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Zimbabwe

2022-10-15T02:50:08Z

Claudius:

{{Country
|name =''Republic of Zimbabwe''
|map =Zimbabwe rel 2002.jpg
|map2 =Location of Zimbabwe.png
|flag =Flag of Zimbabwe.png
|arms =Arms of Zimbabwe.png
|capital =Harare
|capital-raw =
|government =Presidential Republic
|government-raw =
|language =English
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Emmerson Mnangagwa
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =150,871 sq. miles
|pop =15,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$30.581 billion
|gdp-year =2006
|gdp-pc =$2,607
|currency =Dollar
|idd =
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}}
'''Zimbabwe''', formerly the [[Republic of Rhodesia]] and the colony '''Southern Rhodesia''', is a nation in south-central [[Africa]]. It has borders with [[South Africa]], [[Botswana]], [[Zambia]] and [[Mozambique]]. A dispute exists whether Zimbabwean territory touches that of [[Namibia]] at the extreme westernmost point of Zimbabwe. The country has an area of 150,873 square miles (390,759 km2) and a population of 12.3 million (2007 est). The capital city is [[Harare]].

==People==
Primarily of the Bantu group of south and central Africa, the black Zimbabweans are divided into two major language groups, which are subdivided into several ethnic groups. The Mashona (Shona speakers), who constitute about 75% of the population, have lived in the area the longest and are the majority language group. The Matabele (Sindebele speakers), representing about 20% of the population and centered in the southwest around Bulawayo, arrived within the last 150 years. An offshoot of the South African Zulu group, they maintained control over the Mashona until the white occupation of Rhodesia in 1890.

More than half of white Zimbabweans, primarily of English origin, arrived in Zimbabwe after World War II. Afrikaners from South Africa and other European minorities, including Portuguese from Mozambique, also are present. Until the mid-1970s, there were about 1,000 white immigrants per year, but from 1976 to 1985 a steady emigration resulted in a loss of more than 150,000, leaving about 100,000 in 1992. Renewed white emigration in the late 1990s and early 2000s reduced the white population to less than 50,000. English, the official language, is spoken by the white population and understood, if not always used, by more than half of the black population.

The literacy rate is estimated at 90.5%. Primary and secondary schools were segregated until 1979 when racial restrictions were removed. Since independence, the educational system has been systematically enlarged by the Zimbabwean Government, which is committed to providing free public education to all citizens on an equal basis. As of the late 1970s, some 50% of the African children (5–19 years old) were listed officially as attending rural schools. Today, most African children attend primary school. Primary through post-secondary enrollment has expanded from 1 million to about 2.9 million since independence. About 40% of the rural primary schools were destroyed during the Rhodesian conflict, which delayed improvement of the rural education system. Higher education, offered at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, the new National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo, the new Africa (Methodist) University in Mutare, the new Midlands State University in Gweru, the new Solusi University in Bulawayo (Seventh Day Adventist), the new Bindura University of Science in Bindura, fourteen teacher-training colleges, and twelve polytechnical institutes and industrial training centers, is being expanded with assistance from several donor countries.
*Population (2005 est.): 13,010,000.
*Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 0.83%. (Note: the population growth rate is depressed by an HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate estimated to be 18% and a high level of net emigration.)
*Ethnic groups: Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other African 11%, white 1%, mixed and Asian 1%.
*Religions: Christianity 75%, offshoot Christian sects, animist, and Muslim.
*Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele.
*Education: Attendance—mandatory for primary level. Adult literacy—90.5% (2004 est.).
*Health: Infant mortality rate—51.7/1,000 (2006 est.). Life expectancy—men 37 (2006), women 34 (2006).
*Work force (2006 est.): 900,000 in formal sector.

==Government==
According to Zimbabwe's constitution, the president is head of state and head of government, and is elected for a 6-year term by popular majority vote. Parliament is bicameral and sits for up to a 5-year term. The 150-member house of assembly consists of 120 elected seats, 10 chiefs elected by their peers but influenced by the president, eight provincial governors and 12 non-constituency MPs appointed by the president. The parliament elects a speaker from outside its membership and a deputy speaker from among its members.

In September 2005 the government used its two-thirds majority in parliament to pass a constitutional amendment that established a 66-member Senate. The Senate consists of 50 elected seats, 6 seats directly appointed by the president, 8 chiefs elected from the 8 rural provinces (excluding the metropolitan provinces), and the president and vice president of the Council of Chiefs.

The Zimbabwean constitution institutionalizes majority rule and protection of minority rights. The elected government controls senior appointments in the public service, including the military and police, and the independent Public Service Commission is charged with making appointments at lower levels on an equitable basis.

The judiciary is headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court who, like the other justices, is appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission. The constitution has a bill of rights containing extensive protection of human rights. The bill of rights could not be amended for the first 10 years of independence except by unanimous vote of the parliament.

Zimbabwe is divided into eight provinces, each administered by a provincial governor appointed by the president. The provincial administrator and representatives of several service ministries assist the provincial governor. In 2004, the Mugabe government declared Bulawayo and Harare to be provinces with their own respective provincial governors even though there is no constitutional provision for these newly created positions.

Zimbabwe was tyrannically governed by President [[Robert Mugabe]] from 1980 until 2017 (serving until 1987 as prime minister). His Zimbabwean African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), which dominated the legislative and executive branches since independence in 1980. In November 2017, Mugabe resigned, being forced out of office in a military coup,<ref>Multiple references:
*Suarez Sang, Lucia I. (November 21, 2017). [https://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/11/21/zimbabwe-president-mugabe-resigns-amid-impeachment-hearing-parliament-speaker-says.html Zimbabwe's Mugabe resigns ending decades-long dictatorship]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
*Hayward, John (November 21, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/11/21/mugabe-resigns-zimbabwean-parliament-begins-impeachment/ Mugabe Resigns After Zimbabwean Parliament Begins Impeachment]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
*[https://www.voanews.com/a/zimbabwe-mugabe-resignation/4128450.html Celebrations in Harare After Mugabe Resigns]. ''Voice of America''. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
*Dzirutwe, MacDonald (November 20, 2017). [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zimbabwe-politics/zimbabwes-mugabe-resigns-ending-four-decades-of-rule-idUSKBN1DK2O0 Zimbabwe's Mugabe resigns, ending four decades of rule]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
*[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42071488 Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe resigns, ending 37-year rule]. ''BBC''. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.</ref> and he was replaced by his former vice president [[Emmerson Mnangagwa]], whose record is about as tyrannical as Mugabe's.<ref>Hayward, John (November 24, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/11/24/emmerson-mnangagwa-interim-president-new-tyrant-zimbabwe/ Emmerson Mnangagwa Could Be Interim President or New Tyrant for Zimbabwe]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved November 24, 2017.</ref>

===Principal Government Officials===
*President—Emmerson Mnangagwa
*Vice Presidents—Constantino Chiwenga and [''vacant'']
*Foreign Minister—Frederick Shava
*Ambassador to the U.S.—[''vacant''] Charge d'Affaires—Thomas Hastings

===Foreign Relations===
Since independence, Zimbabwe has enunciated and follows a policy of "active nonalignment." In practice, this has meant that Zimbabwe usually adhered to positions established by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM); the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union; or, until it withdrew in 2003, the Commonwealth. Zimbabwe took a particular interest in the search for independence for Namibia (South-West Africa) from South Africa. In addition, as chairman of the front-line states in southern Africa, Zimbabwe spoke out vigorously against the policies of apartheid in South African and frequently called for the imposition of economic sanctions against Pretoria. In November 1982, Zimbabwe was chosen by the OAU to hold one of the non-permanent seats in the UN Security Council for the following two years, which brought it onto the center stage of world events and gave it much-needed experience in international affairs. In 1986, Zimbabwe was the site of the NAM summit meeting; Prime Minister Mugabe became chairman of that organization, giving both Mugabe and Zimbabwe added international visibility and responsibility.

