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GOVERNMENT
OF ZIMBABWE
- Country Name:
Republic of Zimbabwe
- Government Type:
parliamentary democracy
- Capital:
Harare
- Administrative Divisions:
8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*,
Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland
West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands
- Independence:
18 April 1980 (from UK)
- National Holiday:
Independence Day, 18 April (1980)
- Constitution:
21 December 1979
- Legal System:
Mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law
- Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
- Executive Branch:
Chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since
31 December 1987); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since
31 December 1987) and Joseph MSIKA (since 23 December 1999); note
- the president is both the chief of state and head of government.
Head of government: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE
(since 31 December 1987); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA
(since 31 December 1987) and Joseph MSIKA (since 23 December 1999);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
- Cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the president; responsible to the House of
Assembly
- Elections:
presidential candidates nominated with a nomination paper signed
by at least 10 registered voters (at least one from each province)
and elected by popular vote; election last held 16-17 March 1996
(next to be held NA March 2002); co-vice presidents appointed
by the president
- Legislative Branch:
Unicameral parliament, called House of Assembly (150 seats - 120
elected by popular vote for six-year terms, 12 nominated by the
president, 10 occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers,
and 8 occupied by provincial governors)
- Judicial Branch:
Supreme Court; High Court
- Flag Description:
Seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red,
yellow, and green with a white isosceles triangle edged in black
with its base on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird is superimposed
on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle
ECONOMY OF ZIMBABWE
Economy - Overview
The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic
problems as it struggles to consolidate earlier moves to develop
a market-oriented economy. Its involvement in the war in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, for example, has already drained hundreds
of millions of dollars from the economy. Badly needed support from
the IMF suffers delays in part because of the country's failure
to meet budgetary goals. Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32%
in 1998 to 59% in 1999 and 60% in 2000.
The economy is being steadily weakened by excessive
government deficits and AIDS; Zimbabwe has the highest rate of infection
in the world. Per capita GDP, which is twice the average of the
poorer sub-Saharan nations, will increase little if any in the near-term,
and Zimbabwe will suffer continued frustrations in developing its
agricultural and mineral resources.
- Population below poverty line: 60% (1999 est.)
- Inflation rate (consumer prices): 60% (2000 est.)
- Labor force: 5.5 million (2000 est.)
- Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 66%,
services 24%, industry 10% (1996 est.)
- Unemployment rate: 50% (2000 est.)
- Budget: revenues: $2.5 billion
- Expenditures: $2.9 billion, including capital
expenditures of $279 million (FY96/97 est.)
Industries
Mining (coal, gold, copper, nickel, tin, clay, numerous metallic
and nonmetallic ores), steel, wood products, cement, chemicals,
fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages
- Electricity - production: 5.78 billion kWh (1999)
- Electricity - consumption: 6.939 billion kWh
(1999)
- Agriculture - products: corn, cotton, tobacco,
wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs
- Exports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
- Exports - commodities: tobacco 29%, gold 7%,
ferroalloys 7%, cotton 5% (1999 est.)
- Exports - partners: South Africa 10%, UK 9%,
Malawi 8%, Botswana 8%, Japan 7%, (1999 est.)
- Imports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
- Imports - commodities: machinery and transport
equipment 35%, other manufactures 18%, chemicals 17%, fuels 14%
(1999 est.)
- Imports - partners: South Africa 46%, UK 6%,
China 4%, Germany 4%, US 3% (1999 est.)
- Debt - external: $4.1 billion (2000 est.)
- Economic aid - recipient: $200 million (2000
est.)
- Currency: Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD)
- Currency code: ZWD
- Exchange rates: Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar
- 54.9451 (January 2001), 43.2900 (2000), 38.3142 (1999), 21.4133
(1998), 11.8906 (1997), 9.9206 (1996)
- Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 Jun
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