hromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore,
vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals

Land use:
arable land: 8.32%
permanent crops: 0.34%
other: 91.34% (2001)

Irrigated land:
1,170 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water
pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest
concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly
reduced by poaching; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste
and heavy metal pollution

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with
Zambia; in full flood (February-April) the massive Victoria Falls on
the river forms the world's largest curtain of falling water

People Zimbabwe

Population:
12,671,860
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.4% (male 2,520,082; female 2,472,641)
15-64 years: 57% (male 3,649,400; female 3,571,631)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 230,272; female 227,834) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 19.1 years
female: 19.1 years (2004 est.)
male: 19.1 years

Population growth rate:
0.68% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
30.05 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
23.3 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
negligible migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa
and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 67.08 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 64.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 6