Zimbabwe

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Zimbabwe spends US$547 million on its military, or 3.9 percent of its GDP. This makes Zimbabwe the 92nd highest military spender in the world and represents 0.028 percent of total global military expenditure. Its Army consists of a merger between the Rhodesian army and two rebel groups which fought for its independence.

The military of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Defence forces, consists of an army and an air force. Because of its landlocked situation, it does not have a Navy.

Military membership

Zimbabwe is also a member of 3 international military organizations. This makes it the 178th most militarily connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Zimbabwe has partaken in 2 international wars. These are:

Second Congo War 1998-1003
Libyan Civil War 2011-2011

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

In total, Zimbabwe is a member of seven international political organizations which makes it the 112th most politically connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
African Union
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
Interpol
South Centre (organization)
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

It is the 131st most democratic state in the world. Despite constitutional reform, a military coup has taken place in 2017. Corruption has been a problem for more than four decades, but the new ruling political party has also tightly restricted political opposition in the existing political system which favours a centralization of power to the presidency.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Zimbabwe take place in the form of a presidential republic where the president is head of state as well as head of government. Its elections are held every five years and has seen many constitutional reforms in recent decades. This is largely due to a long sitting president which has been in power between 1980 and 2017. Its constitutional reform mainly consists of the maximum number of terms that a president can hold office.

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Known for its wildlife, its rivers and it landscape, Zimbabwe, or the Republic of Zimbabwe has had an unstable 21st century. During its early history, the area was inhabited by the Khoisan and Bantu people which led a hunter gatherer lifestyle. During the 19th century, British explorers arrived and later on colonized the territory and incorporated it into its empire by the end of the 19th century. During the 20th century, the territory was granted self-governance, but only to the white inhabitants. After the breakup of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1963, Zimbabwe became independent in 1964. Since then, Zimbabwe has been under the rule of a white minority which angered the black majority. Through guerrilla warfare, the black majority had gained equal rights for all of its citizens as saw its first black president in 1980. Throughout the rest of the 20th century, Zimbabwe has seen an economic crisis and the removal of opponents that challenge the presidency. At the start of the 21st century, Zimbabwe started to expropriate the farms of the white population which caused an exodus of the white population. The following years, Zimbabwe was struck by food shortages as well as a high inflation due to economic mismanagement. During the second decade of the 21st century, Zimbabwe has started to stabilize.

Located in the southern part of Africa, the geography of Zimbabwe consists of a high mountain range that runs along its center with a small flat plane along its borders. Most of its terrain is covered by low-lying vegetation. In total, Zimbabwe borders four other states with Zambia to the north, Mozambique to the east, south Africa to the south and Botswana to the west. It also borders Namibia to the west, which is separated by a bridge between Zambia and Botswana.

Because of its high elevation as well as its mountain range, Zimbabwe is home to many lakes and rivers with the Limpopo and Zanbezi River being the largest. Its tap water is considered unsafe to drink.

It is the 60th largest state with a total surface area of 392.711 square kilometers or 151.626 square miles. This makes Zimbabwe slightly smaller than Norway and slightly larger than Paraguay.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

It has a total water surface area of 3.930 square kilometers or 1.518 square miles. This makes Zimbabwe the 74th largest state in the world.

The climate of Zimbabwe is a subtropical climate with four distinct seasons. The average temperature is 20.4 degrees Celsius or 69 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes Zimbabwe the 108th warmest state in the world.

During summer, between November and February, the average high temperature is 25.8 degrees Celsius or 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

During winter, between June to August, the average low temperature is 13 degrees Celsius or 55.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rain typically occurs between November and March when it receives up to four times as much compared to its dryer months. On average, Zimbabwe receives 76.6 centimetres or 30.1 inches of rainfall per year which ranks it as the 124th highest in the world.

The capital of Zimbabwe, Harare, is home to roughly 1.8 million people. The closest capital is Lusaka, Zambia, with a distance of 394 kilometers or 245 miles. The capital that is the furthest removed is Apia, Samoa, with a distance of 15.689 kilometers or 9.749 miles.

The economy of Zimbabwe is a developing economy which is largely dependent on the extraction of minerals as well as the export of agricultural products. However, with its land reform, the agricultural output has declined and has made Zimbabwe and agricultural net importer. Most of its current products are gold, platinum, nickel and diamonds which are mainly exported to South Africa which is solely responsible for nearly 50 percent of all exports. Most of its imports also comes from south Africa which is responsible for nearly 40 percent of all imports.

Zimbabwe is a member of 12 international economic organizations. This makes it the 115th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
African development Bank
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
Southern African Development Community
International Renewable Energy Agency
Group of 15
Group of 77
Advisory Centre on World Trade Organization Law

It has a GDP of US$18.021 million, which makes it the 120th highest in the world and represents 0.022 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per surface area is the 173rd highest in the world with US$45.890 per square kilometer or US$118.854 per square mile.

Its GDP per capita is the 164th highest in the world with US$1.215.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power parity per capita is the 190th highest in the world with US$1.612.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

With a total population of 14.8 million people, Zimbabwe is the 73rd most populous state in the world. Its population mainly consists of more than 20 different African tribes which each speak their own language. It has three official languages, two of which are spoken by the two largest tribes which are the Ndebele and the Shona. Aside from these languages, it also has English has its official language.

It has the 142nd highest population density in the world with 38 people per square kilometer or 98 people per square mile.

6.2 percent of the population, or nearly 950,000 people, have migrated to other states. This makes Zimbabwe the 70th state with the highest number of emigrants and represents 0.38 percent of total global emigration. There have been two separate large migration waves with the first being the expropriation of white farmers. A few years later, when and economic crisis ensued, there was another wave of migration which mainly consisted of a highly educated black Zimbabweans. The main destinations have been South Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Immigration to Zimbabwe is represented by nearly 2 percent of the population, or nearly 300,000 people. The largest supplier of immigrants has been Malawi which is solely responsible for more than a third of all migrants.

The literacy rate is Zimbabwe is 87.1 percent which is the 126th highest in the world. Because of the large investments throughout the 20th century, Zimbabwe has reached one of the highest literacy rates in Africa.

The health care system in Zimbabwe has been improving over the last decades with an overall lowering of the mortality rate of noncommunicable diseases such as HIV and malaria. However, tuberculosis remains a large problem which yearly affects around a half percent of the population. Other health risks are related to noncommunicable diseases with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and traffic injuries being the leading causes of death. The average life expectancy is 62.2 years which is the 174th highest in the world. Women have an average life expectancy of 63.7 years, while men have an average life expectancy of 60.4 years.

The government of Zimbabwe provides freedom for all religions.

Christianity is the largest religion in Zimbabwe. It is the 79th most Christian state in the world with a total percentage of 72.6. The largest denomination is Protestantism with a small Catholic minority.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is represented by 0.9 percent of the population which makes it the 129th most Islamic state in the world. The vast majority of Muslims are descendants of Indian and Pakistani migrants, but there is a growing Muslim population that has migrated from Malawi.

There are no official Buddhist organizations in Zimbabwe.

Hinduism is represented by 0.37 percent of the population. These are mainly descendants of Indian workers and are mostly situated in the capital.

There is a small Jewish minority in Zimbabwe which represents 0.06 percent of the population. Almost all Jews are located in the capital and the second largest city.

Other religions are represented by 2.7 percent of the population and are mainly traditional African religions which are mostly rituals.

0.7 percent of the population does not adhere to any religion. This is mainly due to traditional beliefs still playing a dominant role alongside organised religion.