Zimbabwe maintains embassies in the United States, United Kingdom, Egypt, Angola, Kenya, Senegal, Nigeria, India, Sweden, France, China, Malaysia, Ethiopia, Namibia, Swaziland, Belgium, Tanzania, Botswana, Serbia, Mozambique, Switzerland, Cuba, Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, India, Italy, Russia, and South Africa. Sixty-six countries are represented in Harare as are several international organizations including UN institutions, the European Union, and the World Bank. Zimbabwe is a member of many international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF); African Development Bank; The World Trade Organization; Southern African Development Community (SADC); Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA); African Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP, in association with the EU); Group of 77 (G-77); Group of 15 (G-15); NAM; African Union (AU); Customs Cooperation Council (CCC); and the World Federation of Trade Unions. The IMF Executive Board in July 2004 postponed until January 2005 deliberations on a recommendation for Zimbabwe's compulsory withdrawal from the institution. The IMF closed its Zimbabwe office in October 2004 in a decision not linked to the country's considerable arrears. Shortly after the March 2002 presidential election, the Commonwealth suspended Zimbabwe from leadership councils for one year after the Commonwealth's election observer team found the conduct of the election seriously flawed. After this suspension was upheld in December 2003, Mugabe withdrew Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth.

Historically, Zimbabwe's closest links have been with the U.K.; however, in the past six years, this relationship has been very strained. The government has demonized Britain in the press, blaming the country for Zimbabwe's problems, and claiming that Britain reneged on promises made at Lancaster House to provide money for land reform. As with the U.S., thousands of Zimbabweans studied in the U.K., and private links remain close; however, official relations are strained.

Other West European countries have ties with Zimbabwe. The Scandinavian countries share certain philosophical affinities and have provided much assistance, as have France, Canada, and the Federal Republic of Germany. Portugal and Greece maintain links partly because of the sizable Portuguese and Greek communities in the country. Similar historical ties have led to the establishment of relations with India and Pakistan, and to a lesser extent, with Bangladesh. The government's "look east" policy has led to closer diplomatic relations with East Asian countries such as Malaysia and China.

Zimbabwe maintains diplomatic relations with virtually every African country, although some ties are closer than others. African nations with embassies in Harare are Algeria, Angola, Botswana, D.R.C., Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia.

Ruled continuously by a liberation party, Zimbabwe developed and maintains close ties with a number of revolutionary states and organizations. Among these are the People's Republic of China, Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran, Libya, and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

==Defense==
At independence, then-Prime Minister Mugabe declared that integrating Zimbabwe's then three armed forces would be one of his government's top priorities. The existing Rhodesian forces were combined with the two guerilla armies—the 20,000-strong ZANLA forces of ZANU-PF and the 15,000-strong ZIPRA forces of PF-ZAPU. In July 1994 the combined Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF) Headquarters was created. Currently the armed forces of Zimbabwe are completely integrated and are composed of an army (ZNA) and an air force (AFZ). In 1999, the Government of Zimbabwe sent a sizeable military force into the Democratic Republic of Congo to support the government of President Laurent Kabila. Those forces were largely withdrawn in 2002.

Although as of late 2004, the ZDF had an active duty strength of 33,000 and the air force about 4,000 men these numbers have come down substantially because of resignations due to poor pay and working conditions. Today, the ZDF is largely immobile and beset by shortages of supplies, including food. The U.S. Congress terminated support for military cooperation programs in 2001.

==Economy==
Properly managed, Zimbabwe's wide range of resources should enable it to support sustained economic growth. The country has an important percentage of the world's known reserves of metallurgical-grade chromite. Other commercial mineral deposits include coal, platinum, asbestos, copper, nickel, gold, and iron ore. However, for the country to benefit from these mineral deposits, it must attract foreign direct investment.

In the early 1970s, the economy experienced a modest boom. Real per capita earnings for blacks and whites reached record highs, although the disparity in incomes between blacks and whites remained, with blacks earning only about one-tenth as much as whites. After 1975, however, Rhodesia's economy was undermined by the cumulative effects of sanctions, declining earnings from commodity exports, worsening guerilla conflict, and increasing white emigration. When Mozambique severed economic ties, the Smith regime was forced to depend on South Africa for access to the outside world. Real gross domestic product (GDP) declined between 1974 and 1979. An increasing proportion of the national budget (an estimated 30%-40% per year) was allocated to defense, and a large budget deficit raised the public debt burden substantially.

Following the Lancaster House settlement in December 1979, Zimbabwe enjoyed a brisk economic recovery. Zimbabwe inherited one of the strongest and most complete industrial infrastructures in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as rich mineral resources and a strong agricultural base. Real growth for 1980-81 exceeded 20%. However, depressed foreign demand for the country's mineral exports and the onset of a drought cut sharply into the growth rate in 1982, 1983, and 1984. In 1985, the economy rebounded strongly due to a 30% jump in agricultural production. However it slumped in 1986 to a zero growth rate and registered a 3% contraction in GDP in 1987 due primarily to drought and foreign exchange crisis. Growth in 1988-90 averaged about 4.5%.

Since the mid-1990s, this infrastructure has been deteriorating rapidly, but remains better than that of most African countries. Poor management of the economy and political turmoil have led to considerable economic hardships. The Government of Zimbabwe's chaotic land reform program, recurrent interference with the judiciary, and maintenance of unrealistic price controls and exchange rates have led to a sharp drop in investor confidence. Since 1999, the national economy has contracted by as much as 35%; [[inflation]] vaulted to [[hyperinflation]] of over 7,634.8% (year on year) in July 2007; and there have been persistent shortages of foreign exchange, fuel, and food. Direct foreign investment has all but evaporated. In a desperate attempt to control inflation, the government forced firms and supermarkets to reduce prices by half in July 2007, which resulted in severe shortages of basic and other commodities.

Agriculture is no longer the backbone of the Zimbabwean economy. Large scale commercial farming has been effectively destroyed over the course of the last five years under the government's controversial land reform efforts starting in 2000. Corn is the largest food crop and tobacco had traditionally been the largest export crop, followed by cotton. Tobacco production in 2006, however, slumped to its lowest level—about 50 million kg—since independence, off from a peak in 2000 of 237 million kg. Gold production, another former key foreign currency source, slid by about 48% in the first half of 2007 to 4.54 metric tons compared to the corresponding period in 2006. Poor government management has exacerbated meager corn harvests in years of drought or floods, resulting in significant food shortfalls every year since 2001.

Paved roads link the major urban and industrial centers, but the condition of urban roads and the unpaved rural road network has deteriorated significantly since 1995 for lack of maintenance. Rail lines connect with an extensive central African railroad network, although railway track condition has also worsened in recent years, along with locomotive availability and utilization. The electric power supply has become erratic and blackouts are common due to low generator availability at the Kariba hydroelectric power plant and unreliable or nonexistent coal supplies to the country's large thermal plants. Telephone service is problematic, and new lines are difficult of obtain.

The largest industries are metal products, food processing, chemicals, textiles, clothing, furniture and plastic goods. Most manufacturers have sharply scaled back operations due to the poor operating climate and foreign exchange shortages. Zimbabwe is not a member of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and a number of textile businesses have migrated to other African countries in a bid to benefit from the opportunities offered by AGOA. Zimbabwean producers still export lumber products, certain textiles, chrome alloys and automobile windscreens to the U.S.

Zimbabwe is endowed with rich mineral resources. Exports of gold, asbestos, chrome, coal, platinum, nickel, and copper could lead to an economic recovery one day. No commercial deposits of petroleum have been discovered, although the country is richly endowed with coal-bed methane gas that has yet to be exploited.

With international attractions such as Victoria Falls, the Great Zimbabwe stone ruins, Lake Kariba, and extensive wildlife, tourism historically has been a significant segment of the economy and contributor of foreign exchange. The sector has contracted sharply since 1999, however, due to the country's declining international image.

As of 2008, the [[economy]] is in complete collapse. A decade ago, President [[Robert Mugabe]] said he was reclaiming ancestral lands from white farmland owners for poor black peasants. At the time Zimbabwe was a net exporter of food. Some land went to Mugabe's Cabinet ministers and generals, who left the fields untended, although a significant number of the 'resettlements' involved the rural poor, albeit initially in a highly disorganised manner.<ref>Scoones et al. (2010) Zimbabwe's Land Reform</ref> Hundreds of thousands of [[farm]] laborers and their families lost their jobs and homes. Now the country is dependent on foreign food aid. Eighty percent of the work force is unemployed and many with jobs don't earn enough to pay for bus fare. [[Inflation]] is the world's highest at 2.2 million percent. Independent [[economist]] say [[inflation]] is at 12.5 million percent. Due to inflation, a good costing $1 at the beginning of a month may cost $20 by month's end.<ref>[http://www.theconservativevoice.com/ap/article.html?mi=D928C5JG0&apc=9002 Zimbabwe drops 10 zeros from inflated currency] The Conservative Voice, July 30, 2008</ref> The situation has been stabilised somewhat thanks to a power-sharing agreement between the MDC and ZANU-PF. Inflation has been brought under control thanks to the scrapping of the previous currency, and political violence has decreased. However, tensions between the governing parties remain and the dire economic situation of the previous decade will make rebuilding a long and arduous process.

