The Republic of Zimbabwe is a country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west, Zambia to the north and Mozambique to the east. {| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |+Republic of Zimbabwe |- | style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan="2" | {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" | align="center" width="135px" | | align="center" width="135px" height="140px" | |- | align="center" width="135px" | (Flag of Zimbabwe) | align="center" width="135px" | (Coat of Arms of Zimbabwe) |} |- | align=center style="vertical-align: top;" colspan=2 | ''List of state mottos: Unity, Freedom, Work'' |- | align=center colspan=2 style="background: #ffffff;" | |- | Official language || English language |- | Capital || Harare
|- | President of Zimbabwe || Robert Mugabe |- | Area
- Total
- % water || List of countries by area
390,580 km²
1% |- | Population
- Total (2003)
-Population density || List of countries by population
12,576,742
32/km² |- | Independence
- Declared
- Recognised|| Rhodesian Civil War
''(as Rhodesia)'' November 11, 1965
''(as Zimbabwe)'' April 18, 1980 |- | Currency || Zimbabwe dollar (Z$) |- | Time zone || Coordinated Universal Time +2 (Daylight Savings Time) |- | National anthem || ''Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe'' ("Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe") |- | Top-level domain || .zw |- | List of country calling codes || 263 |} == History == ''Main article: History of Zimbabwe'' === Iron Age === Iron Age Bantu-speaking peoples began migrating into the area about 2,000 years ago, including the ancestors of the Shona, who account for roughly four fifths of the country's population today. Ruins at Great Zimbabwe, a Shona-speaking state, attest the existence of a medieval Bantu civilization in the region. Linked to the establishment of trade ties with Muslim merchants on the Indian Ocean coast around the early 10th century, Great Zimbabwe began to develop in the 11th century. The state traded gold, ivory, and copper for cloth and glass. It ceased to be the leading Shona state in the mid-15th century. As of 1837 the Shona were frequently raided by the Ndebele, led by king Mzilikazi who was fleeing Shaka and his Zulu during the Mfecane, and forced them to pay tribute. Later in the 19th century British and Boer traders, hunters, and missionaries started encroaching on the area. === Colonial Era === In 1888 British imperialist Cecil Rhodes extracted mining rights from king Lobengula of the Ndebele. In 1889 Rhodes obtained a charter for the British South Africa Company, which conquered the Ndebele and their territory (named "Rhodesia" in 1895 after Cecil Rhodes) and promoted the colonization of the region and its land, labor, and precious metal and mineral resources. Both the Ndebele and the Shona staged unsuccessful revolts against white colonialist encroachment on their native lands in 1896-1897. Southern Rhodesia was adminstered by Rhodes' BSAC before becoming a self-governing British colony in 1922. In 1953 the two parts of Rhodesia were combined with Nyasaland, (now called Malawi) to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After its dissolution in 1963, the white minority government in Southern Rhodesia (known simply Rhodesia from 1964) demanded independence, but the British government had adoped a policy of NIBMAR - No Independence Before Majority African Rule. In response, Ian Smith's government made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia) on November 11, 1965. The United Kingdom called the declaration an act of rebellion but did not reestablish control by force. When negotiations in 1966 and 1968 proved fruitless, the UK requested United Nations economic sanctions against Rhodesia. In an attempt to distance the country from its colonial master, Smith declared Rhodesia a republic in 1970, but this did not result in international recognition. === Civil War === As guerrilla activities fighting minority rule intensified, the Smith regime opened negotiations with the leaders of the ZANU (ZANU), led by Robert Mugabe after the assassination of Herbert Chitepo in Zambia in 1975, and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), led by Joshua Nkomo. With his regime near the brink of collapse, Smith in March 1978 signed a desperate accord with three black leaders who offered safeguards for whites headed by Bishop Abel Muzorewa. Muzorewa, who not only had the support of Smith but with the white-minority regime in South Africa as well, lacked credibility among significant sectors of the African population. The Muzorewa government soon faltered. In 1979 the British Government asked all parties to come to Lancaster House Agreement in an attempt to negotiate a settlement in the civil war. === Independence === Following the conference, held in London (1979-1980), Britain's Lord Soames was appointed governor to oversee the disarming of revolutionary guerrillas, the holding of elections, and the granting of independence to an uneasy coalition government with Joshua Nkomo, head of