Formerly known as Rhodesia, Zimbabwe declared independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, but did not officially receive said independence until 1980. This was also the first year that Zimbabwe held free elections. Since independence, Zimbabwe’s one and only President has been Robert Mugabe. Several recent elections have been flawed and condemned by international organizations. The majority of Zimbabwe’s citizens earn their incomes through the mining and agricultural industries.

• Country Profile
  • Land Mass/Major Cities – The capital city of Zimbabwe is Harare, and it shares its borders with Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, and Mozambique.
  • Languages – Shona (official), Ndebele (official), English (official), 13 minority languages (official; includes Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Shangani, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa)
• Business Activity
  • Agriculture – Coffee, corn, cotton, goats, peanuts, pigs, sheep, sugarcane, tobacco, and wheat.
  • Industries – Beverages, cement, chemicals, clay, clothing and footwear, fertilizer, foodstuffs, mining (coal, gold, platinum, copper, nickel, tin, diamonds, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), steel, and wood products
  • Natural Resources – Asbestos, chromium ore, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lithium, nickel, platinum group metals, tin, and vanadium
  • Exports – Cotton, ferroalloys, gold, platinum, textiles/clothing, and tobacco
  • Imports – Chemicals, food products, fuels, machinery and transport equipment
  • Major Trading Partners – Botswana, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, South Africa, Zambia

Source: CIA. (2017). The World Factbook: Zimbabwe. CIA. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/zi.html