Yearbook 2004
Zimbabwe. The inflation rate slowed during the year from over 600% to below 200%, but for ordinary people it was as difficult as before to keep up. Some price reductions on basic goods were hardly noticeable; on the contrary, the price of bread was increased by 50% due to lack of flour. About 140,000 civil servants received a 300% salary premium, but had demanded 600% and still had difficulty with their livelihood. See watchtutorials.org for Zimbabwe economy.
In March, Zimbabwe started paying off its debt of about US $ 295 million to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order not to lose its loan right, but was told that the country was still risking closure.
The total population in Zimbabwe is 14,862,935 people in 2020. The harvest of tobacco decreased for the fourth year in a row, mainly as a result of the dramatic upheavals in the countryside. GDP was estimated to decline by about 5% during the year after a decline of almost one-third since the late 1990s.
In February, shortly before his 80th birthday, President Robert Mugabe formed a new ministry to fight corruption. At the same time, he appointed Chris Kuruneri as Finance Minister. This was arrested in April for illegal currency transactions. for spending millions to build a luxury villa in South Africa. Skeptics saw the fight against corruption primarily as an attempt by Mugabe to win sympathies for upcoming elections and to outmaneuver competitors within the ZANU-PF government party. During the party’s congress in December, there were significant contradictions between different factions in the fight over who will eventually be able to succeed Mugabe. The election of new second vice president fell on 49-year-old Joyce Mujuru, the first woman on that post.
The independent newspaper Daily News, which was closed by police in 2003, was allowed to come out again in January but was allowed to suspend the publication again after a short time, when the Supreme Court found that the government has the right to ban unregistered journalists from working.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was acquitted in October of charges of plotting to assassinate President Mugabe. However, he was immediately put on trial again for trying to stir up an illegal takeover of power. The government said it would appeal against the free judgment.
Seventy foreign mercenaries were arrested in March at Harare airport, suspected of planning a coup in Equatorial Guinea. The group’s leader, a British former elite soldier, was sentenced to seven years in prison, the others to between 12 and 16 months.
A delegation from the South African national organization COSATU was expelled from Zimbabwe in October, when it came to review conditions in the country.
In December, the government banned foreign human rights organizations from working in Zimbabwe. Domestic groups working on issues relating to “the country’s government” were banned from receiving foreign financial aid.
Country data
Area: 390,757 km2 (world rank: 60)
Residents: 16,530,000
Population density: 42 per km2 (as of 2017, world rank: 70)
Capital: Harare
Official languages: Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Schangani, Schona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa
Gross domestic product: US $ 17.8 billion; real growth: 3.4%
Gross national product (GNP, per resident and year): 910 US$
Currency: 1 Zimbabwe dollar (Z. $) = 100 cents; overridden; US dollar main currency
Embassy
Kommandantenstr. 80, 10117 Berlin
Telephone 030 2062263,
Fax 030 20455062 www.zimembassyberlin.com
Government
Head of State and Government: Emmerson MnangagwaConstantino ChiwengaKembo Mohadi, Exterior: Sibusiso Moyo
National Day: 18.4.
Administrative organization
8 provinces and 2 cities
State and form of government
Constitution of 2013
Presidential Republic
Parliament: House of Assembly with 210 members; Senate (Senate) with 80 members (60 directly, 18 indirectly elected, 2 ex officio); Elections each every 5 J.
direct election of the head of state every 5 years (renewable once; not retrospectively)
Voting age 18 years
Population: Zimbabweans, last census in 2012. 13,061,239 residents
about 70% Shona (Karanga Zezeru, Manyiku, Korekore), 20% Ndebele, et al
Cities (with population): (as of 2012) Harare 1,485,231 inh., Bulawayo 653,337, Chitungwiza 356,840, Mutare 186,208, Epworth 167,462, Gweru 154,825, Kwekwe 100,900, Kadoma 91,633, Masvingo 87,886, Chinhoyi 68,273, Norton 67,591, Marondera 56,678, Chegutu 50,255, Zvishavane 45,230
Religions: 85% Christians (34% followers of the Apostolic Church, 18% Pentecostals, 16% other Protestants, 9% Catholics, 8% other Christians), 2% followers of indigenous religions; Minorities of Muslims, etc. (as of 2006)
Languages: English, Schona, Ndebele, etc.
Unemployment (in% of all economically active persons)
no information
Inflation rate (in%): 2017: 1.3%
Foreign trade: import: 3.9 billion US $ (2017); Export: 4.0 billion US $ (2017)
Climate
Zimbabwe has a subtropical to tropical climate with a humid, sometimes humid and hot summer (up to over 35 ° C) and a winter dry season with pleasant warmth (around 25 ° C). In the higher elevations, which make up most of the country, the summer heat is moderate (25 to 30 ° C) and in winter there are occasional moderate night frosts (down to −5 ° C).
In the capital Harare, the average temperature is 20 ° C, otherwise 19-22 ° C.
The rainy season in Zimbabwe lasts from November to March, with over 90% of the annual rainfall averaging 1000mm.