Zimbabwe African People's Union. In the free elections of February 1980, Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) won a landslide victory. Mugabe has won reelection ever since. In 1982 Nkomo was ousted from his cabinet, sparking fighting (known as the Gukurahundi) between ZAPU supporters in the southern Ndebele-speaking region of the country and the ruling ZANU. The fighting was marked by a genocide of the Ndebele people by ZANU's infamous Zimbabwean Fifth Brigade, headed by Colonel Perence Shiri. Ultimately, Nkomo had no choice but to sign a peace accord in 1987, resulting in ZAPU's merger (1988) into the ZANU Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). The drought in southern Africa, perhaps the worst of the century, affected Zimbabwe so severely that a national disaster was declared in 1992. The drought compounded the country's debt crisis, and the ensuing IMF-backed economic adjustment and austerity program caused further widespread hardship. Despite majority rule, whites made up less than 1% of the population but held 70% of the country's commercially viable arable land, of which 80% had been purchased legally since independence in 1980. However whites held no political power. Land redistribution from whites reemerged as the political issue beginning in 1999. In the aftermath of Robert Mugabe's handling of the land crisis, which moved to redistribute land to blacks, Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations on charges of human rights abuses and of election tampering in 2002. Later, Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth. The seizure of the white-owned commercial farms led to starvation on a wide scale. The UN has recently estimated that 34% of the population has HIV/AIDS, probably the highest in the world, compared to about 0.65% average in the world. Following elections in 2005, the Government initiated 2005 Zimbabwe Home Clearances in a supposed effort to crackdown on illegal markets and homes. This action has been widely condemned by opposition and international figures. == Politics == ''Main article: Politics of Zimbabwe'' Zimbabwe is a republic, with an executive president and a unicameral parliament, known as the House of Assembly. Robert Mugabe, elected Prime Minister in 1980, revised the constitution in 1987 to make himself President, and in 1990 to abolish the Senate. Mugabe and his party have won every election since coming to power. Presidential elections were last held in 2002 amid allegations of vote-rigging, intimidation, and fraud. The next Presidential elections are to be held 2008. The major opposition Party is the Movement for Democratic Change. The Zimbabwe parliamentary elections, 2005 were held on March 31. Evidence of widespread rigging is surfacing already and the Archbishop Pius Ncube has called for a peaceful, Orange revolution-like uprising. ==Education== Zimbabwe had a literacy rate of 90% in 2000, the highest in Africa. Zimbabwe had a Adult literacy rate (Percentage of persons aged 15 and over who can read and write), male of 93% (2000). Comparison with other Southern African Development Community countries in 2004 is as follows: Zimbabwe, 90%, South Africa, 86%, Zambia, 79.9%, Swaziland, 80.9%, Namibia, 83.3%, Lesotho, 81.4%, Botswana, 78.9%, Tanzania, 77.1%, Malawi, 61.8%, Mozambique, 46.5%. This is due to the support of various partners. Despite the suspension of lending, the technical relationship with the World Bank remains strong in social protection, resulting in its assistance in a major redesign of the Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare (MPSLSW), (together with the National Aids Council) targeted school-fee waiver program, the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), which relies on geographic and community-based structures to identify the most needy students. [http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zimbabwe_statistics.html] [http://www.cso.gov.bw/html/liter_survey.htm] [http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000887/P1006-Zimbabwe_CAE_May2004.pdf] == Provinces == ''Main article: Provinces of Zimbabwe'' Zimbabwe is divided into 8 provinces and 2 cities with provincial status: Bulawayo (city), Harare (city), Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo Province, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, and Midlands, Zimbabwe. == Geography == ''Main article: Geography of Zimbabwe'' Zimbabwe is a land-locked country, surrounded by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. The northwestern border is defined by the Zambezi River. Victoria Falls, the world's largest waterfall, is a popular tourist destination on the Zambezi. == Economy == ''Main article: Economy of Zimbabwe'' The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles to consolidate earlier progress in developing a market-oriented economy. Its involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, 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 to 600% in 2003. The economy is being steadily weakened by AIDS; Zimbabwe has the highest rate of