Zimbabwe

Government
 Parliamentary democracy

Geography
Zimbabwe, a landlocked country in south-central Africa. It is bordered by Botswana on the west, Zambia on the north, Mozambique on the east, and South Africa on the south.

Historical Background
The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the [British] South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence. Opposition and labor strikes in 2003 were unsuccessful in pressuring MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents. The ruling ZANU-PF party used fraud and intimidation to win a two-thirds majority in the March 2005 parliamentary election, allowing it to amend the constitution at will and recreate the Senate, which had been abolished in the late 1980s

Capital

Harare

Government   

Semi presidential, parliamentary, consociationalist republic 

-President Robert Mugabe 

-Vice President Joice Mujuru John Nkomo 

-Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai 

-Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khuphe Arthur Mutambara

Area

Total 390,757 km2 (60th) 150,871 sq mi               

Population

2009 estimate 12,521,000[1] (68th)