1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
391,090 km2; 40% arable (of which 6% cultivated); 60% available for extensive cattle grazing; 39% owned by Europeans (farmed by modern methods); 48% worked communally by Africans; 7% national land, 6% not alienated
Land boundaries
3,017 km
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
about 97% African (over 70% of which are members of Shona-speaking subtribes, 20 to 25% speak Ndebele); about 3% European, less than 0.5% coloreds (people of mixed heritage) and Asians
Labor force
(1981) 1,048,000 total; 35% agriculture, 25% mining, manufacturing, construction, 40% transport and services
Language
English official; Shona and Ndebele also widely used
Literacy
25-30% of blacks; nearly 100% of whites
Nationality
noun—Zimbabwean(s); adjective—Zimbabwean
Organized labor
about one-third of European wage earners are unionized, but only a small minority of Africans
Population
8,090,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.5%
Religion
51% syncretic (part Christian, part animist), 24% Christian, 24% animist, a few Muslim
Government
Branches
legislative authority resides in a Parliament consisting of a 100-member House of Assembly (with 20 seats reserved for whites) and a 40-member Senate (10 elected by white members of the House, 14 elected by the other members of the House; 10 chiefs, 5 from Mashonaland and 5 from Matabeleland, elected by members of the Council of Chiefs; 6 appointed by the President, on the advice of the Prime Minister); executive authority lies with a Cabinet led by the Prime Minister; the High Court is the superior judicial authority
Capital
Salisbury
Communists
negligible
Elections
at discretion of Prime Minister but must be held before expiration of five-year electoral mandate Political parties and leaders: Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), Robert Mugabe; Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), Joshua Nkomo; Republican Front (RF), Ian. Smith; United African National Council (UANC), Bishop Abel Muzorewa; others failed to win any seats in Parliament Voting strength (February 1980 elections): ZANU (also known as ZANU-PF), 57 seats; ZAPU (also known as the Patriotic Front), 20 seats; RF, 20 seats; UANC, 3 seats
Government leaders
President Canaan BANANA; Prime Minister Robert MUGABE
Legal system
British common law tradition
Member of
IAEA, IBRD, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, UN, UPU, WHO
Official name
Republic of Zimbabwe
Political subdivisions
eight provinces
Suffrage
universal over age 18
Type
independent since 18 April 1980; a British-style parliamentary democracy
Economy
Agriculture
main crops—tobacco, corn, sugar, cotton; livestock; self-sufficient in foodstuffs
Aid
economic commitments—Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF (1970-79), $77 million
Budget
FY80—revenues $1,422 million, expenditures $2,200 million, deficit $778 million
Electric power
1,453,000 kW capacity (1980); 7.5 billion kWh produced (1980), 1,110 kWh per capita
Exports
$1,445 million (f.o.b., 1980), including net gold sales and reexports; tobacco, asbestos, copper, tin, chrome, gold, nickel, meat, clothing, sugar
Fiscal year
1 July-30 June
GDP
$4.75 billion (1980), $630 per capita; real growth 8%
Imports
$1,287 billion (1980); machinery, petroleum products, wheat, transport equipment
Major industries
mining, steel, textiles, chemicals, and vehicles
Major trade partner
South Africa
Monetary conversion rate
1 Rhodesian dollar=US$1.59 (1980)
Net merchandise trade earnings
$160 million (1980)
Communications
Airfields
447 total, 431 usable; 19 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m, 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 31 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
19 major transport aircraft, including 3 leased in
Highways
85,237 km total; 12,243 km paved, 28,090 km crushed stone, gravel, stabilized soil: 23,097 km improved earth; 21,807 km unimproved earth
Pipelines
8 km refined products (nonoperating)
Railroads
2,743 km narrow gauge (1.067 m); 42 km double track
Telecommunications
system is one of the best in Africa; consists of radio-relay links, open-wire lines, and radiocommunication stations; principal center Salisbury, secondary center Bulawayo; 214,400 telephones (2.8 per 100 popl.); 8 AM, 15 FM, and 6 TV stations
Military and Security
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 30 June 1982, $464.8 million; 17.2% of central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 1,708,000; 1,048,000 fit for military service