infection in the world which is a major problem for the country. The destruction of much of Zimbabwe's agricultural base through the seizing of mainly white-owned farms throughout 1999 and 2000 has ruined the Zimbabwean economy. Many of the dispossessed Zimbabwean farmers moved to neighbouring southern African countries. The political situation makes it unlikely that the West will be inclined to do much more than provide humanitarian assistance. The lack of foreign currency, as well as the difference between the official exchange rate (officially 9,000 to the US$, while 25,000 to the dollar is available on the black market) have resulted in fuel, electric power and water shortages and a lack of other basic supplies. In 2003 Libya supplied fuel, partially in exchange for land, but Zimbabwe could not meet the basic payments, and supplies have since stopped. In 2004 a system of auctioning scarce foreign currency for importers was introduced, bringing more rationality to exchange rates. == Demographics == ''Main article: Demographics of Zimbabwe'' == Culture == ''Main article: Culture of Zimbabwe'' Zimbabwe celebrates its national holiday on April 18. *Music of Zimbabwe *List of African writers (by country)#Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) == Miscellaneous topics == *Communications in Zimbabwe Fixed land lines are operated by Tel-One, a government parastatal. There are 3 Mobile network (cell phone) providers: Net*One, Econet and Telecel *Transportation in Zimbabwe *Military of Zimbabwe *List of cities in Zimbabwe 4 Cities in Zimbabwe Harare (Capital City) Bulawayo - second largest City Masvingo & Mutare *Place names in Zimbabwe *Land reform in Zimbabwe *Foreign relations of Zimbabwe *Reporters without borders World-wide press freedom index 2002: Rank 122 out of 139 countries == External links == ===Government=== *[http://www.gta.gov.zw/ Zimbabwe Government Online] official government site and [http://www.zim.gov.zw/ mirror site] *[http://www.parlzim.gov.zw/ Parliament of Zimbabwe] official government site ===News=== * [http://allafrica.com/zimbabwe/ AllAfrica.com - ''Zimbabwe''] news headline links * [http://www.africaonline.co.zw/mirror/ The Sunday Mirror] weekly newspaper * [http://www.theindependent.co.zw/ Zimbabwe Independent] weekly newspaper * [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/77/ IFEX - Zimbabwe] press freedom violations ===Overviews=== *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1064589.stm BBC News - ''Country Profile: Zimbabwe''] * [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/zi.html CIA World Factbook - ''Zimbabwe''] *[http://www.guardian.co.uk/zimbabwe/0,2759,181131,00.html Guardian Unlimited - ''Special Report: Zimbabwe''] ===Directories=== * [http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317836/us317916/us559898/us559899/us10065675/us559966/ LookSmart - ''Zimbabwe''] directory category * [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Africa/Zimbabwe/ Open Directory Project - ''Zimbabwe''] directory category *[http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/zim.html Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara: ''Zimbabwe''] directory category *[http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Country_Specific/Zimbabwe.html University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center: ''Zimbabwe''] directory category * [http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Zimbabwe/ Yahoo! - ''Zimbabwe''] directory category ===Tourism=== * ===Other=== * [http://www.amnesty.ca/zimbabwe/ Amnesty International (Zimbabwe)] * [http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=6390&var_recherche=Zimbabwe RSF report on Zimbabwe from 2003] * [http://www.hrforumzim.com/ Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum] * [http://www.zimbabwe.8m.com/ ZIMBABWE Information and Links] * [http://www.itsbho.com itsbho.com - Leading Zimbabwean entertainment website] * [http://www.writers.co.zw Writers of Zimbabwe - a website for Zimbabwean Writers] Zimbabwe African Union member states bn:জিম্বাবুয়ে gd:Zimbabwe ks:जिम्बाबवे lv:Zimbabve ms:Zimbabwe zh-min-nan:Zimbabwe nds:Simbabwe simple:Zimbabwe
''An event in this article is a MediaWiki:April 18 selected anniversaries'' (may be in HTML comment) ----- Please rewrite this in a more neutral tone! This article is worthless as it is. ---- Zimbabwe is a very troubled country, and sometimes the truth is hard to take. ---- I agree - I live in South Africa and keep a close eye on the situation. And worthless is probably too strong a word. But the convention here is a neutral point of view. Neutrally recording the facts in Zimbabwe will not minimise the effect of the article. Nor will recording some of the positives from the early days (for example mentioning literacy did increase dramatically at first). For someone not involved in Zimbabwe, the article is not that useful. For example, the statement: "Many observers believe the country is now on the verge of genocide, particularly as the ruling Zanu-PF elite continues with its controversial