Zimbabwe

Country Facts

Population: 11,392,629(2009)
Median Age: 17.6 yrs.
AIDS/HIV Prevelance rate: 15.3 (2007 est.)
GDP per capita: >$100 USD (2009 est.)
Major Religion: Syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%
People Groups: 44 Unreached: 3
Largest Unreached People Group: Marathi
Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy
Official Languages: English, Shona

Geography
Located in Southern Africa, Zimbabwe is bordered by four countries, South Africa (south), Zambia (north), Mozambique (east) and Botswana (west). In topography, Zimbabwe is a high plateau with a mountain range in the east.

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People
About 70 percent of the population lives in rural areas, and Harare and Bulawayo account for most of the approximately 30 percent in urban areas. The largest ethnic group is collectively known as the Shona, about seventy-six percent of the population. More than half of white Zimbabweans, primarily of English origin, arrived in Zimbabwe after World War II.

History
San (Bushmen) hunters are believed to have been the earliest inhabitants of the area that is now Zimbabwe, and were later absorbed into the farming and cattle-herding culture of the Bantu groups. Little is known about those early Bantu groups, but the present-day Shona can be traced to a group that moved into the area around 1200 C.E.

From the eleventh century until the fifteenth century, the Shona kingdom of Zimbabwe was one of southern Africa's wealthiest and most powerful societies. There was a significant decline in the fifteenth century, and only in the early 1900's was there anthropological consideration that Great Zimbabwe was of Bantu origin. While there were various dynasties that followed, no one succeeded in taking over until the Ndebelene invasion in the 1880's.

In the late 1880s, tricked into opening its country to mining prospectors, there was an influx from South Africa searching for gold and arable land. After defeating the Ndebele in battle, the colonists founded Rhodesia in 1895. As whites became the majority, Rhodesia was handed to the British Crown in the 1920s. Organized resistance to white supremacy in the 1940s led to the establishment of Zimbabwe African People's Union and the Zimbabwe African National Union and the eventual independence of the country from white rule. Zimbabwe declared a Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. The first multiparty general elections were held with complete adult suffrage in 1980. The Zimbabwe African National Unity party led by Robert Mugabe won the majority of seats and took over the government in April 1980. With the merge of Zimbabwe Africa People's Union merged in 1987, Zimbabwe has effectively been a one-party state.

Culture

Like in many African countries, the majority of Zimbabweans depend on a few staple foods. The major grain for consumption is maize, which is ground into flour and made into a thick porridge eaten with green vegetables or meat. Foods that are eaten seasonally include milk, boiled or roasted groundnuts, boiled or roasted maize, fruits, termites, and caterpillars.

Traditional arts in Zimbabwe include pottery, basketry, textiles, jewelry and carving. Among the distinctive qualities are symmetrically patterned woven baskets and stools carved out of a single piece of wood.

Football is the most popular of sports in Zimbabwe, although rugby union and cricket also have a following, traditionally among the white minority.

Large parts of Zimbabwe have previously been covered by forest, the African bush, with an abundant wildlife. Poverty, population growth and lack of fuel has led to extensive deforestation which together with poaching has reduced the wildlife considerably.

Spiritual Climate
Some 85% of Zimbabweans are Christian; 62% percent of the population attends religious services regularly. The largest Christian churches are Anglican and Roman Catholic. As in other African countries, Christianity may be mixed with enduring traditional beliefs. Besides Christianity, ancestral worship is the most practiced non-Christian religion, involving spiritual intercession.

NMSI Involvement
NMSI first began to work in Zimbabwe by joining national missionaries in 1999. Current NMSI ministries include:

• Church planting
• Leadership development
• Agriculture

Prayer Points
• For strengthening of the believers in Zimbabwe
• For the discipleship and training of national believers
• For a bountiful harvest of crops

Ministry Opportunities
Short-term: Create your own project.

Long-term: If you feel called to work or are currently working in a country in this region, please contact our People and Organizational Development Team (POD) to explore how NMSI might partner with you.

Zimbabwe Photo Gallery

Sources: Joshua Project, Campus Crusade for Christ, CIA World Factbook, Every Culture—Zimbabwe, US Department of State, Wikipedia

Zimbabwe landscape photo courtesy of mazzali

NMSI Missionaries serving in Zimbabwe:

Zimbabwe

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