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Zimbabwe

Includes Zimbabwe real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.

Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Zimbabwe economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Zimbabwe best banks and safest banks are also available.

Basic Information

Government Type: Semi-presidential republic

Capital City: Harare

GDP & Economic Information

Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data

Central Bank Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

Currency Zimbabwean dollars (ZWD)

International Reserves USD 0.09 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product – GDP USD 26.1 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) Intl$ 42.5 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP Data

Real GDP growth 2007: -3.4%
2008: -16.3%
2009: 7.4%
2010: 19.7%
2011: 14.2%
2012: 16.7%
2013: 2%
2014: 2.4% (Estimate)
2015: 1.8% (Estimate)
2016: 0.7% (Estimate)
2017: 4.7% (Estimate)
2018: 3.4% (Estimate)
GDP per capita – current prices USD 1,711.8 (2018, estimate)

GDP per capita – PPP Intl$ 2,787.6 (2018, estimate)

GDP (PPP) – share of world total 1980: N/A
1990: N/A
2000: 0.05%
2010: 0.02%
2019: 0.03% (Estimate)
GDP – composition by sector agriculture: 12.1%
industry: 32.5%
services: 44.7%
(2018 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) N/A
Inflation 2015: -2.4%
2016: -1.6%
2017: 0.9%
2018: 10.6% (Estimate)
2019: 161.8% (Estimate)

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2015: -2.4%
2016: -1.6%
2017: 0.9%
2018: 10.6% (Estimate)
2019: 161.8% (Estimate)
Government Bond Ratings Standard & Poor’s: N/A

Moody’s: N/A

Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s
Unemployment rate 2015: N/A
2016: N/A
2017: N/A
2018: N/A
2019: N/A
Household saving rates N/A
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) 2015: 41.8%
2016: 54.2%
2017: 54.9% (Estimate)
2018: 37.1% (Estimate)
2019: 17.7% (Estimate)
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) 2015: -1.4%
2016: -6.2%
2017: -8.1% (Estimate)
2018: -4.5% (Estimate)
2019: -2.7% (Estimate)
Market value of publicly traded shares N/A
Largest Companies N/A

Import/Export

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services) 5.9% (2017)

Shares in world total merchandising export 0.004% (2018)

Shares in world total commercial services export 0.008% (2018)

Total exports USD 1.6 billion (2018 estimate)

Export commodities Opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems, and medical herbs

Total imports USD 8.3 billion (2018 estimate)

Import commodities Machinery and other capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products

Exports – major partners India 56.5%, Pakistan 29.6% (2017)

Imports – major partners China 21%, Iran 20.5%, Pakistan 11.8%, Kazakhstan 11%, Uzbekistan 6.8%, Malaysia 5.3%(2017)

Competitiveness & Trade

Current account balance USD -1.0 billion (2018 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP -4.9 % (2018 estimate)

FDI inflows 2016: USD 372 million
2017: USD 349 million
2018: USD 745 million
FDI Outflows 2016: USD 29 million
2017: USD 42 million
2018: USD 27 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2015: N/A
2016: N/A
2017: USD -5.7 million
2018: USD 0.4 million
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 N/A
Best countries for doing business Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

140 out of 190 countries

​Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 167 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 140 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 167 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 109 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 67 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 97 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 146 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 159 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 169 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 142 out of 190 countries
Global competitiveness ranking 127 out of 141 countries

(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom Ranking: 175 / Score: 40.4 (Repressed)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

Population & Geographic Data

Time Zone UTC+2

Total Area 390,757 sq km

Total Population 1990: 9.79 million
2000: 11.69 million
2010: 12.34 million
2015 (Estimate): 14.01 million
2020 (Estimate): 15.19 million
Urban population as % of total population 1960: 12.6%
1980: 22.4%
2000: 33.8%
2018: 32.2%
Population median age 20.2 years

Population growth rate 1.68% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy 61.1 years (2018 estimate)

% of population living on less than $3.10 a day 47.2% (last available estimate, 2011)

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
43.2 (last available estimate, 2011)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Freedom House rating Partly Free
Political Rights: 5
Civil Liberties: 5 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population Fixed: 1.9%

Mobile: 89.4%

(2018)

(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 27.06 % (2017)

Language & Religon

Languages Shona (official; most widely spoken), Ndebele (official, second most widely spoken), English (official; traditionally used for official business), 13 minority languages (official; includes Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Shangani, sign lan

Literacy Total population: 86.5%
Male: 88.5%
Female: 84.6%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write english (2015 est.)
Religions Protestant 74.8% (includes Apostolic 37.5%, Pentecostal 21.8%, other 15.5%), Roman Catholic 7.3%, other Christian 5.3%, traditional 1.5%, Muslim 0.5%, other 0.1%, none 10.5%(2015 est.)

World Rankings

Population 15.19 M
Mercer Cost of living index Harare: 188th (2019)

C02 Emissions per capita 0.88 metric tons per capita (2014)

Global Finance Rankings & Awards: Albania

Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.


Data Sources:

IMF World Economic Outlook

UN World Population Prospects

World Inequality Report

S&P Global Ratings

Moody’s

Fitch Ratings

IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CIA The World Factbook

World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution

Forbes Global 2000

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