====Energy Resources====
With considerable hydroelectric power potential and plentiful coal deposits for thermal power station, Zimbabwe is less dependent on oil as an energy source than most other comparably industrialized countries, but it still imports 40% of its electric power needs from the DRC, Mozambique and South Africa. Only about 15% of Zimbabwe's total energy consumption is accounted for by oil, all of which is imported. Zimbabwe imports about 1.2 billion liters of oil per year. Dependence on petroleum is managed through the price controls for vehicle fuels, the use of gasohol, and the substitution of diesel-electric locomotives on the railway system. Zimbabwe also has substantial coal reserves that are utilized for power generation, and recently discovered in Matabeleland province are coal bed methane deposits greater than any known natural gas field in Southern or Eastern Africa. In recent years, however, poor economic management and low foreign currency reserves have led to serious fuel shortages.
*GDP (2006 est.): U.S. $407.4 million (World Bank est).
*Real GDP growth rate (2006): -5.1%.
*Real per capita GDP (Reliable estimates of current GDP and population size are unavailable.)
*Avg. inflation rate: 7,634.8% (year-on-year, July 2007, by official accounts; private sector estimates are roughly triple the official figure).
*Natural resources: Deposits of more than 40 minerals including ferrochrome, gold, silver, platinum, copper, asbestos; 19 million hectares of forest (2000).
*Agriculture (15% of GDP): Types of crops and livestock—corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, tea, sugarcane, peanuts, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs.
*Industry: manufacturing, public administration, commerce, mining, transport and communication.
*Trade (2006): U.S. exports—U.S. $47.58 million. U.S. imports—U.S. $103.28 million. Partners (2000 est.)--South Africa 22%, U.K. 10%, Germany 9%, U.S. 8%. Total imports (2004)--U.S. $1,989 million: most of these imports were construction and agricultural machinery, transportation equipment, data processing equipment and software, industrial machinery, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, and general manufactured products. Major suppliers—South Africa 34%, U.K. 10.8%, Germany 7.3%, U.S. 6%.

==History==
====Early History====
Archaeologists have found Stone-Age implements and pebble tools in several areas of Zimbabwe, a suggestion of human habitation for many centuries, and the ruins of stone buildings provide evidence of early civilization. The most impressive of these sites is the "Great Zimbabwe" ruins, after which the country is named, located near Masvingo. Evidence suggests that these stone structures were built between the 9th and 13th centuries A.D. by indigenous Africans who had established trading contacts with commercial centers on Africa's southeastern coast.

In the 16th century, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to attempt colonization of south-central Africa, but the hinterland lay virtually untouched by Europeans until the arrival of explorers, missionaries, ivory hunters, and traders some 300 years later. Meanwhile, mass migrations of indigenous peoples took place. Successive waves of more highly developed Bantu peoples from equatorial regions supplanted the original inhabitants and are the ancestors of the region's Africans today.

====British Settlement and Administration====
In 1888, Cecil Rhodes obtained a concession for mineral rights from local chiefs. Later that year, the area that became Southern and Northern Rhodesia was proclaimed a British sphere of influence. The British South Africa Company was chartered in 1889, and the settlement of Salisbury (now Harare, the capital) was established in 1890. In 1895, the territory was formally named Rhodesia after Cecil Rhodes under the British South Africa Company's administration.

Following the abrogation of the company's charter in 1923, Southern Rhodesia's white settlements were given the choice of being incorporated into the Union of South Africa or becoming a separate entity within the British Empire. The settlers rejected incorporation, and Southern Rhodesia was formally annexed by the United Kingdom that year. Until 1980, Rhodesia was an internally self-governing colony with its own legislature, civil service, armed forces, and police. Although Rhodesia was never administered directly from London, the United Kingdom always retained the right to intervene in the affairs of the colony, particularly in matters affecting Africans.

After 1923, European immigrants concentrated on developing Rhodesia's rich mineral resources and agricultural potential. The settlers' demand for more land led in 1934 to the passage of the first of a series of land apportionment acts that reserved certain areas for Europeans.

In September 1953, Southern Rhodesia was joined in a multiracial Central African Federation with the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland in an effort to pool resources and markets. Although the federation flourished economically, the African population, who feared they would not be able to achieve self-government with the federal structure dominated by White Southern Rhodesians, opposed it. The federation was dissolved at the end of 1963 after much crisis and turmoil, and Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland became the independent states of Zambia and Malawi in 1964.

====Unilateral Declaration Of Independence (UDI)====
The European electorate in Rhodesia, however, showed little willingness to accede to African demands for increased political participation and progressively replaced more moderate party leaders. In April 1964, Prime Minister Winston Field, accused of not moving rapidly enough to obtain independence from the United Kingdom, was replaced by his deputy, Ian Smith. Prime Minister Smith led his Rhodesian Front Party to an overwhelming victory in the 1965 elections, winning all 50 of the first roll seats and demoralizing the more moderate European opposition.

Although prepared to grant independence to Rhodesia, the United Kingdom insisted that the authorities at Salisbury first demonstrate their intention to move toward eventual majority rule. Desiring to keep their dominant position, the white Rhodesians refused to give such assurances. On November 11, 1965, after lengthy and unsuccessful negotiations with the British Government, Prime Minister Smith issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom.

====Post-UDI Events====
The British Government considered the UDI unconstitutional and illegal but made clear that it would not use force to oppose it. On November 12, 1965, the United Nations also determined the Rhodesian Government and UDI to be illegal and called on member states to refrain from assisting or recognizing the Smith regime. The British Government imposed sanctions on Rhodesia and requested other nations to do the same.

On December 16, 1966, the UN Security Council, for the first time in history, imposed mandatory economic sanctions on a state. Rhodesia's primary exports including ferrochrome and tobacco, were placed on the selective sanctions list, as were shipments of arms, aircraft, motor vehicles, petroleum, and petroleum products to Rhodesia. On May 29, 1968, the Security Council unanimously voted to broaden the sanctions by imposing an almost total embargo on all trade with, investments in, or transfers of funds to Rhodesia and imposed restrictions on air transport to the territory.

In the early 1970s, informal attempts at settlement were renewed between the United Kingdom and the Rhodesian administration. Following the April 1974 coup in Portugal and the resulting shifts of power in Mozambique and Angola, pressure on the Smith regime to negotiate a peaceful settlement increased. In addition, sporadic antigovernment guerilla activity, which began in the late 1960s, increased dramatically after 1972, causing destruction, economic dislocation, casualties, and a slump in white morale. In 1974, the major African nationalists groups—the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU) and the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), which split away from ZAPU in 1963—were united into the "Patriotic Front" and combined their military forces, at least nominally.

In 1976, because of a combination of embargo-related economic hardships, the pressure of guerilla activity, independence and majority rule in the neighboring former Portuguese territories, and a U.K.-U.S. diplomatic initiative, the Smith government agreed in principle to majority rule and to a meeting in Geneva with black nationalist leaders to negotiate a final settlement of the conflict. Blacks represented at the Geneva meeting included ZAPU leader Joshua Nkomo, ZANU leader Robert Mugabe, UANC chairman bishop [[Abel Muzorewa]], and former ZANU leader Rev. Nadabaningi Sithole. The meeting failed to find a basis for agreement because of Smith's inflexibility and the inability of the black leaders to form a common political front.

On September 1, 1977 a detailed Anglo-American plan was put forward with proposals for majority rule, neutrally administered with pre-independence elections, a democratic constitution and the formation of an integrated army. Reactions were mixed, but no party rejected them. In the interim, on March 3, 1978, the Smith administration signed the "internal settlement" agreement in Salisbury with Bishop Muzorewa, Rev. Sithole, and Chief Jeremiah Chirau. The agreement provided for qualified majority rule and elections with universal suffrage. Following elections in April 1979, in which his UANC party won a majority, Bishop Muzorewa assumed office on June 1, becoming "Zimbabwe-Rhodesia's" first black prime minister. However, the installation of the new black majority government did not end the guerilla conflict that had claimed more than 20,000 lives since 1972.

