Basic information* Capital: Harare
Population: 12.9 million (UN, 2005)
Area: 390,759 million sq km (150,873 sq miles)
Major religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs
Major languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele
Life expectancy: 37 years (men), 37 years (women) (UN)
President: Robert Mugabe
Human Development Index: 145/177 |
From BBC Online: 
“The fortunes of Zimbabwe have for more than two decades been tied to President Robert Mugabe, who wrested control from a small white community and put the country on a stable course.
Now, he presides over a nation whose economy is in tatters, where poverty and unemployment are endemic and political strife and repression commonplace. Many Zimbabweans survive on grain handouts. Others have voted with their feet; hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans, including much-needed professionals, have emigrated.
Aid agencies and critics partly blame food shortages on the land reform programme. The government blames a long-running drought, and Mr Mugabe has accused Britain and its allies of sabotaging the economy in revenge for the redistribution programme. The government's urban slum demolition drive in 2005 drew more international condemnation. The president said it was an effort to boost law and order and development; critics accused him of destroying slums housing opposition supporters.
Either way, the razing of "illegal structures" left some 700,000 people without jobs or homes, according to UN estimates.”
BBC, September 2006
Refugees**
- Refugees and asylum seekers: 28,119
- Number of internally displaced persons: unknown
- Total: 28,119
- Number of asylum applications to the UK (June 05 - June 06): 1770
Current situation
From Amnesty International: “Amnesty International today (31st May 2006) released the first-ever satellite images of the wholesale destruction of a large community in Zimbabwe -- providing the clearest possible evidence to date of the devastating impact of the Zimbabwean government's policy of house demolitions.
"These satellite images are irrefutable evidence -- if further evidence is even needed -- that the Zimbabwean government has obliterated entire communities -- completely erased them from the map, as if they never existed," said Kolawole Olaniyan, Director of Amnesty International's Africa programme.
Since 2000 the human rights situation in Zimbabwe has undergone a rapid decline. Following its first major defeat in a national referendum to change the constitution, the government began using its supporters and state agents to pursue a campaign of repression, aimed at eliminating opposition and silencing dissent.
Since then, state-sponsored intimidation, arbitrary arrest, torture and attacks on supporters of the political opposition, human rights defenders and the independent media have steadily escalated. During a mission to Zimbabwe in February 2005, Amnesty International researchers gathered evidence of government intimidation and arbitrary arrest of opposition candidates and supporters, manipulation of food distribution for political ends and severe restrictions of freedom of assembly and expression in the period prior to the March 2005 parliamentary elections.”
Amnesty International, June 2006
From Human Rights Watch: “The Zimbabwean government’s abusive practices, coupled with inadequate health and social welfare policies, are undermining the country’s progress in the fight against AIDS, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today (28th July 2006).
Despite a drop in HIV prevalence rates from 25 to 20 percent between 2000 and 2005, Zimbabwe is still battling a serious HIV/AIDS crisis. Up to 1.6 million people are living with HIV in Zimbabwe, but only 25,000 of the 350,000 people in immediate need of antiretroviral drugs have access to treatment. More than 3,000 people are dying per week.
The Zimbabwean government’s program of evictions has disrupted access to treatment and healthcare for many people living with HIV. Today, over a year after the evictions, hundreds of people living with HIV continue to live in appalling conditions, without shelter or in overcrowded houses. As a result many are left more prone to opportunistic infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis. The evictions also interfered with HIV-prevention efforts; for example, police destroyed nearly 2,000 outlets providing condoms in the urban townships during the evictions.”
Human Rights Watch, July 2006
* This information is taken from the BBC's country profiles
**These numbers were taken from UNHCR figures published June 2nd 2006 and Home Office figures June 2005 - June 2006
