Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a state in Southern Africa, famous for its history, for different ecosystems, for the rich fauna that characterizes it and for the Victoria Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

The country’s name comes from the Great Zimbabwe, the ancient capital Mutapa and one of the largest ancient structure in sub-Saharan Africa; Zimbabwe derives from the word "dzimba-dza-mbwe" in Karanga language, meaning "large stone houses."

 

Zimbabwe is bordered to the North by Zambia, border outlined by the course of the Zambezi River, to the East by Mozambique, to the South by South Africa, border drawn along the Limpopo River, and to the West by Botswana.

 

Zimbabwe's population is mainly made up of two large ethnic groups: the Shona, who are mainly located in the Eastern part of the country and the Ndebele who instead live in the West; there are also other minor ethnic groups, among these: the Chewa, the Tonga and the Shangaan; a small percentage of Europeans, mostly Anglo-Saxon, and Asian complete the ethnic framework of the country.

 

The population is concentrated mainly in the North-East of the country, where there are also the capital Harare and important cities such as Chinhoyi and Chitungwinza, other urban centers such as Masvingo, Mutare and Gweru that are additional landmarks in the country, each of these has its own characteristics; Bulawayo instead is the only major city in the Western part of the country and the second largest urban area in the country.

 

The most practiced religion is Christianism, about 65%, the remaining 35% of the population practice animist cults, but frequently there is a mixture and overlap between the cults since the animist rites, over the centuries, have adopted a number of representations, and sometimes practices of Christianity.

 

Zimbabwe is landlocked, the highlands to the East and the mountains on the border with Mozambique sloping down to the arid plains of the South; the influence of the desert of Kalahari to the West creates the classic savannah environment, while to the North, towards Zambia and the Zambezi River, thanks to the abundance of water in the soil, there is the wooded savannah.

 

From a climatic point of view, we can say that in Zimbabwe there are two main seasons: the rainy season in the months from December to March, and the dry season from April to November.

 

The country was a real barn until the ‘90s, in the area, in fact, there were a lot of wheat and corn crops, but after the land reform and the economic collapse in 2008, agriculture has undergone a sharp slowdown despite the high potential.

 

The secondary sector and the service industry, as well after the stop of the early 2000, are slowly recovering the lost ground, tourism once represented one of the first revenue streams of the state, but after the crisis of the 2000, suffered a collapse, though in recent years signs of recovery are recorded, mainly due to national parks rich in wildlife and characterized by unique landscapes and the Victoria Falls, that alone attract thousands of tourists every year.

 

The Victoria Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located on the border with Zambia, are generated by the Zambezi River and have a water front 1,700 meters long with a drop of about 108 meters at its highest point.

 

In addition to the Victoria Falls in the country there are four other World Heritage sites: the ruins of the Great Zimbabwe, the Khami ruins, the Matobo National Park and the Mana Pools National Park.

 

In Zimbabwe there are many other national parks such as the Hwange National Park or the Wankie Game Reserve, the Matusadona National Park and the Gonarezhou National Park; all these nature reserves have an incredible variety of species of animals from the most famous Big 5 to many species of antelopes and birds.

 

The Shona are skilled sculptors and use the soapstone for their own works of art that are famous even beyond national borders.

 

The music is an art widely practiced and there are many artists who are well established abroad, Zimbabwe hosts the International Art Festival, where many cultures come together to celebrate their artistic expression.