Republic of Zimbabwe
CAPITAL : Harare
FLAG : The flag has seven equal horizontal stripes of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green. At the hoist is a white triangle, which contains a representation in yellow of the bird of Zimbabwe superimposed on a red star.
ANTHEM : God Bless Africa .
MONETARY UNIT : The Zimbabwe dollar ( Z $) is a paper currency of 100 cents. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents and 1 dollar, and notes of 2, 5, 10, and 20 dollars. Z $1 = US $0.000826 (or US $1 = Z $1,210; in January 2003).
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : The metric system is used.
HOLIDAYS : New Year's Day, 1 January; Independence Day, 18 April; Workers' Day, 1 May; Africa Day, 25 May; Heroes' Days, 11–13 August; Christmas Day, 25 December; Boxing Day, 26 December. Movable holidays are Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Monday, and Whitmonday.
TIME : 2 PM = noon GMT.
The Shona speak dialects of the same Bantu language, Shona. There are six major dialects: Karanga, Zezuru, Korekore, Manyika, Ndau, and Kalanga. The Ndebele speak modified versions of Ndebele (or Sindebele), which belongs to the Nguni group of southeast Bantu languages.
English, the official language, is spoken by most Europeans and by an increasing number of Africans.
Each of the eight provinces of Zimbabwe is administered by a provincial commissioner appointed by the central government. Local services are provided by city, town, and rural councils. The Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Planning is charged with ensuring the establishment of local authorities where necessary and local adherence to legislation.
There is some commercial fishing on Kariba Lake. Rural Zimbabweans fish the smaller lakes and rivers. The total catch in 2000 was estimated at 13,114 tons, with dagaas accounting for 80%.
Zimbabwe has no territories or colonies.
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