other sports played in Zimbabwe are basketball, volleyball,netball,andwater polo,as well assquash,motorsport,martial arts,chess,cycling,polocrosse,kayakingandhorse racing.Most of these sports don't have international representatives but instead stay at a junior or national level.

Related pages[change|change source]

References[change|change source]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toZimbabwe.
  1. ↑"Zimbabwe".The Beaver County Times.13 September 1981.Retrieved2 November2011.
  2. ↑CIA (2011)."The World Factbook – Zimbabwe".2011. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived fromthe originalon 16 April 2020.Retrieved2 November2011.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  3. ↑The following languages, namely Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda and Xhosa, are the officially recognised languages of Zimbabwe. (CONSTITUTION OF ZIMBABWE (final draft)Archived2013-10-02 at theWayback Machine).
  4. ↑"Population 2016 Country Ranks".Countries of the World.Retrieved15 October2012.
  5. ↑5.05.15.25.3"Zimbabwe".International Monetary Fund.Retrieved24 April2012.
  6. ↑"Human Development report".UNDP. Archived fromthe originalon 17 October 2009.Retrieved15 April2010.
  7. ↑"2016 Human Development Report"(PDF).United Nations Development Programme. 2016.Retrieved21 March2017.
  8. ↑"Zimbabwe Currency".Wwp.greenwichmeantime.com. Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2011.Retrieved21 August2011.
  9. ↑"Census Results by Year-End".New Zimbabwe.[permanent dead link]
  10. ↑"Zimbabwe's President Mugabe 'resigns'".BBC News.2017-11-21.Retrieved2017-11-21.
  11. ↑"Robert Mugabe 'under house arrest'".BBC News.2017-11-15.Retrieved2017-11-15.
  12. ↑"Robert Mugabe 'under house arrest'".BBC News.2017-11-15.Retrieved2017-11-15.
  13. ↑"2004 Olympic Games swimming results".CNN. Archived fromthe originalon 9 May 2006.Retrieved22 July2007.
  14. ↑"Montreal 2005 Results".Archived fromthe originalon 28 January 2007.Retrieved9 June2007.
  15. ↑"12th FINA World Championships".Archived fromthe originalon 6 June 2007.Retrieved9 June2007.
  16. ↑"BBC Sport Commonwealth Games 2002 Statistics".BBC News.Retrieved29 August2007.
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