low, red, black, red, yellow, and
green with a white equilateral triangle edged in black based on the hoist
side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in
the center of the triangle

:Zimbabwe Economy

Overview:
Agriculture employs three-fourths of the labor force and supplies almost 40%
of exports. The manufacturing sector, based on agriculture and mining,
produces a variety of goods and contributes 35% to GDP. Mining accounts for
only 5% of both GDP and employment, but supplies of minerals and metals
account for about 40% of exports. Wide year-to-year fluctuations in
agricultural production over the past six years have resulted in an uneven
growth rate, one that on average has matched the 3% annual increase in
population. Helped by an IMF/World Bank structural adjustment program,
output rose 3.5% in 1991. A drought beginning toward the end of 1991
suggests rough going for 1992.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $7.1 billion, per capita $660; real growth rate
3.5% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
25% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
at least 30% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $2.7 billion; expenditures $3.3 billion, including capital
expenditures of $330 million (FY91)
Exports:
$1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
agricultural 35% (tobacco 20%, other 15%), manufactures 20%, gold 10%,
ferrochrome 10%, cotton 5%
partners:
Europe 55% (EC 40%, Netherlands 5%, other 15%), Africa 20% (South Africa
10%, other 10%), US 5%
Imports:
$1.6 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
commodities:
machinery and transportation equipment 37%, other manufactures 22%,
chemicals 16%, fuels 15%
partners:
EC 31%, Africa 29% (South Africa 21%, other 8%), US 8%, Japan 4%
External debt:
$2.96 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 5% (1991 est.); accounts for 35% of GDP
Electricity:
3,650,000 kW capacity; 7,500 million kWh produced, 700 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
mining, steel, clothing and footwear, chemicals, foodstuffs, fertilizer,
beverage, transportation equipment, wood products
Agriculture:
accounts for 11% of GDP and employs 74% of population; 40% of land area
divided into 4,500 large commercial farms and 42% in communal lands; crops -
corn (food staple), cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts;