PEOPLE
Primarily
of the Bantu group of south and central Africa, the black Zimbabweans
are divided into two major language groups, which are subdivided
into several ethnic groups. The Mashona (Shona speakers), who
constitute about 75% of the population, have lived in the area
the longest and are the majority language group. The Matabele
(Sindebele speakers), representing about 20% of the population
and centered in the southwest around Bulawayo, arrived within
the last 150 years. An offshoot of the South African Zulu group,
they maintained control over the Mashona until the white occupation
of Rhodesia in 1890.
More than
half of white Zimbabweans, primarily of English origin, arrived
in Zimbabwe after World War II. Afrikaners from South Africa and
other European minorities, including Portuguese from Mozambique,
also are present. Until the mid-1970s, there were about 1,000
white immigrants per year, but from 1976 to 1985 a steady emigration
resulted in a loss of more than 150,000, leaving about 100,000
in 1992. Renewed white emigration in the late 1990s and early
2000s reduced the white population to less than 50,000. English,
the official language, is spoken by the white population and understood,
if not always used, by more than half of the black population.
The literacy rate is estimated at 90.5%. Primary and secondary schools were segregated until 1979 when racial restrictions were removed. Since independence, the educational system had been systematically enlarged by the Zimbabwean Government, which is committed to providing free public education to all citizens on an equal basis. As of the late 1970s, some 50% of the African children (5-19 years old) were listed officially as attending rural schools. Today, most African children attend primary school. Primary through post-secondary enrollment has expanded from 1 million to about 2.9 million since independence. About 40% of the rural primary schools were destroyed during the Rhodesian conflict, which delayed improvement of the rural education system. Higher education, offered at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, the new National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo, the new Africa (Methodist) University in Mutare, fourteen teacher-training colleges, and twelve polytechnical institutes and industrial training centers, are being expanded with assistance from several donor countries.
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Zimbabwean (sing.), Zimbabweans (pl.).
Population (2003 est.): 12.5 million.
Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 0.83%. (Note: the population growth rate is depressed by an HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate estimated to above 20% and a high level of net emigration.)
Ethnic groups: Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other African 11%, white 1%, mixed and Asian 1%.
Religions: Christianity 75%, offshoot Christian sects, animist, and Muslim.
Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele.
Education: Attendance--mandatory for primary level. Adult literacy—90.7% (2003 est.).
Health: Infant mortality rate—51.7/1,000 (2006 est.). Life expectancy--men 40 (2006 est.), women 38 (2006 est.)
Work force (2006 est.): 900,000 in formal sector.