Land Reform policies." is not clear. There is no logical connection between the two points. Perhaps explain that food aid is being witheld from MDC supporting areas, that the land reform is supposedly being aimed at landless blacks but in practice it's a free for all for ruling party supporters. Also statements such as "By starving people to death you avoid the gory images that came pouring out of Rwanda." may be true, but do they contribute anything to a readers understanding of the situation? It's an interpretation, and rather let the facts allow the reader to make that interpretation than force it down their throats. It's an important story, ignored by most of the world, and a good article can help, but it needs to be done in a more neutral way, that which you'd expect to find in an Enclycopedia. ---- Sentence Did read: '''The destruction of much of Zimbabwe's agricultural base through the seizing of mainly white-owned farms throughout 1999 and 2000 has decimated the Zimbabwean economy''' replaced decimated with ruined. I do wish people would use Decimate correctly! User:Dainamo == Zim Links == Tempted to remove http://www.zimbabwe.8m.com/ on grounds that it is a very poor and neglected links site, not worthy of inclusion here. Would anyone oppose this action? --User:Mount Pleasant 14:07, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC) ==Is this NPOV?== I am no expert, but this article seems much to soft on the current government. Does NPOV mean toothless? User:PaulinSaudi_14:38,_2_Jun_2005_(UTC)">User:PaulinSaudi 14:38, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC) == Shona/Bantu confusion? == The History/Iron Age subsection of the article starts with "''Iron Age Bantu-speaking peoples began migrating into the area about 2,000 years ago, including the ancestors of the Shona"''. Unfortunately Bantu seems to be an ethnic group (rather than language) and Shona appears to be a language. I'm only going by the linked articles, so someone who knows their stuff should sort this out. User:JamesHoadley 12:52, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)
African countries Southern Africa Members of the Commonwealth of Nations
Do not [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sun&diff=prev&oldid=11596093 add] false imformation to the Sun article. This is regarded as Wikipedia:Vandalism and could result in you being banned from editing Wikipedia. User:Evil Monkey∴User talk:Evil Monkey 04:12, Mar 28, 2005 (UTC)
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Zimbabwe
The Republic of Zimbabwe is a country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west, Zambia to the north and Mozambique to the east. {| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |+Republic of Zimbabwe |- | style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan="2" | {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" | align="center" width="135px" | | align="center" width="135px" height="140px" | |- | align="center" width="135px" | (Flag of Zimbabwe) | align="center" width="135px" | (Coat of Arms of Zimbabwe) |} |- | align=center style="vertical-align: top;" colspan=2 | ''List of state mottos: Unity, Freedom, Work'' |- | align=center colspan=2 style="background: #ffffff;" | |- | Official language || English language |- | Capital || Harare
|- | President of Zimbabwe || Robert Mugabe |- | Area
- Total
- % water || List of countries by area
390,580 km²
1% |- | Population
- Total (2003)
-Population density || List of countries by population
12,576,742
32/km² |- | Independence
- Declared
- Recognised|| Rhodesian Civil War
''(as Rhodesia)'' November 11, 1965
''(as Zimbabwe)'' April 18, 1980 |- | Currency || Zimbabwe dollar (Z$) |- | Time zone || Coordinated Universal Time +2 (Daylight Savings Time) |- | National anthem || ''Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe'' ("Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe") |- | Top-level domain || .zw |- | List of country calling codes || 263 |} == History == ''Main article: History of Zimbabwe'' === Iron Age === Iron Age Bantu-speaking peoples began migrating into the area about 2,000 years ago, including the ancestors of the Shona, who account for roughly four fifths of the country's population today. Ruins at Great Zimbabwe, a Shona-speaking state, attest the existence of a medieval Bantu civilization in the region. Linked to the establishment of trade ties with Muslim merchants on the Indian Ocean coast around the early 10th century, Great Zimbabwe began to develop in the 11th century. The state traded gold, ivory, and copper for cloth and glass. It ceased to be the leading Shona state in the mid-15th century. As of 1837 the Shona were frequently raided by the Ndebele, led by king Mzilikazi who was fleeing Shaka and his Zulu during the Mfecane, and forced them to pay tribute. Later in the 19th century British and Boer traders, hunters, and missionaries started encroaching on the area. === Colonial Era === In 1888 British imperialist Cecil Rhodes extracted mining rights from king Lobengula of the Ndebele. In 1889 Rhodes obtained