Economy - overview Agriculture employs 70% of the labor force of this landlocked nationand supplies almost 40% of exports. Mining accounts for only 5% of both GDPand employment, but minerals and metals account for about 40% of exports.Severe drought caused GDP to drop 8% in 1992, with growth rebounding to 2%in 1993 and 4.5% in 1994, only to drop by 2.4% in 1995. The government iscontinuing to push its IMF/World Bank structural adjustment program aimedat encouraging exports and foreign investment. Officials face the difficult task of restraining expenditures in their effort to keep inflation withinbounds.

GDP purchasing power parity - $26.4 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 5.5% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,340 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 18.3%
industry: 35.3%
services: 46.4% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 21.7% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total: 4.228 million (1993 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 70%, transport and services 22%, industry 8%

Unemployment rate at least 45% (1994 est.)

Budget
revenues: $2.5 billion
expenditures : $2.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $29 million (FY96/97est.)

Industries mining (coal, clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), copper,steel, nickel, tin, wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothingand footwear, foodstuffs, beverages

Industrial production growth rate 10% (1994)

Electricity - capacity 2.15 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production 7.33 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita 747 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; cattle, sheep,goats, pigs

Exports
total value: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: agricultural 47% (tobacco 31%), manufactures 27%, gold 12%, textiles8%, ferrochrome 6% (1994 est.)
partners: South Africa 14%, UK 10%, Germany 8%, Japan 8%, (1995 est.)

Imports
total value: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: machinery and transportation equipment 41%, other manufactures 16%,chemicals 16%, fuels 10% (1994 est.)
partners: South Africa 41%, UK 7%, US 6%, Japan 6% (1995 est.)

Debt - external $4.4 billion (1994)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $362 million (1993)

Currency 1 Zimbabwean dollar (Z$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates Zimbabwean dollars (Z$) per US$1 - 10.8696 (January 1997), 9.9206 (1996),8.6580 (1995), 8.1500 (1994), 6.4725 (1993), 5.0942 (1992)

Fiscal year 1 July - 30 June

NOTE: The information regarding Zimbabwe on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Zimbabwe Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Zimbabwe Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.