LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Zimbabwe
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In 2007 Zimbabwe’s population was estimated to be 12,311,143, giving the country a population density of 32 persons per sq km (82 per sq mi). With a birth rate of 28 per 1,000 and a death rate of 22 per 1,000, Zimbabwe’s population growth rate is 0.6 percent. Life expectancy at birth was estimated at 40 years in 2007, down from 59 years in 1985. This drastic decline is largely attributable to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in Zimbabwe that began in the late 1980s. Zimbabwe’s people have steadily drifted away from rural areas to the towns and cities since the 1980s. Still, by 2005 just 36 percent of the populated lived in urban areas.
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Since Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, Mr. Robert Gabriel Mugabe has been at the helm of the government, first as prime minister and then as president after he merged the two positions in 1987. Mugabe�s Marxist background inclined him to construct a one party state but former colleagues such as Mr. Edgar Tekere and Margaret Dongo fought against this principle. Eventually in 1999 Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai formed the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), a party that has become a major threat to Mugabe's ZANU PF. Since that time. the president has adopted tactics of ruthless aggression against political opponents.
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Since 2000, Zimbabwe has experienced precipitous hyperinflation. By 2007, inflation had reached nearly 7,000%, by far the world's highest. Unemployment ranges from 70% to 80%. According to the World Health Organization, Zimbabwe has the world's lowest life expectancy. The opposition, clearly emboldened by the economic collapse and the lack of available necessities in Zimbabwe, attempted to hold an antigovernment rally in March 2007. Police arrested and beat dozens of activists, including Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change.
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Zimbabwe has an interesting history. Its name means "house of stone," referring to the ancient city of Zimbabwe from which the Shona people ruled and conducted a gold trade between the 8th and the 15th centuries. Its more recent history echoes that of most of Africa dealing with a colonial past. The presence of Europeans and their descendants have influenced the cuisine of the country, but the majority of the people eat the food familiar in much of sub-Saharan Africa: corn, cassava, millet, pumpkin, peanuts and yams. The importance of peanuts, which were brought to Africa by the Portuguese in the 16th century, is seen in the recipes below.
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Zimbabwe's economy is basically agricultural. The formerly strong commercial farming sector was thrown into disarray with the expropriation of white-owned farms that began in 2000, and the replacement of large efficient farms with smaller ones worked by inexperienced farmers. Formerly an exporter of foodstuffs, Zimbabwe now must import grains. Corn is the chief food source, and cotton and tobacco the principal cash crops. Other products include sorghum, peanuts, wheat, sugarcane, soybeans, and coffee. There are ... numerous tea plantations in the country; dairying is important in the high veld.
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The first reported case of AIDS in Zimbabwe occurred in 1985. By the end of the 1980s, around 10% of the adult population were thought to be infected with HIV. This figure rose dramatically in the first half of the 1990s, peaking and stabilising at 29% between 1995 and 1997. But since this point the HIV prevalence is thought to have declined, making Zimbabwe one of the first African nations to witness such a trend. According to Government figures, the adult prevalence was 20.1% in 2005,11 and fell again to 15.6% in 2007. 12 The United Nations and WHO have accepted these revised figures.
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