a charter for the British South Africa Company, which conquered the Ndebele and their territory (named "Rhodesia" in 1895 after Cecil Rhodes) and promoted the colonization of the region and its land, labor, and precious metal and mineral resources. Both the Ndebele and the Shona staged unsuccessful revolts against white colonialist encroachment on their native lands in 1896-1897. Southern Rhodesia was adminstered by Rhodes' BSAC before becoming a self-governing British colony in 1922. In 1953 the two parts of Rhodesia were combined with Nyasaland, (now called Malawi) to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After its dissolution in 1963, the white minority government in Southern Rhodesia (known simply Rhodesia from 1964) demanded independence, but the British government had adoped a policy of NIBMAR - No Independence Before Majority African Rule. In response, Ian Smith's government made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia) on November 11, 1965. The United Kingdom called the declaration an act of rebellion but did not reestablish control by force. When negotiations in 1966 and 1968 proved fruitless, the UK requested United Nations economic sanctions against Rhodesia. In an attempt to distance the country from its colonial master, Smith declared Rhodesia a republic in 1970, but this did not result in international recognition. === Civil War === As guerrilla activities fighting minority rule intensified, the Smith regime opened negotiations with the leaders of the ZANU (ZANU), led by Robert Mugabe after the assassination of Herbert Chitepo in Zambia in 1975, and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), led by Joshua Nkomo. With his regime near the brink of collapse, Smith in March 1978 signed a desperate accord with three black leaders who offered safeguards for whites headed by Bishop Abel Muzorewa. Muzorewa, who not only had the support of Smith but with the white-minority regime in South Africa as well, lacked credibility among significant sectors of the African population. The Muzorewa government soon faltered. In 1979 the British Government asked all parties to come to Lancaster House Agreement in an attempt to negotiate a settlement in the civil war. === Independence === Following the conference, held in London (1979-1980), Britain's Lord Soames was appointed governor to oversee the disarming of revolutionary guerrillas, the holding of elections, and the granting of independence to an uneasy coalition government with Joshua Nkomo, head of Zimbabwe African People's Union. In the free elections of February 1980, Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) won a landslide victory. Mugabe has won reelection ever since. In 1982 Nkomo was ousted from his cabinet, sparking fighting (known as the Gukurahundi) between ZAPU supporters in the southern Ndebele-speaking region of the country and the ruling ZANU. The fighting was marked by a genocide of the Ndebele people by ZANU's infamous Zimbabwean Fifth Brigade, headed by Colonel Perence Shiri. Ultimately, Nkomo had no choice but to sign a peace accord in 1987, resulting in ZAPU's merger (1988) into the ZANU Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). The drought in southern Africa, perhaps the worst of the century, affected Zimbabwe so severely that a national disaster was declared in 1992. The drought compounded the country's debt crisis, and the ensuing IMF-backed economic adjustment and austerity program caused further widespread hardship. Despite majority rule, whites made up less than 1% of the population but held 70% of the country's commercially viable arable land, of which 80% had been purchased legally since independence in 1980. However whites held no political power. Land redistribution from whites reemerged as the political issue beginning in 1999. In the aftermath of Robert Mugabe's handling of the land crisis, which moved to redistribute land to blacks, Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations on charges of human rights abuses and of election tampering in 2002. Later, Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth. The seizure of the white-owned commercial farms led to starvation on a wide scale. The UN has recently estimated that 34% of the population has HIV/AIDS, probably the highest in the world, compared to about 0.65% average in the world. Following elections in 2005, the Government initiated 2005 Zimbabwe Home Clearances in a supposed effort to crackdown on illegal markets and homes. This action has been widely condemned by opposition and international figures. == Politics == ''Main article: Politics of Zimbabwe'' Zimbabwe is a republic, with an executive president and a unicameral parliament, known as the House of Assembly. Robert Mugabe, elected Prime Minister in 1980, revised the constitution in 1987 to make himself President, and in 1990 to abolish the Senate. Mugabe and his party have won every election since coming to power. Presidential elections were last held in 2002 amid allegations of vote-rigging, intimidation, and fraud. The next