Polity · 1983 CE – present
Republic of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe · Zimbabwe · IZimbabwe
Also recorded as Zimbabwe
- Peak recorded area
- 392,765 km²
- 1983 CE
- Rulers on record
- 16
- from 1980 CE
- Data series
- 405
- 1983 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the north, and Mozambique to the east. The capital and largest city is Harare, and the second largest is Bulawayo.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
2 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 58 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population183 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 17Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy132 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 63.35years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration108 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | -54.6Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth108 obs · 1961 CE–2025 CE | 1.89% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female107 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 65.61years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male107 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 60.75years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 165 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 2,149int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd101 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 51.2Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita101 obs · 1914 CE–2022 CE | 1,703.532011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Gross Capital Formation % GDP65 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 8.85%_gdp2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Cereal Production Tonnes63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 1.2Mmetric tons2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Cereal Yield Kg Per Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 743.9kg per hectare2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 35 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP114 obs · 1964 CE–2024 CE | 0.3512% of GDP2024 CE · SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |
| Military Expenditure Usd57 obs · 1964 CE–2024 CE | 98.4Mcurrent US$2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| CINC Score52 obs · 1965 CE–2016 CE | 0.0009CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption52 obs · 1965 CE–2016 CE | 11.1Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production52 obs · 1965 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel52 obs · 1965 CE–2016 CE | 29Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 62 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Coal Production125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 43.48TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Arable Land %104 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 10.39% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 44.74% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 41.79%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.246hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Surface Area63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 390.8Ksq. km2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.27index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.156index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.203index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.19index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Checks And Balances41 obs · 1983 CE–2023 CE | 2count2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 56 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.383index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Line Km96 obs · 1873 CE–1998 CE | 2,836km1998 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Mail Items86 obs · 1898 CE–1986 CE | 171items1986 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telegraph73 obs · 1900 CE–1986 CE | 0.303count1986 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production64 obs · 1938 CE–2001 CE | 7.9BGWh2001 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Commercial Vehicles60 obs · 1928 CE–2002 CE | 84count2002 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
16 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Canaan BananaPresident of Zimbabwa1980 CE – 1987 CE
- Simon MuzendaDeputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe1980 CE – 1987 CE
- Joshua NkomoSecond Vice President of Zimbabwe1987 CE – 1999 CE
- Robert MugabePresident of Zimbabwa1987 CE – 2017 CE
- Joseph MsikaSecond Vice President of Zimbabwe1999 CE – 2009 CE
- Joice MujuruVice President of Zimbabwe2004 CE – 2014 CE
- Arthur MutambaraDeputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe2009 CE – 2013 CE
- John NkomoSecond Vice President of Zimbabwe2009 CE – 2013 CE
- Thokozani KhupheDeputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe2009 CE – 2013 CE
- Emmerson MnangagwaVice President of Zimbabwe2014 CE – 2017 CE
- Phelekezela MphokoSecond Vice President of Zimbabwe2014 CE – 2017 CE
- Constantine ChiwengaVice President of Zimbabwe2017 CE –
- Emmerson MnangagwaHead of Government2017 CE –
- Emmerson MnangagwaHead of State2017 CE –
- Kembo MohadiSecond Vice President of Zimbabwe2017 CE – 2021 CE
- Phelekezela MphokoPresident of Zimbabwa2017 CE
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Emmerson Dambudzo MNANGAGWA (since 4 September 2023); head of government: Vice President Constantino CHIWENGA (since 11 September 2023); cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president, responsible to National Assembly;
- Ethnic groups
- African 99.6% (predominantly Shona; Ndebele is the second largest ethnic group), other (includes Caucasian, Asiatic, mixed race) 0.4% (2022 est.)
- Natural resources
- coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals
- Economy
- low income Sub-Saharan economy; political instability and endemic corruption have prevented reforms and stalled debt restructuring; new Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency latest effort to combat ongoing hyperinflation; reliant on natural resource extraction, agriculture and remittances
Language & currency
- Currency
- Zimbabwean dollars (ZWD)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1980 CE –
- SADCSADCEconomic bloc · founding member1992 CE –
- 4-member Defense Pact (1999)Military alliance · member1999 CE – 2001 CE
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database2024
SIPRI (2024). Military Expenditure Database.
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Republic of Zimbabwe is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.