28 Feb, 2020

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Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe was the 98th largest economy in the world by nominal GDP in 2018. Its GDP per capita was $2,147 USD. Personal remittance were around 6 percent of GDP in 2018. It was ranked 114th in the World Bank's Human Capital Index and 95th in the Economic Complexity Index in 2017. It is a member of the Southern African Development Community and the African Union. Services was the largest economic sector in 2018 (45.7 percent of GDP), followed by manufacturing (8.2 percent), and agriculture (12.1 percent). In 2017, the largest export sectors were agriculture (48.9 percent), services (15.2 percent), stones (15.11 percent), and minerals (9.12 percent). The largest individual exports were unmanufactured tobacco (35.9 percent), gold (7.8 percent), diamonds (6.9 percent), transport services (6.02 percent), and travel and tourism (5.4 percent). Its largest export partners were China (35.4 percent), UAE (14.9 percent), and South Africa (7.27 percent). The largest goods imports were electrical energy (4.1 percent), packaged medicaments (3.36 percent), and transmission apparatus for radio, televisions, and telephones (3.08 percent). In 1889, the British South Africa company was granted control over Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Their control lasted until 1922 when Southern Rhodesia gained self-rule. Gold was the main export at this time, but tobacco was introduced and displaced gold as the main export by the 1950s. In 1930, the government introduced the Land Apportionment Act, which gave white farmers preferential access to land. In 1953, the British engineered a federation between Southern Rhodesia, Nyasaland (Malawi), and Northern Rhodesia (Zambia). The federation is dissolved in 1963, when Zambia and Malawi declared independence. Ian Smith declared independence for Southern Rhodesia in 1965 under white minority rule despite British and international protests. Black nationalists, ZANU and ZAMU, responded with a guerrilla campaign. The guerrillas were partly armed and trained by the Soviets, Chinese, and Cubans. The international community responded with sanctions. The government responded to the sanctions with an import-substitution policy. The economy initially weathered the conflict and sanctions but by the late 1970s it was struggling. In 1979, a settlement was reached between the government and guerrillas. In 1980, Robert Mugabe of ZANU was elected in free elections. The country was renamed Zimbabwe. In 1997, Mugabe began a land redistribution program which led to violence and economic crisis. In 2017, Mugabe was forced to resign by the military. The new government has begun working with the IMF to improve macroeconomic stability, but needs to stay the course.