Economic Development In Zimbabwe Essay -- essays research papers

Economic Development in Zimbabwe The country of Zimbabwe is one of the most economically developed on the African continent . A fairly young political entity, Zimbabwe has only enjoyed recognized autonomy since 1980, the year in which the United Kingdom repealed its imperialistic claims to the African nation . Despite its youth the country has achieved a level of economic development uncharacteristic of sub-Saharan African nations. Second only to South Africa in economic development, Zimbabwe's economic system is one indicative of a transitional country, a country making the transition from dependency underdevelopment to self-reliant industrialization. The purpose of this essay is to make a cursory but adequate examination of Zimbabwean socio-economic and political system, as means to analyzing the countries economic development. The ultimate purpose of this study is to provide a model of the structure necessary to achieve economic development where none previously existed. Zimbabwe is an appropriate model because the dynamics of underdevelopment to development in this country are readily apparent. This model can be useful in understanding underdevelopment in other so called "third-world" countries and in determining what is necessary for these countries to make the transition to industrialization. Geography Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in the southern, sub-Saharan area of the African continent bordered by South Africa to the South, Botswana to the West, Mozambique to the East and Zambia to the North. With an area of 391,090 km2 Zimbabwe is only slightly larger than the state of Colorado. Harare is Zimbabwe's capital and largest city with a population of 1,100,000. Containing vast amounts of rare mineralogical resources and possessing a favorable growing climate Zimbabwe's economy is drawn almost equally between the mining of minerals ($2.2 billion) and the production of staples and cash crops ($2.1 billion) . People Zimbabweans are comprised of two primary ethnic groups, the Shona, comprising 74% of the population and the Ndebele comprising 20%. Other ethnic black groups and Asians make up 4% of the population while whites make up just over 1% of the population. Zimbabwe has a population of 10.35 million people with a population density of 24 persons per km2. 1992 census figures estimate Zimbabwe's growth at 3.0% with 90% of this growth ... ...ble workforce. Finally, Zimbabwe participates in non-aligned trade for non-strategic products such as textiles. This greatly reduces the countries chance of becoming dependent on a trade partner. Conclusion In many ways Zimbabwe is a model for third-world economic development. Although not yet fully developed Zimbabwe clearly has the potential to be a full fledged developed nation. Beyond its vast resources Zimbabwe is structured in a way to promote development. This fact in and of itself distinguishes Zimbabwe from most other Lesser Developed Countries (LDC). Zimbabwe's economic structure is one in which they are essentially self-sufficient and trade only for profit or for consumer goods. Also they perform trade with many partners with no single partner comprising garnering more than 15% of import or export goods. By structuring the Zimbabwe's economic system in a way that keeps its partners diversified and its imports non-strategic, Mugabe has successfully led his nation to the path of development. The barriers left to full development are quite minimal compared to the ones already dominated, The structure of Zimbabwe's economic system is truly a model of economic development.