Presidential elections are to be held 2008. The major opposition Party is the Movement for Democratic Change. The Zimbabwe parliamentary elections, 2005 were held on March 31. Evidence of widespread rigging is surfacing already and the Archbishop Pius Ncube has called for a peaceful, Orange revolution-like uprising. ==Education== Zimbabwe had a literacy rate of 90% in 2000, the highest in Africa. Zimbabwe had a Adult literacy rate (Percentage of persons aged 15 and over who can read and write), male of 93% (2000). Comparison with other Southern African Development Community countries in 2004 is as follows: Zimbabwe, 90%, South Africa, 86%, Zambia, 79.9%, Swaziland, 80.9%, Namibia, 83.3%, Lesotho, 81.4%, Botswana, 78.9%, Tanzania, 77.1%, Malawi, 61.8%, Mozambique, 46.5%. This is due to the support of various partners. Despite the suspension of lending, the technical relationship with the World Bank remains strong in social protection, resulting in its assistance in a major redesign of the Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare (MPSLSW), (together with the National Aids Council) targeted school-fee waiver program, the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), which relies on geographic and community-based structures to identify the most needy students. [http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zimbabwe_statistics.html] [http://www.cso.gov.bw/html/liter_survey.htm] [http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000887/P1006-Zimbabwe_CAE_May2004.pdf] == Provinces == ''Main article: Provinces of Zimbabwe'' Zimbabwe is divided into 8 provinces and 2 cities with provincial status: Bulawayo (city), Harare (city), Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo Province, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, and Midlands, Zimbabwe. == Geography == ''Main article: Geography of Zimbabwe'' Zimbabwe is a land-locked country, surrounded by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. The northwestern border is defined by the Zambezi River. Victoria Falls, the world's largest waterfall, is a popular tourist destination on the Zambezi. == Economy == ''Main article: Economy of Zimbabwe'' The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles to consolidate earlier progress in developing a market-oriented economy. Its involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, 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 to 600% in 2003. The economy is being steadily weakened by AIDS; Zimbabwe has the highest rate of infection in the world which is a major problem for the country. The destruction of much of Zimbabwe's agricultural base through the seizing of mainly white-owned farms throughout 1999 and 2000 has ruined the Zimbabwean economy. Many of the dispossessed Zimbabwean farmers moved to neighbouring southern African countries. The political situation makes it unlikely that the West will be inclined to do much more than provide humanitarian assistance. The lack of foreign currency, as well as the difference between the official exchange rate (officially 9,000 to the US$, while 25,000 to the dollar is available on the black market) have resulted in fuel, electric power and water shortages and a lack of other basic supplies. In 2003 Libya supplied fuel, partially in exchange for land, but Zimbabwe could not meet the basic payments, and supplies have since stopped. In 2004 a system of auctioning scarce foreign currency for importers was introduced, bringing more rationality to exchange rates. == Demographics == ''Main article: Demographics of Zimbabwe'' == Culture == ''Main article: Culture of Zimbabwe'' Zimbabwe celebrates its national holiday on April 18. *Music of Zimbabwe *List of African writers (by country)#Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) == Miscellaneous topics == *Communications in Zimbabwe Fixed land lines are operated by Tel-One, a government parastatal. There are 3 Mobile network (cell phone) providers: Net*One, Econet and Telecel *Transportation in Zimbabwe *Military of Zimbabwe *List of cities in Zimbabwe 4 Cities in Zimbabwe Harare (Capital City) Bulawayo - second largest City Masvingo & Mutare *Place names in Zimbabwe *Land reform in Zimbabwe *Foreign relations of Zimbabwe *Reporters without borders World-wide press freedom index 2002: Rank 122 out of 139 countries == External links == ===Government=== *[http://www.gta.gov.zw/ Zimbabwe Government Online] official government site and [http://www.zim.gov.zw/ mirror site] *[http://www.parlzim.gov.zw/ Parliament of Zimbabwe] official government site ===News=== * [http://allafrica.com/zimbabwe/ AllAfrica.com - ''Zimbabwe''] news headline links * [http://www.africaonline.co.zw/mirror/ The Sunday Mirror] weekly newspaper * [http://www.theindependent.co.zw/ Zimbabwe Independent] weekly newspaper * [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/77/ IFEX - Zimbabwe] press freedom violations ===Overviews=== *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1064589.stm BBC News - ''Country Profile: Zimbabwe''] * [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/zi.html