Zimbabwe Overview

The land locked country Zimbabwe is home to the Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world, the stone enclosures of Great Zimbabwe - remnants of a past empire - and to herds of elephant and other game roaming vast stretches of wilderness.

• Official name: Republic of Zimbabwe
• Constitution: December 21, 1979
• Independence: from the United Kingdom - Rhodesia November 11, 1965 - Zimbabwe April 18, 1980
• Area: 390,757 sq km (150,872 sq mi)Population: 12,311,143 ((2007 est.) growth rate: 0.6%; birth rate: 27.7/1000; density per sq mi: 82

The south central African country, Zimbabwe lies almost entirely over 1,000 feet (300 metres) above sea level. It is bordered by South Africa on the south, Zambia on the north, Mozambique on the east, and Botswana on the west.

The Zimbabwe opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) began the year 2006 racked by internal divisions. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai lost considerable support owing to his opposition to constitutional change in 2005 and to what his critics described as his dictatorial behaviour.

Amazingly, the Ndebele and Shona natives weren't overly delighted about the colonists coming in and telling them what was what, even though the Brits were ever so reasonable about everything and had jolly nice safari suits.

Great Zimbabwe and the settlement, generally regarded as the nascent Shona society, became the trading capital of the wealthiest and most powerful society in southeastern Africa. The hilltop acropolis at Great Zimbabwe came to serve not only as a fortress but as a shrine for the worship of Mwari, the pre-eminent Shona deity as early as in the 11th century.

The remains of early humans, dating back 500,000 years, have been discovered in present-day Zimbabwe. The first inhabitants of Zimbabwe were probably nomadic, adaptable San groups, gradually absorbed by Khoi-Khoi grazier tribes, and slowly transmuting into a culture known as Khoisan.

Ethnic groups: Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other African 11%, white 1%, mixed and Asian 1%.

The economy of Zimbabwe is in crisis, with rampant inflation, de-industrialisation and shortages of food and fuel.

Agricultural production is shrinking. For years it was a major tobacco producer and a potential bread basket for surrounding countries.

Traditional arts in Zimbabwe include pottery, basketry, textiles, jewellery, and carving. Among the distinctive qualities are symmetrically patterned woven baskets and stools carved out of a single piece of wood. Shona sculpture has become world famous in recent years having first emerged in the 1940s.

The form of the Government is Presidential. According to Zimbabwe's constitution, the president is head of state and head of government, and is elected for a 6-year term by popular majority vote. Parliament is bicameral and sits for up to a 5-year term.

Zimbabwe is divided into eight provinces and two cities with provincial status. These are territorial divisions for the purposes of administrative, political and geographical demarcation.

The provinces are subdivided into 59 districts and 1,200 municipalities.

Since independence, Zimbabwe has enunciated and follows a policy of "active nonalignment." In practice, this has meant that Zimbabwe usually adhered to positions established by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM); the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union; or, until it withdrew in 2003, the Commonwealth.

All broadcasters transmitting from Zimbabwean soil, as well as the main newspapers, are state-run and toe the government line.

Newspapers operate under restrictive media laws. The press is dominated by two pro-government dailies, the Harare-based Herald and the Bulawayo-based Chronicle, both tightly controlled by the Information Ministry.