Zimbabwe

Geography

Area 390,780 sq.km.  Zimbabwe is a landlocked country, stretching 835 km from north to south and has a maximum width of 725 km.  The country is divided by the central highveld plateau (above 1200m), which is covered by massive granite outcrops called kopjes.  To the north and the south, the plateau falls away to the middleveld plateaus (above 900m) down to the lowveld areas.  A narrow strip 600m below the lowveld forms the Zambezi valley.  The capital city is Harare home of Parliament, the Judiciary and the nation’s President.  Harare has a population size of 2.3 million and some of the other major cities are Bulawayo, Gweru and Mutare.  The population of people living in cities is 27%.

Peoples

Population of Zimbabwe is approximately 11.7 million.  There are over 42 people groups, but the two main indigenous tribes: Shona (70.5%), Ndebele (14%). 

Language

The official language is English, with Shona widely spoken and Ndebele mainly spoken in the west.  The total number of languages spoken in Zimbabwe is 19.  Literacy rates remain high at 80% of the population but they are falling gradually with sliding government education standards.  Biblical translations have been completed in 11 languages, 2 New Testaments, 3 in selected portions and 4 in progress.

Religion

There is religious freedom.  The main religions are Christianity (71.7%), Traditional Ethnic religions (26%) and other 2.3% of the population.  The churches with the largest membership are the Assemblies of God, Catholic and Seventh-day Adventist.

History

The Bantu-speaking migrants settled at Great Zimbabwe in the 11th century.  By the 15th century the influence of Great Zimbabwe began to decline.  This was soon taken over by the powerful Mutapa empire in most of the northern and eastern Zimbabwe and much of Mozambique.  The Torwa Kingdom emerged in 1480 in south-western Zimbabwe.  This dynasty was conquered by the Changamire, whose power continued until 1834 when Nguni forces stormed the Shona fortifications and assassinated their leader.  In 1968 gold was discovered by European explorers and in 1888 Cecil John Rhodes colonised Zimbabwe and began mining activities.  The British colony become Rhodesia in 1895.  African resistance to white rule resulted in the formation of ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union).  In 1964 Ian Smith took over leadership and began pushing for independence from Britain.  ZANU guerrillas attacked Rhodesian forces leading to civil war, with the Lancaster House meeting in London launching independence talks in 1979.  Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980.  Rivalry between the Shona and Ndebele tribes was fuelled in 1982 by then Prime Minister Mugabe who ordered the massacre of tens of thousands of Ndebele by the N. Korean trained Fifth Brigade. Tensions remain between these tribal groups. No major violence has ever been repeated by either side to legitimize this disdain.

Economy

Zimbabwe was one of Africa’s most successful economies in the 1980’s, utilizing its fertile agricultural land and rich in minerals.  The economy since the 1990’s has been severely affected by the corruption and misrule by the ruling political party.  The decline was accelerated by periodic droughts, the impact of AIDS and the seizure of many white-owned farms that began in 2000.  The unemployment rate has since risen to 78%. 

Currency

The Zimbabwean currency is the Dollar, ZW$.

Climate

The rainy summer season falls from November to mid-March, has many thunderstorms and experiences hot temperatures of up to 320C.  The dry winter season in mid-May to mid-August has virtually no rainfall and temperatures between 60C and 200C.