Shortly after British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's conservative government took power in May 1979, the British began a new round of consultations that culminated in an agreement among the Commonwealth countries as the basis for fresh negotiations among the parties and the British involving a new constitution, free elections and independence.

The British and the African parties began deliberations on a Rhodesian settlement at Lancaster House in London on September 10, 1979. On December 10, 1979, in preparation for the transition under British authority to officially recognized independence, the "Zimbabwe-Rhodesia" reverted de facto to colonial status. On December 12, British Governor Lord Christopher Soames arrived in Salisbury to reassert British authority over the colony. His arrival signaled the end of the Rhodesian rebellion and the "internal settlement," as well as the beginning of Zimbabwe's transition to independence. The United Kingdom lifted all remaining sanctions against Zimbabwe that day. The United States lifted sanctions effective December 16.

On December 21, after 3 months of hard bargaining, the parties signed an agreement at Lancaster House calling for a cease-fire, new elections, a transition period under British rule, and a new constitution implementing majority rule while protecting minority rights. The agreement specified that upon the granting of independence, the country's name would be Zimbabwe. The same day, the UN Security Council endorsed the settlement agreement and formally voted unanimously to call on member nations to remove sanctions.

During the transition period, nine political parties campaigned for the February 27–29 pre-independence elections. The elections were supervised by the British Government and monitored by hundreds of observers, most of whom concluded that, under the prevailing circumstances, the elections were free and fair and reflected the will of the people. Robert Mugabe's ZANU (PF) party won an absolute majority and was asked to form Zimbabwe's first government.

In a series of public statements during the transition period, Prime Minister Mugabe indicated that he was committed to a process of national reconciliation and reconstruction as well as moderate socioeconomic change. His priorities were to integrate the various armed forces, reestablish social services and education in rural areas, and resettle the estimated one million refugees and displaced persons. Mugabe also announced that his government would begin investigating ways of reversing past discriminatory policies in land distribution, education, employment, and wages.

Mugabe stated that Zimbabwe would follow a nonaligned foreign policy and would pursue a pragmatic relationship with South Africa. He noted that while Zimbabwe opposed apartheid and would support democratic change in South Africa, it would not provide bases for anti-South African guerillas.

The British Government formally granted independence to Zimbabwe on April 18, 1980. Most nations recognized Zimbabwe following independence. The United States was the first nation to open an embassy in Salisbury (Harare) on that day. Parliament convened for the first time on May 13, 1980. Zimbabwe became a member of the United Nations on August 25, 1980.

In seeking national reconciliation, Prime Minister Mugabe's first cabinet comprised members of ZANU-PF, PF-ZAPU, and independent white members of parliament (MPs) and senators. The government embarked on an ambitious reconstruction and development program and instituted increases in minimum wages. Land redistribution proceeded under four experimental models on land that the government had purchased at market rates from willing sellers.

====Zimbabwe Since Independence====
Prime Minister Mugabe's policy of reconciliation was generally successful during the country's first two years of independence, as the former political and military opponents began to work together. Although additional blacks were hired to fill new places in the civil service, there was no retribution for those whites who had worked for the Smith regime. Smith and many of his associates held seats in the parliament where they participated freely in debates. Likewise, Joshua Nkomo, Mugabe's rival as leader of the nationalist forces, was included in the first cabinet along with several other members of PF-ZAPU.

Splits soon developed, however. In 1981,several MPs from Smith's party left to sit as "independents," signifying that they did not automatically accept his anti-government posture. More importantly, government security officials discovered large caches of arms and ammunition on properties owned by ZAPU, and Nkomo and his followers were accused of plotting to overthrow Mugabe's government. Nkomo and his closest aides were expelled from the cabinet.

As a result of what they perceived as persecution of Nkomo (known as "Father Zimbabwe") and of his party, PF-ZAPU supporters, some of them deserters from the army, began a loosely organized and ill-defined campaign of dissidence against the government. Centering primarily in Matabeleland, home of the Ndebeles who were PF-ZAPU's main followers, this dissidence continued through 1987 and involved attacks on government personnel and installations, armed banditry aimed at disrupting security and economic life in the rural areas, and harassment of ZANU-PF members. Occasionally, some demanded that Nkomo and his colleagues be reinstated in the cabinet. More frequently, however, dissidents called for the return of farms and other properties seized from PF-ZAPU.

Because of the unsettled security situation immediately after independence and the continuing anti-government dissidence, the government kept in force a "state of emergency," which was first declared before UDI. This gave government authorities widespread powers under the "Law and Order Maintenance Act," including the right to detain persons without charge.

In 1983-84, the government declared a curfew in areas of Matabeleland and sent in the army in an attempt to suppress dissidents. Credible reports surfaced of widespread violence and disregard for human rights by the security forces during these operations, and the level of political tension rose in the country as a result. The pacification campaign, known as the "Gukuruhundi," or strong wind, resulted in as many as 20,000 civilian deaths. Nkomo and his lieutenants repeatedly denied any connection with the dissidents and called for an all-party conference to discuss the political problems facing the country. In the 1985 elections, ZANU-PF increased its majority, holding 67 of the 100 seats. ZANU-PF and PF-ZAPU agreed to unite in December 1987, and the parties formally merged in December 1989.

In October 1987, in accordance with the Lancaster House Accords, the constitution was amended to end the separate roll for white voters and to replace the whites whose reserved seats had been abolished; among the new members were 15 whites in the Senate and House of Assembly. Elections in March 1990 resulted in another overwhelming victory for Mugabe and his party, which won 117 of the 120 election seats. However, voter turnout was only 54%, and the campaign was not free and fair although the actual balloting was. Not satisfied with a de facto one-party state, Mugabe called on the ZANU-PF Central Committee to support the creation of a de jure one-party state in September 1990 and lost. The state of emergency was lifted in July 1990.

After the remaining restrictions of the Lancaster House agreement expired on April 18, 1990, the government embarked on a campaign of amending the existing constitution. Both the judiciary and human rights advocates fiercely criticized some of the first amendments, which were enacted in April 1991, because they restored corporal and capital punishment and denied recourse to the courts in cases of compulsory purchase of land by the government.

During the 1990s students, trade unionists and workers often demonstrated to express their discontent with the government. Students protested in October 1990 against proposals for an increase in government control of universities and again in May 1991 and May 1992, when they clashed with police. Trade unionists and workers were also vocal critics of the government during this time. In June 1992, police prevented trade unionists from holding anti-government demonstrations. In 1994, there was widespread industrial unrest. In August and September 1996, thousands of civil servants demanding salary increases organized a national strike and in October and November of the same year, nurses and junior doctors went on strike over salary issues.

In part through its control of the media, the huge parastatal sector of the economy, and the security forces, the government managed to keep organized political opposition to a minimum through most of the 1990s. Beginning in 1999, however, Zimbabwe has experienced a period of considerable political and economic upheaval. Opposition to President Mugabe and the ZANU-PF government has grown in recent years, in part due to worsening economic and human rights conditions. The opposition is currently led by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which was established in September 1999.

The MDC's first opportunity to test opposition to the Mugabe government came in February 2000, when a referendum was held on a draft constitution proposed by the government. Among its elements, the new constitution would have permitted President Mugabe to seek two additional terms in office, granted government officials immunity from prosecution, and authorized government seizure of white-owned land. The referendum was handily defeated. Shortly thereafter, the government, through a loosely organized group of war veterans, sanctioned an aggressive land redistribution program often characterized by forced expulsion of white farmers and violence against both farmers and farm employees.

Parliamentary elections held in June 2000 were marred by localized violence, and claims of electoral irregularities and government intimidation of opposition supporters. Nonetheless, the MDC succeeded in capturing 57 of 120 seats in the National Assembly.

The March 2002 presidential election was preceded by months of intensive violence and intimidation against MDC supporters, and more than 50 people, mostly opposition supporters, were killed. President Mugabe was declared the winner over challenger Morgan Tsvangirai by a 56-to-42 percent margin. Most international observers condemned the election as seriously flawed—the pre-election environment was neither free nor fair, and the election itself was marred by significant fraud and rigging—but regional opinions were mixed. Soon after the election, the MDC filed a petition challenging Mugabe's victory, citing flaws in electoral laws, electoral irregularities and pre-election violence. As of the end of 2004, the case had not yet been decided.

