Zimbabwe (/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ, -wi/ ⓘ; Shona pronunciation: [zi.ᵐba.
ɓwe]), officially the
Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the
Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, 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.
A country of roughly 16.6 million people as per 2024 census,[15] Zimbabwe's largest
ethnic group are the Shona, who make up 80% of the population, followed by the
Northern Ndebele and other smaller minorities. Zimbabwe has 16 official languages,
[3] with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most common. Zimbabwe is a member of the
United Nations, the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, and
the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Beginning in the 9th century, during its late Iron Age, the Bantu people (who would
become the ethnic Shona) built the city-state of Great Zimbabwe; the city-state
became one of the major African trade centres by the 11th century but was abandoned
by the mid 15th century.[16] From there, the Kingdom of Zimbabwe was established,
followed by the Rozvi and Mutapa empires. The British South Africa Company of Cecil
Rhodes demarcated the Rhodesia region in 1890 when they conquered Mashonaland and
later in 1893 Matabeleland after the First Matabele War. Company rule ended in 1923
with the establishment of Southern Rhodesia as a self-governing British colony. In
1965, the white minority government unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia.
The state endured international isolation and a 15-year guerrilla war with black
nationalist forces; this culminated in a peace agreement that established de jure
sovereignty as Zimbabwe in April 1980.
Robert Mugabe became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in 1980, when his ZANU–PF party won
the general election following the end of white minority rule and has remained the
country's dominant party since. He was the President of Zimbabwe from 1987, after
converting the country's initial parliamentary system into a presidential one,
until his resignation in 2017. Under Mugabe's authoritarian regime, the state
security apparatus dominated the country and was responsible for widespread human
rights violations.[17] From 1997 to 2008 the economy experienced consistent decline
(and in the latter years, hyperinflation), though it has since seen rapid growth
after the use of currencies other than the Zimbabwean dollar was permitted. In
2017, in the wake of over a year of protests against his government as well as
Zimbabwe's rapidly declining economy, a coup d'état resulted in Mugabe's
resignation. Emmerson Mnangagwa has since served as Zimbabwe's president.
Etymology
Further information: Rhodesia (name)
The name "Zimbabwe" stems from a Shona term for Great Zimbabwe, a medieval city
(Masvingo) in the country's south-east. Two different theories address the origin
of the word. Many sources hold that "Zimbabwe" derives from dzimba-dza-mabwe,
translated from the Karanga dialect of Shona as "houses of stones" (dzimba = plural
of imba, "house"; mabwe = plural of ibwe, "stone").[18][19][20] The Karanga-
speaking Shona people live around Great Zimbabwe in the modern-day Masvingo
province. Archaeologist Peter Garlake claims that "Zimbabwe" represents a
contracted form of dzimba-hwe, which means "venerated houses" in the Zezuru dialect
of Shona and usually references chiefs' houses or graves.[21]
Zimbabwe was formerly known as Southern Rhodesia (1898), Rhodesia (1965), and
Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979). The first recorded use of "Zimbabwe" as a term of
national reference dates from 1960 as a coinage by the black nationalist Michael
Mawema,[22] whose Zimbabwe National Party became the first to officially use the
name in 1961.[23] The term "Rhodesia"—derived from the surname of Cecil Rhodes, the
primary instigator of British colonisation of the territory—was perceived by
African nationalists as inappropriate because of its colonial origin and
connotations.[22]
According to Mawema, black nationalists held a meeting in 1960 to choose an
alternative name for the country, proposing names such as "Matshobana" and
"Monomotapa" before his suggestion, "Zimbabwe", prevailed.[24] It was initially
unclear how the chosen term was to be used—a letter written by Mawema in 1961
refers to "Zimbabweland"[23] — but "Zimbabwe" was sufficiently established by 1962
to become the generally preferred term of the black nationalist movement.[22] Like
those of many African countries that gained independence during the Cold War,
Zimbabwe is an ethnically neutral name. It is debatable to what extent Zimbabwe,
being over 80% homogenously Shona and dominated by them in various ways, can be
described as a nation state.[25] The constitution acknowledges 16 languages, but
only embraces two of them nationally, Shona and English. Shona is taught widely in
schools, unlike Ndebele. Zimbabwe has additionally never had a non-Shona head of
state.[25][26]
