Economy of Zimbabwe

  • Developing/Emerging[1]
  • Lower-middle income economy[2]
StatisticsPopulationIncrease 16,942,006 (April 11, 2024 est)[3]GDP
  • Increase $47.08 billion (nominal, 2023 est.)[4]
  • Increase $66.0 billion (PPP, 2023 est.)[5]
GDP rank
  • 110th (nominal, 2023)
  • 132nd (PPP, 2023)
GDP growth
  • 5.3% (2021)
  • 4.5% (2022)[4]
  • 5.3% (2023e)
  • 5.2% (2024e)

[6]

GDP per capita
  • Increase $2,860 (nominal, 2023 est.)[4]
  • Increase $3,928 (PPP, 2023 est.)[7]
GDP per capita rank
  • 153rd (nominal, 2023)
  • 175th (PPP, 2023)
GDP by sector
Inflation (CPI)
172.2% (2023 est.)[4]
Population below poverty line
  • 1.0% (2017)[9]
  • 1.0% on less than $3.20/day (2017)[10]
Gini coefficient
44.3 medium (2017)[11]
Human Development Index
Labour force
  • Increase 7,088,014 (2019)[14]
  • 1.5% employment rate (2014)[15]
Labour force by occupation
Unemployment
  • 11.3% (2014 est.)[8]
  • data include both unemployment and underemployment; true unemployment is unknown and, under current economic conditions, unknowable[8]
Main industries
mining (coal, gold, platinum, copper, nickel, tin, clay, numerous metallic and non-metallic ores), steel; wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages, cattle, cowsExternalExportsIncrease $6.59 billion (2022 est.)[16]
Export goods
platinum, cotton, tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing
Main export partners
ImportsIncrease $8.68 billion (2022 est.)[18]
Import goods
machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels, food products
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • Increase $3.86 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[8]
  • Increase Abroad: $309.6 million (31 December 2017 est.)[8]
Current account
Decrease −$716 million (2017 est.)[8]
Gross external debt
Negative increase $14.01 billion (23 February 2023)[20]Public finances
Government debt
Positive decrease 58.47% of GDP (2022 est.)
Budget balance
−9.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[8]Revenues
  • ZWL58.2 trillion (proposed for 2024)
  • US$10.0 billion (official rate $1:5,790 (Nov 2023))
  • US$6.26 billion (parallel market $1:9,300 (Nov 2023))
[21]Expenses5.5 billion (2017 est.)[8]Economic aidrecipient: $178 million; note – the EU and the US provide food aid on humanitarian grounds (2000 est.)
Foreign reserves
Increase $431.8 million (31 December 2017 est.)[8]
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.
Zimbabwean exports in 2006

The economy of Zimbabwe is a gold standard based economy. Zimbabwe has a $44 billion dollar informal economy in PPP terms which translates to 64.1% of the total economy.[22] Agriculture and mining largely contribute to exports. The economy is set to reach $66 billion by end of 2023, 88% increase in forecast from $35 billion.[23][24]

The country has reserves of metallurgical-grade chromite. Other commercial mineral deposits include coal, asbestos, copper, nickel, gold, platinum and Iron ore.[25]

Current economic conditions

In 2000, Zimbabwe planned a land redistribution act to seize white-owned, commercial farms attained through colonization and distribute the land to the black majority. The new occupants, mainly consisting of indigenous citizens and several prominent members of the ruling ZANU-PF administration, were inexperienced or uninterested in farming, thereby failing to retain the labour-intensive, highly efficient management of previous landowners.[26] Short term gains were achieved by selling the land or equipment. The contemporary lack of agricultural expertise triggered severe export losses and negatively affected market confidence. The country has experienced a massive drop in food production and idle land is now being utilised by rural communities practising subsistence farming. Production of staple foodstuffs, such as maize, has recovered accordingly – unlike typical export crops including tobacco and coffee.[27] Zimbabwe has also sustained the 30th occurrence of recorded hyperinflation in world history.[28]

Government spending is 29.7% of GDP. State enterprises are strongly subsidized. Taxes and tariffs are high, and state regulation is costly to companies. Starting or closing a business is slow and costly.[29] Due to the regulations of the labour market, hiring and terminating workers is a lengthy process. By 2008, unemployment had risen to 94%.[30]

Interestingly, as of December 2021, Zimbabwe's official unemployment rate, even according to World Bank stood at 5.17%, making it one of the lowest unemployment rates in Africa.[31] This can also be supported by employment websites in Zimbabwe like Work In Zimbabwe which posts several Jobs in Zimbabwe daily.