As a result of this election, the United States, the EU, and other European countries imposed travel restrictions against senior Zimbabwean officials and embargoed the sale of arms to Zimbabwe. The U.S. and the EU also froze the financial assets of selected ruling party officials. The Commonwealth suspended Zimbabwe from council meetings for one year after its election observer team found the election neither free nor fair. At the mid-term suspension review in March 2003, the three-country committee charged with deciding Zimbabwe's fate decided to continue the suspension until the next Commonwealth meeting in December 2003. At this meeting, despite vigorous campaigning by South Africa, Zimbabwe was not invited to attend the meeting and the Commonwealth decided to continue with the suspension. Immediately after this, Mugabe withdrew Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth.

Since the presidential election, the political climate has remained tense and intensely polarized. Violence escalated in the run up to rural council elections in September 2002 and various parliamentary by-elections that year. Parliamentary by-elections in Kuwadzana, Highfield, Zengeza, and Lupane in 2003 were marred by widespread intimidation and beatings. The government also passed legislation that curtailed free speech, free press, and rights of assembly. In March 2003, MDC leaders Morgan Tsvangirai, Welshman Ncube, and Renson Gasela went on trial for treason. Charges against Ncube and Gasela were subsequently dropped and in October 2004 Tsvangirai was found not guilty. In August 2005, the government dropped a second charge of treason against Tsvangirai.

The government subscribed to the electoral principles of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in 2004 but failed to implement key elements of the principles in advance of the 2005 parliamentary elections. The campaign period and election day were largely non-violent, but the elections were not free and fair. The election process was marred by repressive legislation that limits freedom of speech and assembly; millions of expatriate Zimbabweans were not permitted to vote; the government used food distributions to influence an increasingly hungry population; an astonishingly high 10% (as high as 30% in some areas) of would-be voters were turned away; and discrepancies in officially announced results and the government's refusal to release key voting data have led to questions about the possibility of fraud.

In May 2005, the government began Operation Murambatsvina (also known as Operation Restore Order), ostensibly to rid urban areas of illegal structures, illegal business enterprises, and criminal activities. The International Organization for Migration estimated that at least 300,000 people were displaced nationwide, as the operation moved from urban areas into rural areas and included apparently legal structures. Families and traders, especially at the beginning of the operation, were often given no notice before police destroyed their homes and businesses. Others were able to salvage some possessions and building materials but often had nowhere to go, despite the government's statement that people should be returning to their rural homes. Thousands of families were left unprotected in the open in the middle of Zimbabwe's winter. The government interfered with non-governmental organization (NGO) efforts to provide emergency assistance to the displaced in many instances. Some families were removed to transit camps, where they had no shelter or cooking facilities and minimal food, supplies, and sanitary facilities. The operation continued into July 2005, when the government began a program to provide housing for the newly displaced. As of September 2006, housing construction fell far short of demand, and there were reports that beneficiaries were mostly civil servants and ruling party loyalists, not those displaced. The government campaign of forced evictions continued in 2006, albeit on a lesser scale.

==Further reading==
*[http://www.theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/746zsgtg.asp How Tyranny Came to Zimbabwe, Jimmy Carter still has a lot to answer for], by [[James Kirchick]], ''The Weekly Standard'', 06/18/2007, Volume 012, Issue 38.

{| style="width: 100%; background:transparent; border: 2px solid #000099;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"
!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #000088; color: white; "|'''Copyright Details'''
|-
!style="background-color: #000088; color:white;"|License:
|style=" background-color: none;"| Some content for this article is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:
|style="background-color: none;border-top: 2px solid black"| File available from the {{{1|[[United States Federal Government]] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5479.htm]}}}.
|}

==See also==
* [[Big government]] [[Welfare state]] leads to [[Nanny state]], leads to [[Police state]]

==References==
<references/>

{{African Countries}}

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{{Economic preparedness topics}}

[[Category:Economic Preparedness]]
[[Category:Dictatorships]]
[[Category:Landlocked Countries]]
[[Category:Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Police State]]
[[Category:Inflation]]
[[Category:Christian-Majority Countries]]
[[Category:Left-wing Nationalism]]

Zimbabwe

2022-10-15T02:48:01Z

Claudius: Updated.

{{Country
|name =''Republic of Zimbabwe''
|map =Zimbabwe rel 2002.jpg
|map2 =Location of Zimbabwe.png
|flag =Flag of Zimbabwe.png
|arms =Arms of Zimbabwe.png
|capital =Harare
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|government =Presidential Republic
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|language =English
|king =
|queen =
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|president =Emmerson Mnangagwa
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|area =150,871 sq. miles
|pop =15,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$30.581 billion
|gdp-year =2006
|gdp-pc =$2,607
|currency =Dollar
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'''Zimbabwe''', formerly the [[Republic of Rhodesia]] and the colony '''Southern Rhodesia''', is a nation in south-central [[Africa]]. It has borders with [[South Africa]], [[Botswana]], [[Zambia]] and [[Mozambique]]. A dispute exists whether Zimbabwean territory touches that of [[Namibia]] at the extreme westernmost point of Zimbabwe. The country has an area of 150,873 square miles (390,759 km2) and a population of 12.3 million (2007 est). The capital city is [[Harare]].

==People==
Primarily of the Bantu group of south and central Africa, the black Zimbabweans are divided into two major language groups, which are subdivided into several ethnic groups. The Mashona (Shona speakers), who constitute about 75% of the population, have lived in the area the longest and are the majority language group. The Matabele (Sindebele speakers), representing about 20% of the population and centered in the southwest around Bulawayo, arrived within the last 150 years. An offshoot of the South African Zulu group, they maintained control over the Mashona until the white occupation of Rhodesia in 1890.

More than half of white Zimbabweans, primarily of English origin, arrived in Zimbabwe after World War II. Afrikaners from South Africa and other European minorities, including Portuguese from Mozambique, also are present. Until the mid-1970s, there were about 1,000 white immigrants per year, but from 1976 to 1985 a steady emigration resulted in a loss of more than 150,000, leaving about 100,000 in 1992. Renewed white emigration in the late 1990s and early 2000s reduced the white population to less than 50,000. English, the official language, is spoken by the white population and understood, if not always used, by more than half of the black population.

The literacy rate is estimated at 90.5%. Primary and secondary schools were segregated until 1979 when racial restrictions were removed. Since independence, the educational system has been systematically enlarged by the Zimbabwean Government, which is committed to providing free public education to all citizens on an equal basis. As of the late 1970s, some 50% of the African children (5–19 years old) were listed officially as attending rural schools. Today, most African children attend primary school. Primary through post-secondary enrollment has expanded from 1 million to about 2.9 million since independence. About 40% of the rural primary schools were destroyed during the Rhodesian conflict, which delayed improvement of the rural education system. Higher education, offered at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, the new National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo, the new Africa (Methodist) University in Mutare, the new Midlands State University in Gweru, the new Solusi University in Bulawayo (Seventh Day Adventist), the new Bindura University of Science in Bindura, fourteen teacher-training colleges, and twelve polytechnical institutes and industrial training centers, is being expanded with assistance from several donor countries.
*Population (2005 est.): 13,010,000.
*Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 0.83%. (Note: the population growth rate is depressed by an HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate estimated to be 18% and a high level of net emigration.)
*Ethnic groups: Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other African 11%, white 1%, mixed and Asian 1%.
*Religions: Christianity 75%, offshoot Christian sects, animist, and Muslim.
*Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele.
*Education: Attendance—mandatory for primary level. Adult literacy—90.5% (2004 est.).
*Health: Infant mortality rate—51.7/1,000 (2006 est.). Life expectancy—men 37 (2006), women 34 (2006).
*Work force (2006 est.): 900,000 in formal sector.

==Government==
According to Zimbabwe's constitution, the president is head of state and head of government, and is elected for a 6-year term by popular majority vote. Parliament is bicameral and sits for up to a 5-year term. The 150-member house of assembly consists of 120 elected seats, 10 chiefs elected by their peers but influenced by the president, eight provincial governors and 12 non-constituency MPs appointed by the president. The parliament elects a speaker from outside its membership and a deputy speaker from among its members.

