160 Amazing Facts About Zimbabwe

Interesting Facts About Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe was once a very rich country.
Zimbabwe is a landlocked plateau country.
Zimbabwe has 5 UNESCO world heritage sites.
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in southern Africa.
The official name of the country is the Republic of Zimbabwe.
The waterfall was named after Queen Victoria by the well-known explorer of Africa David Livingstone (1813-1873).
The waterfall was discovered in 1855.
The waterfall started attracting tourists between 1905, when a railway to Bulawayo was constructed, and the 1960s when a guerilla struggle in Zimbabwe threatened visitors entering the country. However, after independence, the waterfall started attracting tourists in large numbers once again.
The waterfall is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the people from both countries – Zambia and Zimbabwe – are actively participating to develop tourism in the region.
During floods, the water flow capacity can reach approximately half a million liters per minute.
It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west and southwest, Zambia to the northwest, and Mozambique to the east and northeast.
If a girl asks to be taken out to an expensive place, you take her to the petrol station.
At the peak of inflation in 2008, Zimbabwe issued 100 trillion dollars.
In Zimbabwe, a wheelbarrow load of banknotes can buy only a loaf bread or tomatoes.
Zimbabwe has won a total of only eight Olympic medals, one by the women's field hockey team and seven by Kirsty Coventry, a Zimbabwean swimmer.
It is illegal to sell products bearing the colors of the Zimbabwean national flag.
The national flag should never touch the ground and should be disposed of with dignity when torn.
Amazulu FC, one or the prominent football clubs in Zimbabwe, was relegated from the Premier Soccer League (PSL) for not playing on a Saturday because the club owner was a Seventh-day Adventist.
There can be random power outages in Zimbabwe lasting one hour to three days.
Brand names do not matter in Zimbabwe. Every tooth paste is called “Colgate” and every soft drink is called “Coke.”
Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, which is more than any other country.
Ophir, the biblical land where King Solomon received precious items such as ivory and gold, is believed to be the present location of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is a young nation, as half the population is below 21 years of age.
Zimbabwe is one of the smartest countries in Africa. About 90% of the population is educated.
Customary marriages are potentially polygamous and are legal for black Zimbabweans only, and can only be dissolved by death and not divorce.
Zimbabwe is a multi-currency nation. It abandoned its own currency, the Zimbabwean dollar, for foreign currencies, such as South Africa rand, US dollar, euro, and the Botswana pula.
Chronic malnutrition causes 27% of children under the age of five to experience stunted growth (low height for their age).
76% of the country’s rural households live on less than $1.25 per day.
Zimbabwe is ranked 156 out of 187 developing countries on the Global Hunger Index. It is a low-income and food-deficit country.
Only 17.3% of Zimbabwean children between the ages of 6 and 23 months receive the recommended minimum diet for adequate nutrition.
Cotton, tobacco, gold, ferro alloys and textiles/clothing comprise the major items that Zimbabwe exports.
A hydroelectric power station was set up in 1950 on the Dam Kariba. The electricity from the power station is provided to both Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Amazingly, Zimbabwe has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa. 86.5% of its population is literate.
The International Organization for Migration estimates that millions of Zimbabweans have left their home country in search of better living conditions and food security in other African countries.
Many of its citizens are forced to survive on only a meal per day due to food shortage and crises.
Walk to the view point to see the Victoria Falls, after all it is so beautiful that people plan their trips around it. Although, the Zambesi river nearby waits with activities such as river rafting, bungee jumping and kayaking too for you to try! Who’s in for an adventure?
And when you have heard so much about Lake Kariba from its myths to its massiveness, then why not pay it a visit? Rumour has it, that it looks quite stunning at the Changa camp site, especially during the sunset! You can even stay in a houseboat at Kariba Dam.
When in Africa, how can you possibly not go for a jungle safari? Its time to head to Hwange National Park where black rhinos, elephants and a whole lot of birds wait for you!
Lake Kariba is the world’s largest man-made lake and reservoir by volume. It lies 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) upstream from the Indian Ocean, along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba was filled between 1958 and 1963 following the completion of the Kariba Dam at its northeastern end, flooding the Kariba Gorge on the Zambezi River. Lake Kariba is over 223 kilometers (139 miles) long and up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) in width. It covers an area of 5,580 square kilometers (2,154 square miles) and its storage capacity is 185 cubic kilometers (44 cubic miles).
The network of protected areas in Zimbabwe covers about 27% of the national territory. It is made up of11 national park, plus other types of protected areas.
Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is an UNESCO World Heritage site that is home to one half of the Mosi-oa-Tunya — ‘The Smoke Which Thunders’ — known worldwide as Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River. The river forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, so the falls are shared by the two countries, and the park is ‘twin’ to the Victoria Falls National Park on the Zimbabwean side. The park covers 66 square kilometers (25 square miles). Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park provides a home for numerous antelope species, zebra, giraffe, rhinos, lions, warthog, and a variety of birds and smaller animals. Elephants cross the Zambezi and freely walk through the Park and the surrounding area.
Major bodies of water include Lake Kariba and Victoria Falls both on the western border with Zambia.
While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, Victoria Falls is classified as the largest, based on its combined width of 1,708 meters (5,604 ft) and height of 108 meters (354 ft), resulting in the world’s largest sheet of falling water. It has been described by CNN as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world.
Hwange National Park (formerly Wankie Game Reserve) is the largest natural reserve in Zimbabwe. The park lies in the west, on the main road between Bulawayo and the Victoria Falls and near to Dete. It was founded in 1928, with the first warden being by the 22-year-old Ted Davison. The Park hosts over 100 mammal and 400 bird species, including 19 large herbivores and eight large carnivores.
We have all heard about mermaids and most of us believe that they are a myth and just characters in children animations and stories. But in Zimbabwe, there is a strong belief that mermaids exist. In fact, these mythical creatures are often blamed for unfortunate events such as kidnapping, torture, and murder.
Cholera and malaria are two major diseases in the country. Malaria is prevalent in low-lying border areas. More than 760,000 cases of malaria were reported by WHO in 2009, while one-third of its minor population suffers from chronic malnutrition.
As most men in the world try to shade their large tummies for flat ones, the opposite is true in Zimbabwe. Zimbabweans see pot bellies in men as a sign of success and wealth.
Imagine being isolated and stigmatized by your local community just because you divorced with your spouse. In Zimbabwe, divorce is a stigma. This does not mean that it is illegal in the country to divorce. However, it is only women who are allowed to get divorced, though it is very rare.
In terms of the land area, Zimbabwe is three times the size of England.
One of the largest waterfalls in the world, Victoria Falls, is located on the Zambezi River. It is wider than a kilometer and has a height of more than one hundred meters.
In 1965, the conservative white minority government unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia. Stripping black people of rights, this government sparked international outrage and economic sanctions were introduced.
Black Zimbabweans had been fighting for their rights for many decades.
Guerrilla warfare broke out, turning into civil war in the 1970s.
Britain helped negotiate a ceasefire and a new constitution in 1979. Elections were held the following year. The Republic of Zimbabwe became independent in April 1980 and Robert Mugabe became executive president.
Minerals, gold, and agriculture are the main foreign exports of Zimbabwe. Tourism also plays a key role in its economy.
Zimbabwe’s culture is extremely diverse as a result of the many indigenous groups which call the country home. While Shona is the largest ethnic group with the predominant hold in many areas, there are several other groups which have influenced the Zimbabwe of today.
An estimated 80% of the country’s citizens identify themselves as Christians. Protestants (mostly followers of Pentecostal African Churches) are around 63% of the population.
As per Zimbabweans a man with a big belly indicates that he is wealthy because he can eat meat every day! My belly and my bank account starkly contradict this notion but oh well ?
Myth has it that this country is the biblical land known as Ophir where King Solomon received precious items such as ivory and gold.
In fact, it is said to have some of the highest reserves of diamond and platinum in the world!
It is one of the more advanced nations in the continent of Africa and accounts for about 90% of its population being educated.
Overall, it even has a young population with an average age of 21 years. Unfortunately, its life expectancy is shockingly poor with an average of 37 and 34 years for men and women respectively.
Customarily polygamous marriages are permitted. But this is permitted only to black Zimbabweans in the country.
Zimbabwe abandoned its currency and is currently using others’. This happened after the massive inflation that hit the country in 2008. The country abandoned its currency and has been using the U.S. Dollar, the South African Rand, and the Botswana Pula since April 12, 2009.
It is illegal in Zimbabwe for the police to impound your vehicle on the road. The only occasion when they can do so is when they ask you to produce your driver’s license.
Zimbabwe has won a total of eight medals at the Olympic Games in two sports – hockey (1) and swimming (7). At the 2004 Summer Olympics, in Athens, Greece, Coventry won three Olympic medals: a gold, a silver, and a bronze, while in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing she won four medals: a gold and three silver. A gold medal was won by the women’s national field hockey team in 1980.
The name of the country was derived from the fortified trading hub, Great Zimbabwe, which was built in medieval times and was used by the people of the ‘Shona’ tribe. The people of this tribe constitute about 70% of the country’s current population.
Can you imagine carrying a wheelbarrow load of money to the store only to buy something that only costs one dollar in other countries? Well, in 2008, Zimbabwe experienced a whopping 231 million percent inflation.