A 2014 report by the Africa Progress Panel[32] found that, of all the African countries examined when determining how many years it would take to double per capita GDP, Zimbabwe fared the worst, and that at its current rate of development it would take 190 years for the country to double its per capita GDP.[33] Uncertainty around the indigenisation programme (compulsory acquisition), the perceived lack of a free press, the possibility of abandoning the US dollar as official currency, and political uncertainty following the end of the government of national unity with the MDC as well as power struggles within ZANU-PF have increased concerns that the country's economic situation could further deteriorate.[34]

In September 2016 the finance minister identified "low levels of production and the attendant trade gap, insignificant foreign direct investment and lack of access to international finance due to huge arrears" as significant causes for the poor performance of the economy.[35]

Zimbabwe came 140 out of 190 ease of doing business report released by the World Bank Group. They were ranked high for ability to get credit (ranked 85) and protecting minority investors (ranked 95).[36]

Infrastructure and resources

Transportation

Zimbabwe's internal transportation and electrical power networks are adequate; nevertheless, maintenance has been ignored for several years. Zimbabwe is crossed by two trans-African automobile routes: the Cairo-Cape Town Highway and the Beira-Lobito Highway. Poorly paved highways connect the major urban and industrial areas, while rail lines controlled by the National Railways of Zimbabwe connect Zimbabwe to a vast central African railroad network that connects it to all of its neighbors.

Energy

The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority is responsible for providing the country with electrical energy. Zimbabwe has two larger facilities for the generation of electrical power, the Kariba Dam (owned together with Zambia) and since 1983 by large Hwange Thermal Power Station adjacent to the Hwange coal field. However, total generation capacity does not meet the demand, leading to rolling blackouts. The Hwange station is not capable of using its full capacity due to old age and maintenance neglect. In 2006, crumbling infrastructure and lack of spare parts for generators and coal mining lead to Zimbabwe importing 40% of its power, including 100 megawatts from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 200 megawatts from Mozambique, up to 450 from South Africa, and 300 megawatts from Zambia.[37] In May 2010 the country's generation power was an estimated 940MW against a peak demand of 2500MW.[38] Use of local small scale generators is widespread.

Telephone

New telephone lines used to be difficult to obtain. With TelOne, however, Zimbabwe has only one fixed line service provider.[39][40] Cellular phone networks are an alternative. Principal mobile phone operators are Telecel, Net*One, and Econet.[39]

Agriculture

Agriculture in Zimbabwe can be divided into two parts: commercial farming of crops such as cotton, tobacco, coffee, peanuts and various fruits, and subsistence farming with staple crops, such as maize or wheat.

Commercial farming was almost exclusively in the hands of the white minority until the controversial land redistribution program began in 2000. Land in Zimbabwe was forcibly seized from white farmers and redistributed to black settlers, justified by Mugabe on the grounds that it was meant to rectify inequalities left over from colonialism.[41] The new owners did not have land titles, and as such did not have the collateral necessary to access bank loans.[42] The small-scale farmers also did not have experience with commercial-scale agriculture.

After land redistribution, much of Zimbabwe's land went fallow, and agricultural production decreased steeply.[43] The University of Zimbabwe estimated in 2008 that between 2000 and 2007 agricultural production decreased by 51%.[44] Production of tobacco, Zimbabwe's main export crop, decreased by 79% from 2000 to 2008.[45][46]

Tobacco production recovered after 2008 thanks to the contract system of agriculture and growing Chinese demand. International tobacco companies, such as British American Tobacco and China Tobacco, supplied farmers with agricultural inputs, equipment, and loans, and supervised them in growing tobacco.[47][48] By 2018, tobacco production had recovered to 258 million kg, the second largest crop on record.[45][49] Instead of large white-owned farms selling mostly to European and American companies, Zimbabwe's tobacco sector now consists of small black-owned farms exporting over half of the crop to China.[50] Tobacco farming accounted for 11% of Zimbabwe's GDP in 2017, and 3 million of its 16 million people depended on tobacco for their livelihood.[51]

Land reform has found considerable support in Africa and a few supporters among African-American activists,[52] but Jesse Jackson commented during a visit to South Africa in June 2006, "Land redistribution has long been a noble goal to achieve but it has to be done in a way that minimises trauma. The process has to attract investors rather than scare them away. What is required in Zimbabwe is democratic rule, democracy is lacking in the country and that is the major cause of this economic meltdown."[53]

Zimbabwe produced, in 2018:

  • 3,3 million tons of sugarcane;
  • 730 thousand tons of maize;
  • 256 thousand tons of cassava;
  • 191 thousand tons of vegetable;
  • 132 thousand tons of tobacco (6th largest producer in the world);
  • 106 thousand tons of banana;
  • 96 thousand tons of orange;
  • 90 thousand tons of soy;
  • 80 thousand tons of sorghum;
  • 60 thousand tons of potato;
  • 55 thousand tons of barley;
  • 42 thousand tons of peanut;
  • 38 thousand tons of cotton;

In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products.[54]

Mining sector

As other southern African countries, Zimbabwean soil is rich in raw materials, namely platinum,[55] coal, iron ore, and gold. Recently, diamonds have also been found in considerable deposits. Copper, chromite and nickel deposits also exist, though in lesser amounts. The Marange diamond fields, discovered in 2006 are thought to be among the richest in the world.

