Country · Africa
Zimbabwe
Republic of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a country in Eastern Africa. About 14.4 million people live there, in an area of 390 757 square kilometres. Its capital city is Harare.
Picture credit: Ryan Timothy777 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · User:Ulamm (Public domain) · Ralf Ellerich (CC BY-SA 3.0) · damien_farrell (CC BY 2.0) · Itaisibanda (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe lies in Eastern Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the southern half of the world, roughly 2 226 km from the equator.
Zimbabwe is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 4 countries: Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia.
How big is Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe covers 390 757 square kilometres.
That is about 9.5 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 60th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 37 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Zimbabwe?
About 14.4 million people live in Zimbabwe.
That is the 73rd biggest population in the world.
People here speak Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Khoisan, Ndau, Northern Ndebele, Chewa, Shona, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa and Zimbabwean Sign Language.
They pay with the Botswana pula, Chinese yuan and Euro.
Other money is used here too.
On average, people born here can expect to live about 38 years.
The land of Zimbabwe
The land of Zimbabwe sits on average 961 metres above sea level.
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 4 neighbours to get here.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Zimbabwe different?
A dish the country is known for: Sadza.
Websites from here often end in .zw.
Zimbabwe and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Zimbabwe.
It takes up about 0.29 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 26th of 54 by size, and 26th by population.
Zimbabwe and its neighbours
South Africa, its largest neighbour, is about 3.1 times bigger.
South Africa has more people: 57.8 million against 14.4 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 18 live wild in Zimbabwe: Lion, African elephant, Giraffe, Zebra, Hippopotamus, White rhinoceros and more. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Nyangani, at 2 592 metres. The longest river in the country is the Zambezi. The country has no large natural lake; its largest body of water, Lake Kariba, is a reservoir.
Lion
African elephant
Giraffe
Zebra
Hippopotamus
White rhinoceros
Leopard
African buffalo
Dung beetle
Pygmy chameleon
Aardvark
Blue wildebeest
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Zimbabwe compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 24 times as big as Zimbabwe: 9 372 610 km² against 390 757 km².
- Zimbabwe is about 1.6 times as big as the United Kingdom: 390 757 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Zimbabwe?
The capital of Zimbabwe is Harare. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Zimbabwe?
About 14.4 million people live in Zimbabwe, which makes it the 73rd most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe borders Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia — 4 neighbours in total.
How big is Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe covers 390 757 square kilometres, making it the 60th largest country in the world. That is about 9.5 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Zimbabwe?
The highest mountain in Zimbabwe is Mount Nyangani, 2 592 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Zimbabwe?
The longest river in Zimbabwe is the Zambezi. Of its 2 574 kilometres, about 500 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Zimbabwe?
The largest body of water in Zimbabwe is Lake Kariba, a reservoir of about 5 580 km²; there is no large natural lake in the country.
Which continent is Zimbabwe in?
Zimbabwe is in Africa, in the part called Eastern Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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