The country has one of the world’s highest inflation and unemployment rates.
Manufacturing, mining, and farming constitute the backbone of the Zimbabwean economy.
The locals believe that Lake Kariba is the home of river God Nyami Nyami who is a 3 metres wide serpent with an unimaginable length. The construction of the dam had actually received much concern from the Tonga tribe who cited an expectation of the snake god’s fury for the dam would part him from his wife who lived on the other end of the rock. However, this was laughed off by the city folk. But over the decades of its construction, the building of the dam was stopped time an again due to flooding, deadly storms and even an unprecedented cyclone! It actually saw the grave loss of 80 lives. While today the dam has been built, they say that when the serpent god misses his wife, his fury shakes the nearby villages!
The country strongly believes in the myth of mermaids. Before you picture Disney’s adorable Ariel, I’m going to break it to you that actually Zimbabweans fear mermaids! Few years back two crucial infrastructure projects for reservoirs had come to a standstill due to the fear that the water had mermaids who would murder people! Strangely, it was said that the only way to appease them was to brew traditional beer and perform rites. Ah, well, I guess we all need a chilled one in the summer heat!
It is illegal to sell products bearing the colours of the national flag.
Meanwhile, their national anthem was actually originally a song sung competitively by school choirs!
For most people, power shortages and blackouts are a strange occurrence, and when it happens, power is restored in a very short time. But in Zimbabwe, blackouts are quite frequent and random, and when they occur, they can last for up to 3 hours or even more.
Zimbabwe has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world. Females can expect to live 58.7 years and males survive for 57.3 years, on average (2016.)
As per data (UNICEF, 2015), more than 1.4 million people in the country are living with AIDS.
The ‘mbira’, which is a small hand-held instrument, has been played for more than 1,000 years in Zimbabwe. This instrument is also commonly referred to as a ‘thumb piano.’
Mwari is the name of the deity of the Shona tribes people in Zimbabwe. They have been believing in this deity for centuries.
By around 300 AD, Bantu-speaking iron-age farmers had spread into southern Africa and settled in the Zimbabwe region.
In later centuries, they were joined by people from the north, such as the Karanga and Rozwi. These and other groups formed the early Shona kingdoms.
From the 11th–15th century, the Shona peoples thrived in a prosperous society, worshipping a supreme deity called Mwari.
During the 1800’s, Zimbabwe underwent a period of aggressive colonization at the hands of the British who were intent on seizing the country’s rich mineral reserves. The British South Africa Company led by Cecil John Rhodes, took control of the territory, which came to be known as Southern Rhodesia. In 1923, the British Government annexed the area and Southern Rhodesia became an official British colony.
The main staple of Zimbabwean cuisine is corn and is used in a variety of dishes. Sadza is the most common dish found in Zimbabwe and is stiff maize meal that is like a thickened porridge. It can be rolled into a ball and dipped into meat, sauce, gravy, sour milk, or stewed vegetables.
The most popular sport in Zambia is football. Rugby Union and cricket are also popular.
The first people of the country were the Bantu-speaking Iron Age farmers that settled in the region around AD 300.
Zimbabwe’s former president – Robert Gabriel Mugabe – is one of the oldest and also the longest-serving leaders of a non-royal country in the world. He has served as the leader of Zimbabwe for the past 36 years. He served as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987, and then assumed office as the President of Zimbabwe on 22 December 1987 and resigned from the office on 21st November 2017. He was born on 21 February 1924. Robert Gabriel Mugabe is succeeded by Emmerson Mnangagwa (born 15 September 1942) who assumed office on 24 November 2017.
Zimbabwe became independent from the United Kingdom on April 18, 1980. They celebrate their national day on this day to commemorate their independence.
Zimbabweans mostly call every kind of toothpaste “Colgate,” every soft drink “Coke,” every washing powder “Surf” and every floor polish “Cobra.”
Zimbabwe is suffering from a shortage of health care professionals. Many of the country’s health care professionals left Zimbabwe in search of better opportunities elsewhere in the world. Spiritual healing advice is still used by many people for minor and major ailments. HIV/AIDS is prevalent in the country and has been cited as the cause of death of thousands of people in the last few years.
The noise of Victoria Falls can be heard from a distance of 40 kilometers.
You can notice spray and mist from the falling water from a height of 400 meters, and it can be seen from a distance of 50 kilometers.
Mosi-O-Tunya is the name given to the falls by the local tribe. It translates to ‘The smoke that thunders.’
October and early November see the lowest level of water flow in the falls.
An estimated 4.1 million people are projected to be “food insecure” at the peak of the 2017 lean season.
‘Mount Inyangani,’ at 2,592 meters, is the highest point in the country.