In September 2005 the government used its two-thirds majority in parliament to pass a constitutional amendment that established a 66-member Senate. The Senate consists of 50 elected seats, 6 seats directly appointed by the president, 8 chiefs elected from the 8 rural provinces (excluding the metropolitan provinces), and the president and vice president of the Council of Chiefs.

The Zimbabwean constitution institutionalizes majority rule and protection of minority rights. The elected government controls senior appointments in the public service, including the military and police, and the independent Public Service Commission is charged with making appointments at lower levels on an equitable basis.

The judiciary is headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court who, like the other justices, is appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission. The constitution has a bill of rights containing extensive protection of human rights. The bill of rights could not be amended for the first 10 years of independence except by unanimous vote of the parliament.

Zimbabwe is divided into eight provinces, each administered by a provincial governor appointed by the president. The provincial administrator and representatives of several service ministries assist the provincial governor. In 2004, the Mugabe government declared Bulawayo and Harare to be provinces with their own respective provincial governors even though there is no constitutional provision for these newly created positions.

Zimbabwe was tyrannically governed by President [[Robert Mugabe]] from 1980 until 2017 (serving until 1987 as prime minister). His Zimbabwean African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), which dominated the legislative and executive branches since independence in 1980. In November 2017, Mugabe resigned, being forced out of office in a military coup,<ref>Multiple references:
*Suarez Sang, Lucia I. (November 21, 2017). [https://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/11/21/zimbabwe-president-mugabe-resigns-amid-impeachment-hearing-parliament-speaker-says.html Zimbabwe's Mugabe resigns ending decades-long dictatorship]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
*Hayward, John (November 21, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/11/21/mugabe-resigns-zimbabwean-parliament-begins-impeachment/ Mugabe Resigns After Zimbabwean Parliament Begins Impeachment]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
*[https://www.voanews.com/a/zimbabwe-mugabe-resignation/4128450.html Celebrations in Harare After Mugabe Resigns]. ''Voice of America''. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
*Dzirutwe, MacDonald (November 20, 2017). [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zimbabwe-politics/zimbabwes-mugabe-resigns-ending-four-decades-of-rule-idUSKBN1DK2O0 Zimbabwe's Mugabe resigns, ending four decades of rule]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
*[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42071488 Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe resigns, ending 37-year rule]. ''BBC''. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.</ref> and he was replaced by his former vice president [[Emmerson Mnangagwa]], whose record is about as tyrannical as Mugabe's.<ref>Hayward, John (November 24, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/11/24/emmerson-mnangagwa-interim-president-new-tyrant-zimbabwe/ Emmerson Mnangagwa Could Be Interim President or New Tyrant for Zimbabwe]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved November 24, 2017.</ref>

===Principal Government Officials===
*President—Emmerson Mnangagwa
*Vice Presidents—Constantino Chiwenga and [''vacant'']
*Foreign Minister—Frederick Shava
*Ambassador to the U.S.—[''vacant''] Charge d'Affaires—Thomas HastingsMachinvenyika Tobias Mapuranga

===Foreign Relations===
Since independence, Zimbabwe has enunciated and follows a policy of "active nonalignment." In practice, this has meant that Zimbabwe usually adhered to positions established by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM); the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union; or, until it withdrew in 2003, the Commonwealth. Zimbabwe took a particular interest in the search for independence for Namibia (South-West Africa) from South Africa. In addition, as chairman of the front-line states in southern Africa, Zimbabwe spoke out vigorously against the policies of apartheid in South African and frequently called for the imposition of economic sanctions against Pretoria. In November 1982, Zimbabwe was chosen by the OAU to hold one of the non-permanent seats in the UN Security Council for the following two years, which brought it onto the center stage of world events and gave it much-needed experience in international affairs. In 1986, Zimbabwe was the site of the NAM summit meeting; Prime Minister Mugabe became chairman of that organization, giving both Mugabe and Zimbabwe added international visibility and responsibility.

Zimbabwe maintains embassies in the United States, United Kingdom, Egypt, Angola, Kenya, Senegal, Nigeria, India, Sweden, France, China, Malaysia, Ethiopia, Namibia, Swaziland, Belgium, Tanzania, Botswana, Serbia, Mozambique, Switzerland, Cuba, Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, India, Italy, Russia, and South Africa. Sixty-six countries are represented in Harare as are several international organizations including UN institutions, the European Union, and the World Bank. Zimbabwe is a member of many international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF); African Development Bank; The World Trade Organization; Southern African Development Community (SADC); Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA); African Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP, in association with the EU); Group of 77 (G-77); Group of 15 (G-15); NAM; African Union (AU); Customs Cooperation Council (CCC); and the World Federation of Trade Unions. The IMF Executive Board in July 2004 postponed until January 2005 deliberations on a recommendation for Zimbabwe's compulsory withdrawal from the institution. The IMF closed its Zimbabwe office in October 2004 in a decision not linked to the country's considerable arrears. Shortly after the March 2002 presidential election, the Commonwealth suspended Zimbabwe from leadership councils for one year after the Commonwealth's election observer team found the conduct of the election seriously flawed. After this suspension was upheld in December 2003, Mugabe withdrew Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth.

Historically, Zimbabwe's closest links have been with the U.K.; however, in the past six years, this relationship has been very strained. The government has demonized Britain in the press, blaming the country for Zimbabwe's problems, and claiming that Britain reneged on promises made at Lancaster House to provide money for land reform. As with the U.S., thousands of Zimbabweans studied in the U.K., and private links remain close; however, official relations are strained.

Other West European countries have ties with Zimbabwe. The Scandinavian countries share certain philosophical affinities and have provided much assistance, as have France, Canada, and the Federal Republic of Germany. Portugal and Greece maintain links partly because of the sizable Portuguese and Greek communities in the country. Similar historical ties have led to the establishment of relations with India and Pakistan, and to a lesser extent, with Bangladesh. The government's "look east" policy has led to closer diplomatic relations with East Asian countries such as Malaysia and China.

Zimbabwe maintains diplomatic relations with virtually every African country, although some ties are closer than others. African nations with embassies in Harare are Algeria, Angola, Botswana, D.R.C., Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia.

Ruled continuously by a liberation party, Zimbabwe developed and maintains close ties with a number of revolutionary states and organizations. Among these are the People's Republic of China, Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran, Libya, and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

==Defense==
At independence, then-Prime Minister Mugabe declared that integrating Zimbabwe's then three armed forces would be one of his government's top priorities. The existing Rhodesian forces were combined with the two guerilla armies—the 20,000-strong ZANLA forces of ZANU-PF and the 15,000-strong ZIPRA forces of PF-ZAPU. In July 1994 the combined Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF) Headquarters was created. Currently the armed forces of Zimbabwe are completely integrated and are composed of an army (ZNA) and an air force (AFZ). In 1999, the Government of Zimbabwe sent a sizeable military force into the Democratic Republic of Congo to support the government of President Laurent Kabila. Those forces were largely withdrawn in 2002.

Although as of late 2004, the ZDF had an active duty strength of 33,000 and the air force about 4,000 men these numbers have come down substantially because of resignations due to poor pay and working conditions. Today, the ZDF is largely immobile and beset by shortages of supplies, including food. The U.S. Congress terminated support for military cooperation programs in 2001.

==Economy==
Properly managed, Zimbabwe's wide range of resources should enable it to support sustained economic growth. The country has an important percentage of the world's known reserves of metallurgical-grade chromite. Other commercial mineral deposits include coal, platinum, asbestos, copper, nickel, gold, and iron ore. However, for the country to benefit from these mineral deposits, it must attract foreign direct investment.

In the early 1970s, the economy experienced a modest boom. Real per capita earnings for blacks and whites reached record highs, although the disparity in incomes between blacks and whites remained, with blacks earning only about one-tenth as much as whites. After 1975, however, Rhodesia's economy was undermined by the cumulative effects of sanctions, declining earnings from commodity exports, worsening guerilla conflict, and increasing white emigration. When Mozambique severed economic ties, the Smith regime was forced to depend on South Africa for access to the outside world. Real gross domestic product (GDP) declined between 1974 and 1979. An increasing proportion of the national budget (an estimated 30%-40% per year) was allocated to defense, and a large budget deficit raised the public debt burden substantially.

