o-thirds majority in
the March 2005 parliamentary election, allowing it to amend the
constitution at will and recreate the Senate, which had been
abolished in the late 1980s. In April 2005, Harare embarked on
Operation Restore Order, ostensibly an urban rationalization
program, which resulted in the destruction of the homes or
businesses of 700,000 mostly poor supporters of the opposition,
according to UN estimates. ZANU-PF announced in December 2006 that
they would combine presidential and parliamentary elections in 2010
to ensure MUGABE remains in office.

Geography Zimbabwe

Location:
Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia

Geographic coordinates:
20 00 S, 30 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 390,580 sq km
land: 386,670 sq km
water: 3,910 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Montana

Land boundaries:
total: 3,066 km
border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa
225 km, Zambia 797 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)

Terrain:
mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld);
mountains in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m
highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m

Natural resources:
coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore,
vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals

Land use:
arable land: 8.24%
permanent crops: 0.33%
other: 91.43% (2005)

Irrigated land:
1,740 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water
pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest
concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly
reduced by poaching; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste
and heavy metal pollution

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with
Zambia; in full flood (February-April) the massive Victoria Falls on
the river forms the world's largest curtain of fa