The capital Harare was formerly called Salisbury in 1890 in honor of the British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury.
The country is void of any place that can properly be called desert. However, a few regions in the country are severely arid.
The lowest point in Zimbabwe lies at the intersection of the Runde and Save Rivers at 531 ft.
Victoria Falls, one of the biggest waterfalls in the world, is located in the country’s northwestern part of the Zambezi River
The noise of the Victoria Falls can be heard as far as 40 kilometers away.
Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, is one of the oldest living heads of state still in office. He was born in 1924 and assumed the presidency in 1987.
Lake Kariba, the largest man-made lake and reservoir in the world, is located in Zimbabwe next to the Zambian border.
In Zimbabwe, men with large stomach are considered wealthy. A large stomach indicates that a person is financially stable and can afford to eat meat each day.
In Zimbabwe, you can buy an item priced in South African rands, pay in euros, and get a change in US dollars.
It is illegal for the police to impound on a vehicle on the road. The police are only allowed to check a driver’s license.
Zimbabwe has the lowest life expectancy in the world, with men living slightly longer than women at 37 and 34, years respectively.
In Zimbabwe, there is a strong belief that mermaids exist, and they are often blamed for unfortunate events such as murder.
Air Zimbabwe, one of the country’s airlines, does not have seat belt on all the seats, and passengers are forced to use the belt from their pants as a seat belt.
Before the Zimbabwean national anthem was adopted, it was used as a school choir competition song.
The criteria for voting in the 1979 elections in Zimbabwe were level of education, wealth, and income.
Zimbabwe has the largest platinum and diamond reserves in the world.
The law requires motorists to use headlights between 5:30PM and 05:30AM.
Between 1100 to 1450 AD, the Great Zimbabwean ancient city was built. It is after these UNESCO recognized ruins and stone structures that the country came to be named.
There was a point of time during which the country was accepting 8 currencies as legal tender. This included the US Dollar, Australian Dollar, British Pound Sterling, Chinese Yuan, etc. However, the use of foreign currencies for local transactions was stopped by a government decree in 2019, now bringing the Zimbabwean Dollar to use.
It also has the highest number of official languages in the globe! That’s 16 languages, ladies and gentlemen.
It is also home to the Victorian Waterfalls along with Zambia. The falls are some of the biggest in the world and the absolute biggest in the category of single-sheet waterfalls. In Zimbabwe, the locals say that you can hear the sounds of the water gushing to a distance of 40kms!
The world’s largest man-made lake is called Kariba and just like the above falls, this wonderful vast gem is also shared at the border between the 2 countries.
Matopos National Park is yet another pick for witnessing the wildlife but beyond that, it also has traditional art and rock caves by the San people.
How about seeing the Zimbabwe ruins for yourself? Remember the Great Zimbabwe after which the country was named? Visit the 11th – 15th-century ruins for your taste of the country’s history.
Zimbabwe has 16 official languages: Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Khoisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda and Xhosa.
As of 1 January 2017, the population of Zimbabwe was estimated to be 16,111,699 people.
It is the 60th largest country in the world in terms of land area with 390,757 square kilometers (150,872 square miles).
Harare is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. It is situated at an elevation of 1,483 meters (4,865 feet) above sea level and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category.
Much of zimbabwe’s terrain is a high plateau with a higher central plateau (Highveld) forming a watershed between the Zambezi and Limpopo river systems. The Limpopo and the lower Zambezi valleys are broad and relatively flat plains. The eastern end of the watershed terminates in a north-south mountain spine, called the Eastern Highlands.
Mount Nyangani is the highest mountain in Zimbabwe at 2,592 meters (8,504 feet) above sea level.
Mana Pools National Park is a 219,600 hectares, wildlife conservation area and national park in northern Zimbabwe. It is a region of the lower Zambezi River in Zimbabwe where the flood plain turns into a broad expanse of lakes after each rainy season. As the lakes gradually dry up and recede, the region attracts many large animals in search of water, making it one of Africa’s most renowned game-viewing regions. The park was inscribed, in conjunction with the Sapi Safari Area (118,000 ha) and Chewore Safari Area (339,000 ha) as a single UNESCO World Heritage site (for a total of 676,600 ha) in 1984.
Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwe and the town of Masvingo. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe during the country’s Late Iron Age. Construction on the monument began in the 11th century and continued until the 15th century. The most widely accepted modern archaeological theory is that the edifices were erected by the ancestral Shona. The stone city spans an area of 7.22 square kilometers (1,780 acres) which, at its peak, could have housed up to 18,000 people. It is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Khami is a ruined city located 22 kilometers (13.5 miles) west of Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe. It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Butua of the Torwa dynasty. It is now a national monument and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

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