Zimbabwe

Republic of Zimbabwe
Motto: "Unity, Freedom, Work"
Anthem: Simudzai Mureza WeZimbabwe  (Shona) Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe  (Sindebele) "Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe"
Location of Zimbabwe within the African Union
Capital (and largest city)		Harare 17°50′S 31°3′E
Official language(s)		English, Shona, Sindebele
Demonym		Zimbabwean
Government		Semi-presidential republic
-	President	Robert Mugabe
-	Prime Minister	Morgan Tsvangirai
-	Vice President	Joice Mujuru John Nkomo
-	Deputy Prime Minister	Thokozani Khuphe Arthur Mutambara
Independence		from the United Kingdom
-	Proclaimed	11 November 1965
-	Recognized	18 April 1980
Area
-	Total	390,757 km2 (60th) 150,871 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1
Population
-	2009 estimate	12,521,000 (68th)
-	Density	26/km2 (170th) 57/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$4.644 billion (153rd)
-	Per capita	$395 (181st)
GDP (nominal)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$5.574 billion (141st)
-	Per capita	$475 (169th)
Gini (2009)		50.1 (high)
HDI (2011)		0.376 (low) (173rd)
Currency		Various Currencies (South African Rand (R), Botswana Pula (P), British Pound (£), the United States Dollar ($) and Euro (€)) (ZWD)
Time zone		Central Africa Time (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	Not observed (UTC+2)
Drives on the		left
Internet TLD		.zw
Calling code		+263
^a  The Zimbabwean Dollar is no longer in active use after it was officially suspended by the government due to hyperinflation. The United States Dollar, South African Rand, Botswana Pula, British Pound Sterling, and Euro are now used instead. The US Dollar has been adopted as the official currency for all government transactions with the new power-sharing regime.

The Republic of Zimbabwe is a country in the southern part of the continent of Africa. Its capital city is Harare. President Robert Mugabe is the leader of the country.

Geography

Zimbabwe is surrounded by other countries, and so it has no coast on the sea. This type of country is called landlocked. The countries that surround Zimbabwe are Zambia, Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique.

Zimbabwe is home to the famous waterfall, Victoria Falls, which are a feature of the river Zambezi and also the Great Zimbabwe, the ancient architectural monument from which the country was named after.

Flora and fauna

The country is mostly savanna. In the east it is moist and mountainous with tropical evergreen and hardwood forests. Trees include teak and mahogany, 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

Zimbabwe was known as Rhodesia when it was a colony of Great Britain, but it took the ancient name of "Zimbabwe" in 1980 when it became an independent country.

Language

The country Zimbabwe has a mixture of languages; shona,ndebele,venda,manyika,nyanja,chagani and a unique-unifiedzimbabwean english.

Economy

Zimbabwe uses the Zimbabwe dollar as its currency. The economy is currently in a bad situation. Foreign currency reserves are at very low levels, and the Zimbabwean Dollar has become very devalued. 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

Provinces

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

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

Football is the most popular sport in Zimbabwe. Rugby union and cricket are also popular. Zimbabwe has won eight Olympic medals.

Zimbabwe has also done well in the Commonwealth Games and All-Africa Games. Kirsty Coventry won 11 gold medals in swimming. Zimbabwe has also been at Wimbledon and the Davis Cup in tennis. Zimbabwe has also done well in golf. Other sports played in Zimbabwe are basketball, volleyball, netball, and water polo, as well as squash, motorsport, martial arts, chess, cycling, polocrosse, kayaking and horse racing. Most of these sports don't have international representatives but instead stay at a junior or national level.

Other pages

• List of rivers of Zimbabwe
• Zimbabwe at the Olympics
• Zimbabwe national football team