CIA World Factbook - ''Zimbabwe''] *[http://www.guardian.co.uk/zimbabwe/0,2759,181131,00.html Guardian Unlimited - ''Special Report: Zimbabwe''] ===Directories=== * [http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317836/us317916/us559898/us559899/us10065675/us559966/ LookSmart - ''Zimbabwe''] directory category * [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Africa/Zimbabwe/ Open Directory Project - ''Zimbabwe''] directory category *[http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/zim.html Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara: ''Zimbabwe''] directory category *[http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Country_Specific/Zimbabwe.html University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center: ''Zimbabwe''] directory category * [http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Zimbabwe/ Yahoo! - ''Zimbabwe''] directory category ===Tourism=== * ===Other=== * [http://www.amnesty.ca/zimbabwe/ Amnesty International (Zimbabwe)] * [http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=6390&var_recherche=Zimbabwe RSF report on Zimbabwe from 2003] * [http://www.hrforumzim.com/ Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum] * [http://www.zimbabwe.8m.com/ ZIMBABWE Information and Links] * [http://www.itsbho.com itsbho.com - Leading Zimbabwean entertainment website] * [http://www.writers.co.zw Writers of Zimbabwe - a website for Zimbabwean Writers] Zimbabwe African Union member states bn:জিম্বাবুয়ে gd:Zimbabwe ks:जिम्बाबवे lv:Zimbabve ms:Zimbabwe zh-min-nan:Zimbabwe nds:Simbabwe simple:Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
''An event in this article is a MediaWiki:April 18 selected anniversaries'' (may be in HTML comment) ----- Please rewrite this in a more neutral tone! This article is worthless as it is. ---- Zimbabwe is a very troubled country, and sometimes the truth is hard to take. ---- I agree - I live in South Africa and keep a close eye on the situation. And worthless is probably too strong a word. But the convention here is a neutral point of view. Neutrally recording the facts in Zimbabwe will not minimise the effect of the article. Nor will recording some of the positives from the early days (for example mentioning literacy did increase dramatically at first). For someone not involved in Zimbabwe, the article is not that useful. For example, the statement: "Many observers believe the country is now on the verge of genocide, particularly as the ruling Zanu-PF elite continues with its controversial Land Reform policies." is not clear. There is no logical connection between the two points. Perhaps explain that food aid is being witheld from MDC supporting areas, that the land reform is supposedly being aimed at landless blacks but in practice it's a free for all for ruling party supporters. Also statements such as "By starving people to death you avoid the gory images that came pouring out of Rwanda." may be true, but do they contribute anything to a readers understanding of the situation? It's an interpretation, and rather let the facts allow the reader to make that interpretation than force it down their throats. It's an important story, ignored by most of the world, and a good article can help, but it needs to be done in a more neutral way, that which you'd expect to find in an Enclycopedia. ---- Sentence Did read: '''The destruction of much of Zimbabwe's agricultural base through the seizing of mainly white-owned farms throughout 1999 and 2000 has decimated the Zimbabwean economy''' replaced decimated with ruined. I do wish people would use Decimate correctly! User:Dainamo == Zim Links == Tempted to remove http://www.zimbabwe.8m.com/ on grounds that it is a very poor and neglected links site, not worthy of inclusion here. Would anyone oppose this action? --User:Mount Pleasant 14:07, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC) ==Is this NPOV?== I am no expert, but this article seems much to soft on the current government. Does NPOV mean toothless? User:PaulinSaudi_14:38,_2_Jun_2005_(UTC)">User:PaulinSaudi 14:38, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC) == Shona/Bantu confusion? == The History/Iron Age subsection of the article starts with "''Iron Age Bantu-speaking peoples began migrating into the area about 2,000 years ago, including the ancestors of the Shona"''. Unfortunately Bantu seems to be an ethnic group (rather than language) and Shona appears to be a language. I'm only going by the linked articles, so someone who knows their stuff should sort this out. User:JamesHoadley 12:52, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Zimbabwe
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Do not [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sun&diff=prev&oldid=11596093 add] false imformation to the Sun article. This is regarded as Wikipedia:Vandalism and could result in you being banned from editing Wikipedia. User:Evil Monkey∴User talk:Evil Monkey 04:12, Mar 28, 2005 (UTC)
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