Following the Lancaster House settlement in December 1979, Zimbabwe enjoyed a brisk economic recovery. Zimbabwe inherited one of the strongest and most complete industrial infrastructures in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as rich mineral resources and a strong agricultural base. Real growth for 1980-81 exceeded 20%. However, depressed foreign demand for the country's mineral exports and the onset of a drought cut sharply into the growth rate in 1982, 1983, and 1984. In 1985, the economy rebounded strongly due to a 30% jump in agricultural production. However it slumped in 1986 to a zero growth rate and registered a 3% contraction in GDP in 1987 due primarily to drought and foreign exchange crisis. Growth in 1988-90 averaged about 4.5%.

Since the mid-1990s, this infrastructure has been deteriorating rapidly, but remains better than that of most African countries. Poor management of the economy and political turmoil have led to considerable economic hardships. The Government of Zimbabwe's chaotic land reform program, recurrent interference with the judiciary, and maintenance of unrealistic price controls and exchange rates have led to a sharp drop in investor confidence. Since 1999, the national economy has contracted by as much as 35%; [[inflation]] vaulted to [[hyperinflation]] of over 7,634.8% (year on year) in July 2007; and there have been persistent shortages of foreign exchange, fuel, and food. Direct foreign investment has all but evaporated. In a desperate attempt to control inflation, the government forced firms and supermarkets to reduce prices by half in July 2007, which resulted in severe shortages of basic and other commodities.

Agriculture is no longer the backbone of the Zimbabwean economy. Large scale commercial farming has been effectively destroyed over the course of the last five years under the government's controversial land reform efforts starting in 2000. Corn is the largest food crop and tobacco had traditionally been the largest export crop, followed by cotton. Tobacco production in 2006, however, slumped to its lowest level—about 50 million kg—since independence, off from a peak in 2000 of 237 million kg. Gold production, another former key foreign currency source, slid by about 48% in the first half of 2007 to 4.54 metric tons compared to the corresponding period in 2006. Poor government management has exacerbated meager corn harvests in years of drought or floods, resulting in significant food shortfalls every year since 2001.

Paved roads link the major urban and industrial centers, but the condition of urban roads and the unpaved rural road network has deteriorated significantly since 1995 for lack of maintenance. Rail lines connect with an extensive central African railroad network, although railway track condition has also worsened in recent years, along with locomotive availability and utilization. The electric power supply has become erratic and blackouts are common due to low generator availability at the Kariba hydroelectric power plant and unreliable or nonexistent coal supplies to the country's large thermal plants. Telephone service is problematic, and new lines are difficult of obtain.

The largest industries are metal products, food processing, chemicals, textiles, clothing, furniture and plastic goods. Most manufacturers have sharply scaled back operations due to the poor operating climate and foreign exchange shortages. Zimbabwe is not a member of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and a number of textile businesses have migrated to other African countries in a bid to benefit from the opportunities offered by AGOA. Zimbabwean producers still export lumber products, certain textiles, chrome alloys and automobile windscreens to the U.S.

Zimbabwe is endowed with rich mineral resources. Exports of gold, asbestos, chrome, coal, platinum, nickel, and copper could lead to an economic recovery one day. No commercial deposits of petroleum have been discovered, although the country is richly endowed with coal-bed methane gas that has yet to be exploited.

With international attractions such as Victoria Falls, the Great Zimbabwe stone ruins, Lake Kariba, and extensive wildlife, tourism historically has been a significant segment of the economy and contributor of foreign exchange. The sector has contracted sharply since 1999, however, due to the country's declining international image.

As of 2008, the [[economy]] is in complete collapse. A decade ago, President [[Robert Mugabe]] said he was reclaiming ancestral lands from white farmland owners for poor black peasants. At the time Zimbabwe was a net exporter of food. Some land went to Mugabe's Cabinet ministers and generals, who left the fields untended, although a significant number of the 'resettlements' involved the rural poor, albeit initially in a highly disorganised manner.<ref>Scoones et al. (2010) Zimbabwe's Land Reform</ref> Hundreds of thousands of [[farm]] laborers and their families lost their jobs and homes. Now the country is dependent on foreign food aid. Eighty percent of the work force is unemployed and many with jobs don't earn enough to pay for bus fare. [[Inflation]] is the world's highest at 2.2 million percent. Independent [[economist]] say [[inflation]] is at 12.5 million percent. Due to inflation, a good costing $1 at the beginning of a month may cost $20 by month's end.<ref>[http://www.theconservativevoice.com/ap/article.html?mi=D928C5JG0&apc=9002 Zimbabwe drops 10 zeros from inflated currency] The Conservative Voice, July 30, 2008</ref> The situation has been stabilised somewhat thanks to a power-sharing agreement between the MDC and ZANU-PF. Inflation has been brought under control thanks to the scrapping of the previous currency, and political violence has decreased. However, tensions between the governing parties remain and the dire economic situation of the previous decade will make rebuilding a long and arduous process.

====Energy Resources====
With considerable hydroelectric power potential and plentiful coal deposits for thermal power station, Zimbabwe is less dependent on oil as an energy source than most other comparably industrialized countries, but it still imports 40% of its electric power needs from the DRC, Mozambique and South Africa. Only about 15% of Zimbabwe's total energy consumption is accounted for by oil, all of which is imported. Zimbabwe imports about 1.2 billion liters of oil per year. Dependence on petroleum is managed through the price controls for vehicle fuels, the use of gasohol, and the substitution of diesel-electric locomotives on the railway system. Zimbabwe also has substantial coal reserves that are utilized for power generation, and recently discovered in Matabeleland province are coal bed methane deposits greater than any known natural gas field in Southern or Eastern Africa. In recent years, however, poor economic management and low foreign currency reserves have led to serious fuel shortages.
*GDP (2006 est.): U.S. $407.4 million (World Bank est).
*Real GDP growth rate (2006): -5.1%.
*Real per capita GDP (Reliable estimates of current GDP and population size are unavailable.)
*Avg. inflation rate: 7,634.8% (year-on-year, July 2007, by official accounts; private sector estimates are roughly triple the official figure).
*Natural resources: Deposits of more than 40 minerals including ferrochrome, gold, silver, platinum, copper, asbestos; 19 million hectares of forest (2000).
*Agriculture (15% of GDP): Types of crops and livestock—corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, tea, sugarcane, peanuts, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs.
*Industry: manufacturing, public administration, commerce, mining, transport and communication.
*Trade (2006): U.S. exports—U.S. $47.58 million. U.S. imports—U.S. $103.28 million. Partners (2000 est.)--South Africa 22%, U.K. 10%, Germany 9%, U.S. 8%. Total imports (2004)--U.S. $1,989 million: most of these imports were construction and agricultural machinery, transportation equipment, data processing equipment and software, industrial machinery, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, and general manufactured products. Major suppliers—South Africa 34%, U.K. 10.8%, Germany 7.3%, U.S. 6%.

==History==
====Early History====
Archaeologists have found Stone-Age implements and pebble tools in several areas of Zimbabwe, a suggestion of human habitation for many centuries, and the ruins of stone buildings provide evidence of early civilization. The most impressive of these sites is the "Great Zimbabwe" ruins, after which the country is named, located near Masvingo. Evidence suggests that these stone structures were built between the 9th and 13th centuries A.D. by indigenous Africans who had established trading contacts with commercial centers on Africa's southeastern coast.

In the 16th century, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to attempt colonization of south-central Africa, but the hinterland lay virtually untouched by Europeans until the arrival of explorers, missionaries, ivory hunters, and traders some 300 years later. Meanwhile, mass migrations of indigenous peoples took place. Successive waves of more highly developed Bantu peoples from equatorial regions supplanted the original inhabitants and are the ancestors of the region's Africans today.

====British Settlement and Administration====
In 1888, Cecil Rhodes obtained a concession for mineral rights from local chiefs. Later that year, the area that became Southern and Northern Rhodesia was proclaimed a British sphere of influence. The British South Africa Company was chartered in 1889, and the settlement of Salisbury (now Harare, the capital) was established in 1890. In 1895, the territory was formally named Rhodesia after Cecil Rhodes under the British South Africa Company's administration.

Following the abrogation of the company's charter in 1923, Southern Rhodesia's white settlements were given the choice of being incorporated into the Union of South Africa or becoming a separate entity within the British Empire. The settlers rejected incorporation, and Southern Rhodesia was formally annexed by the United Kingdom that year. Until 1980, Rhodesia was an internally self-governing colony with its own legislature, civil service, armed forces, and police. Although Rhodesia was never administered directly from London, the United Kingdom always retained the right to intervene in the affairs of the colony, particularly in matters affecting Africans.

