Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, and formerly Southern Rhodesia, the Republic of Rhodesia and Zimbabwe Rhodesia, is a landlocked country in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers.
Zimbabwe is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest, and Mozambique to the east.
The official language of Zimbabwe is English, however the majority of the population speaks Shona which is the native language of the Shona people, it is one of the native languages of Zimbabwe along with Sindebele which is spoken by the Matabele people.
Zimbabwe got its Independence on April 18, 1980. The first and the Latest Prime Minister is Robert Mugabe. There are widespread reports of systematic and escalating violations of human rights in Zimbabwe under the Mugabe ruling.
According to the United Nations World Healt Organization, the life expectancy for men is 37 years and the life expectancy for women is 34 years of age, the lowest in the world in 2006.
Zimbabwe has an adult literacy rate of approximately 90% which is amongst the highest in Africa
The economic meltdown and repressive political measures in Zimbabwe has led to a flood of refugees into neighbouring countries. An estimated 3.4 million Zimbabweans, a quarter of the population, had fled abroad by mid 2007.