Zimbabwe — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Zimbabwe: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Zimbabwe is in Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia. It covers 390,757 sq km. Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east. Climate: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March).
| Capital | Harare |
|---|---|
| Population | 17,472,752 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $57.391 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $3,500 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 2% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 104.7% (2022 est.) |
| Unemployment | 8.6% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 69.9% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $7.603 billion (2023 est.) |
| Imports | $10.293 billion (2023 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 67.2 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 21.3 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 32.5% of total population (2023) |
| Government | presidential republic |
| Independence | 18 April 1980 (from the UK) |
| Languages | Shona (official, most widely spoken) 80.9%, Ndebele (official, second most widely spoken) 11.5%, English (official, traditionally used for official business) 0.3%, 13 minority languages (official; includes Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Shangani, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa) 7%, other 0.3% (2022 est.) |
Zimbabwe’s GDP is $57.391 billion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $44.188 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 2% (2024 est.). See where Zimbabwe ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
Little moved in Jul–Sep 2026: no crisis, no windfall. The quarter simply confirmed the country's standing course.
Deeper forces — trade patterns, regional stability, institutional strength — will decide the trajectory; three months rarely do.
- What our model rewards: a top world supplier of Platinum group metals — commodities the planet cannot do without
- What drags it down: inflation running at 104.7% — eating paychecks; a median age of 21 — a nation of children, its workforce still in the classroom
Coal, Chromium, Asbestos, Gold, Nickel, Copper, Iron ore, Vanadium, Lithium, Tin, Platinum.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 50.1% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 32.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 65.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 10.855 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $7.603 billion (2023 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $10.293 billion (2023 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Deficit of $2.7 billion (2023), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | mining (coal, gold, platinum, copper, nickel, tin, diamonds, clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), steel, wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Emmerson Mnangagwa — President. President Emmerson Dambudzo MNANGAGWA (since 4 September 2023)
Zimbabwe maintains 40 embassies and 6 consulates abroad, hosts 50 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, AU Addis Ababa. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 40 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 6 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 50 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, AU Addis Ababa |
Source: Consular Affairs Center, Diplomatic and Consular Networks Database and Rankings, January 2026 (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0). https://zenodo.org/records/18109976
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Landlocked — no seacoast; exports move through transit corridors across neighbouring countries. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 144 + 5 heliports (registration prefix Z) |
| Railways | 3427 km |
| Pipelines | 270 km refined products (2013) |
Major airports
Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ) — Bulawayo; Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (HRE) — Harare; Victoria Falls International Airport (VFA) — Victoria Falls; Kariba Airport (KAB) — Kariba.
Terminals
| River ports | Binga, Kariba (Zambezi) |
|---|
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | presidential republic |
|---|---|
| Next election | No election currently scheduled. |
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Zimbabwe.
Historical timeline of Zimbabwe
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Zimbabwe — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Zimbabwe's power score?
Zimbabwe has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.