In March 2011, the government of Zimbabwe implemented laws which required local ownership of mining companies; following this news, there were falls in the share prices of companies with mines in Zimbabwe.[56]

Gold production year [57] kg
1998 27,114
2007 7,017
2015 18,400[58]

Various NGOs reported that the diamond sector in Zimbabwe is rife with corruption; a November 2012 report by NGO Reap What You Sow revealed a huge lack of transparency of diamond revenues and asserted that Zimbabwe's elite are benefiting from the country's diamonds.[59] This followed former South African President Thabo Mbeki’s warning days earlier that Zimbabwe needed to stop its "predatory elite" from colluding with mining companies for their own benefit.[60] Also in that month, the Associated Press reported that at least $2 billion worth of diamonds had been stolen from Zimbabwe's eastern diamond fields and had enriched Mugabe's ruling circle and various connected gem dealers and criminals.[60]

In January 2013, Zimbabwe's mineral exports totalled $1.8 billion.[61]

As of October 2014, Metallon Corporation was Zimbabwe's largest gold miner.[62] The group is controlled by its Chairman Mzi Khumalo.

In 2019, the country was the world's 3rd largest producer of platinum[63] and the 6th largest world producer of lithium.[64] In the production of gold, in 2017 the country produced 23.9 tons.[65]

Education

The state of education in Zimbabwe affects the development of the economy while the state of the economy can affect access and quality of teachers and education. Zimbabwe has one of Africa's highest literacy rates at over 90%.[66] The crisis since 2000 has, however, diminished these achievements because of a lack of resources and the exodus of teachers and specialists (e.g. doctors, scientists, engineers) to other countries. Also, the start of the new curriculum in primary and secondary sections has affected the state of the once strong education sector.[67]

Science and technology in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's Second Science and Technology Policy (2012) cites sectorial policies with a focus on biotechnology, information and communication technologies (ICTs), space sciences, nanotechnology, indigenous knowledge systems, technologies yet to emerge and scientific solutions to emergent environmental challenges. The policy makes provisions for establishing a National Nanotechnology Programme.[68][69]

Zimbabwe has a National Biotechnology Policy which dates from 2005. Despite poor infrastructure and a lack of both human and financial resources, biotechnology research is better established in Zimbabwe than in most sub-Saharan countries, even if it tends to use primarily traditional techniques.[68][69]

The Second Science and Technology Policy asserts the government commitment to allocating at least 1% of GDP to research and development, focusing at least 60% of university education on developing skills in science and technology and ensuring that school pupils devote at least 30% of their time to studying science subjects.[68][69]

History

Zimbabwe's GDP annual percentage growth rate from 1980 to 2010.[70]

In 1997, Zimbabwe's economic decline began to visibly take place. It began with the crash of the stock market on November 14, 1997. Civil society groups began to agitate for their rights as these had been eroded under ESAP. In 1997 alone, 232 strikes were recorded, the largest number in any year since independence (Kanyenze 2004). During the first half of 1997, the war veterans organized themselves and demonstrations that were initially ignored by the government. As the intensity of the strikes grew, the government was forced to pay the war veterans a once-off gratuity of ZWD $50,000 by December 31, 1997, and a monthly pension of US$2,000 beginning January 1998 (Kanyenze 2004). To raise money for this unbudgeted expense, the government tried to introduce a ‘war veterans’ levy,’ but they faced much opposition from the labor force and had to effectively borrow money to meet these obligations. Following the massive depreciation of the Zimbabwean dollar in 1997, the cost of agricultural inputs soared, undermining the viability of the producers who in turn demanded that the producer price of maize (corn) be raised. Millers then hiked prices by 24 percent in January 1998 by 24 percent and the consequent increase in the price of maize meal triggered nation-wide riots during the last month. The government intervened by introducing price controls on all basic commodities (Kanyenze 2004). Many interventionist moves were undertaken to try to reverse some of the negative effects of the Structural Adjustment Programs and to try to strengthen the private sector that was suffering from decreasing output and increasing competition from cheap imported products. Some of the most detrimental policies that followed include:[71] ) and all of Sub-Saharan Africa's (yellow  ) GDP per capita. Different periods in Zimbabwe's recent economic history such as the land reform period (pink  ), hyperinflation (grey  ), and the dollarization/government of national unity period (light blue  ) are also highlighted. It shows that economic activity declined in Zimbabwe over the period that the land reforms took place whilst the rest of Africa rapidly overtook the country in the same period.[70]

GDP per capita (current) of Zimbabwe (blue  ) from 1960 to 2012, compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100)