Introduction

Zimbabwe, a country slightly larger in size than Montana, is in Southern Africa. It was formerly known as Southern Rhodesia and then as Rhodesia. The country is renowned for the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River and for its bountiful wildlife. The capital is Harare, formerly known as Salisbury. Zimbabwe was the British colony of Southern Rhodesia from the late 1800's until 1965, when its white settlers proclaimed it the state of Rhodesia, which Britain refused to recognize. In 1980 the majority black population won independence for the country as Zimbabwe. The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued official exchange rate, hyperinflation, and bare store shelves. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. The government's land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has badly damaged the commercial farming sector. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe routinely prints money to fund the budget deficit, causing the official annual inflation rate to rise from 32% in 1998, to 26000% in November 2007. Private sector estimates of inflation in 2007 are well above 100,000%. Meanwhile, the official exchange rate fell from approximately 1 (revalued) Zimbabwean dollar per US dollar in 2003 to 30,000 per US dollar in 2007.

Geographical Location

Zimbabwe has a land area of 150,873 square miles. The country borders Mozambique to the east and Botswana to the west. South Africa is located to the south, and the Limpopo River forms the boundary between the two countries. In the north the border is formed by the Zambezi River, beyond which is Zambia. The dominate topographical feature of Zimbabwe is its central granite plateau, which runs diagonally from the southwest to the northeast and is covered with rich farmland. The plateau, marked by granite outcrops and outcropping of volcanic rock, is rick in gems and minerals. The highest point in Zimbabwe is Mt. Inyangani at 8504 ft., and the lowest point is 480 ft. at the junction of the Lundi and the Savi (Save) rivers in the southeast. The hot and humid valleys of the Zambezi and the Limpopo are infested with tsetse flies, which inhibit livestock raising, although the far southwest is dry grassland suitable for ranching and cattle breeding. Floods and severe storms are rare, but Zimbabwe does have recurring droughts.

Climate

Zimbabwe's climate is dependent on the rains brought by the Indian Ocean monsoons (seasonal winds). Up to 40 inches of rain falls each year in the eastern part of the country between October and March. Rain levels reduce to about half that amount in the cry southwest. Little if any rain falls from March to October, when the weather gets cold with frosts common in the mountains and central plateau areas. Since the late 1970's there have been serious droughts, which have led to soil erosion in some areas and other environmental problems.

Population

In 2009 Zimbabwe's population was estimated to be 11,392,629. Life expectancy at birth was estimated at 45.77 years in 2009, down from 59 years in 1985. This drastic decline is largely attributable to the AIDS epidemic that began in the late 1980's. There are 1.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS (2007 est.). The ethnic groups are African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1%.

Languages

The languages of Zimbabwe are English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects. 90.7% of the population age 15 and over can read and write English.

Religion

The religions of Zimbabwe are syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1%.