After 1923, European immigrants concentrated on developing Rhodesia's rich mineral resources and agricultural potential. The settlers' demand for more land led in 1934 to the passage of the first of a series of land apportionment acts that reserved certain areas for Europeans.

In September 1953, Southern Rhodesia was joined in a multiracial Central African Federation with the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland in an effort to pool resources and markets. Although the federation flourished economically, the African population, who feared they would not be able to achieve self-government with the federal structure dominated by White Southern Rhodesians, opposed it. The federation was dissolved at the end of 1963 after much crisis and turmoil, and Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland became the independent states of Zambia and Malawi in 1964.

====Unilateral Declaration Of Independence (UDI)====
The European electorate in Rhodesia, however, showed little willingness to accede to African demands for increased political participation and progressively replaced more moderate party leaders. In April 1964, Prime Minister Winston Field, accused of not moving rapidly enough to obtain independence from the United Kingdom, was replaced by his deputy, Ian Smith. Prime Minister Smith led his Rhodesian Front Party to an overwhelming victory in the 1965 elections, winning all 50 of the first roll seats and demoralizing the more moderate European opposition.

Although prepared to grant independence to Rhodesia, the United Kingdom insisted that the authorities at Salisbury first demonstrate their intention to move toward eventual majority rule. Desiring to keep their dominant position, the white Rhodesians refused to give such assurances. On November 11, 1965, after lengthy and unsuccessful negotiations with the British Government, Prime Minister Smith issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom.

====Post-UDI Events====
The British Government considered the UDI unconstitutional and illegal but made clear that it would not use force to oppose it. On November 12, 1965, the United Nations also determined the Rhodesian Government and UDI to be illegal and called on member states to refrain from assisting or recognizing the Smith regime. The British Government imposed sanctions on Rhodesia and requested other nations to do the same.

On December 16, 1966, the UN Security Council, for the first time in history, imposed mandatory economic sanctions on a state. Rhodesia's primary exports including ferrochrome and tobacco, were placed on the selective sanctions list, as were shipments of arms, aircraft, motor vehicles, petroleum, and petroleum products to Rhodesia. On May 29, 1968, the Security Council unanimously voted to broaden the sanctions by imposing an almost total embargo on all trade with, investments in, or transfers of funds to Rhodesia and imposed restrictions on air transport to the territory.

In the early 1970s, informal attempts at settlement were renewed between the United Kingdom and the Rhodesian administration. Following the April 1974 coup in Portugal and the resulting shifts of power in Mozambique and Angola, pressure on the Smith regime to negotiate a peaceful settlement increased. In addition, sporadic antigovernment guerilla activity, which began in the late 1960s, increased dramatically after 1972, causing destruction, economic dislocation, casualties, and a slump in white morale. In 1974, the major African nationalists groups—the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU) and the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), which split away from ZAPU in 1963—were united into the "Patriotic Front" and combined their military forces, at least nominally.

In 1976, because of a combination of embargo-related economic hardships, the pressure of guerilla activity, independence and majority rule in the neighboring former Portuguese territories, and a U.K.-U.S. diplomatic initiative, the Smith government agreed in principle to majority rule and to a meeting in Geneva with black nationalist leaders to negotiate a final settlement of the conflict. Blacks represented at the Geneva meeting included ZAPU leader Joshua Nkomo, ZANU leader Robert Mugabe, UANC chairman bishop [[Abel Muzorewa]], and former ZANU leader Rev. Nadabaningi Sithole. The meeting failed to find a basis for agreement because of Smith's inflexibility and the inability of the black leaders to form a common political front.

On September 1, 1977 a detailed Anglo-American plan was put forward with proposals for majority rule, neutrally administered with pre-independence elections, a democratic constitution and the formation of an integrated army. Reactions were mixed, but no party rejected them. In the interim, on March 3, 1978, the Smith administration signed the "internal settlement" agreement in Salisbury with Bishop Muzorewa, Rev. Sithole, and Chief Jeremiah Chirau. The agreement provided for qualified majority rule and elections with universal suffrage. Following elections in April 1979, in which his UANC party won a majority, Bishop Muzorewa assumed office on June 1, becoming "Zimbabwe-Rhodesia's" first black prime minister. However, the installation of the new black majority government did not end the guerilla conflict that had claimed more than 20,000 lives since 1972.

Shortly after British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's conservative government took power in May 1979, the British began a new round of consultations that culminated in an agreement among the Commonwealth countries as the basis for fresh negotiations among the parties and the British involving a new constitution, free elections and independence.

The British and the African parties began deliberations on a Rhodesian settlement at Lancaster House in London on September 10, 1979. On December 10, 1979, in preparation for the transition under British authority to officially recognized independence, the "Zimbabwe-Rhodesia" reverted de facto to colonial status. On December 12, British Governor Lord Christopher Soames arrived in Salisbury to reassert British authority over the colony. His arrival signaled the end of the Rhodesian rebellion and the "internal settlement," as well as the beginning of Zimbabwe's transition to independence. The United Kingdom lifted all remaining sanctions against Zimbabwe that day. The United States lifted sanctions effective December 16.

On December 21, after 3 months of hard bargaining, the parties signed an agreement at Lancaster House calling for a cease-fire, new elections, a transition period under British rule, and a new constitution implementing majority rule while protecting minority rights. The agreement specified that upon the granting of independence, the country's name would be Zimbabwe. The same day, the UN Security Council endorsed the settlement agreement and formally voted unanimously to call on member nations to remove sanctions.

During the transition period, nine political parties campaigned for the February 27–29 pre-independence elections. The elections were supervised by the British Government and monitored by hundreds of observers, most of whom concluded that, under the prevailing circumstances, the elections were free and fair and reflected the will of the people. Robert Mugabe's ZANU (PF) party won an absolute majority and was asked to form Zimbabwe's first government.

In a series of public statements during the transition period, Prime Minister Mugabe indicated that he was committed to a process of national reconciliation and reconstruction as well as moderate socioeconomic change. His priorities were to integrate the various armed forces, reestablish social services and education in rural areas, and resettle the estimated one million refugees and displaced persons. Mugabe also announced that his government would begin investigating ways of reversing past discriminatory policies in land distribution, education, employment, and wages.

Mugabe stated that Zimbabwe would follow a nonaligned foreign policy and would pursue a pragmatic relationship with South Africa. He noted that while Zimbabwe opposed apartheid and would support democratic change in South Africa, it would not provide bases for anti-South African guerillas.

The British Government formally granted independence to Zimbabwe on April 18, 1980. Most nations recognized Zimbabwe following independence. The United States was the first nation to open an embassy in Salisbury (Harare) on that day. Parliament convened for the first time on May 13, 1980. Zimbabwe became a member of the United Nations on August 25, 1980.

In seeking national reconciliation, Prime Minister Mugabe's first cabinet comprised members of ZANU-PF, PF-ZAPU, and independent white members of parliament (MPs) and senators. The government embarked on an ambitious reconstruction and development program and instituted increases in minimum wages. Land redistribution proceeded under four experimental models on land that the government had purchased at market rates from willing sellers.

====Zimbabwe Since Independence====
Prime Minister Mugabe's policy of reconciliation was generally successful during the country's first two years of independence, as the former political and military opponents began to work together. Although additional blacks were hired to fill new places in the civil service, there was no retribution for those whites who had worked for the Smith regime. Smith and many of his associates held seats in the parliament where they participated freely in debates. Likewise, Joshua Nkomo, Mugabe's rival as leader of the nationalist forces, was included in the first cabinet along with several other members of PF-ZAPU.

Splits soon developed, however. In 1981,several MPs from Smith's party left to sit as "independents," signifying that they did not automatically accept his anti-government posture. More importantly, government security officials discovered large caches of arms and ammunition on properties owned by ZAPU, and Nkomo and his followers were accused of plotting to overthrow Mugabe's government. Nkomo and his closest aides were expelled from the cabinet.

As a result of what they perceived as persecution of Nkomo (known as "Father Zimbabwe") and of his party, PF-ZAPU supporters, some of them deserters from the army, began a loosely organized and ill-defined campaign of dissidence against the government. Centering primarily in Matabeleland, home of the Ndebeles who were PF-ZAPU's main followers, this dissidence continued through 1987 and involved attacks on government personnel and installations, armed banditry aimed at disrupting security and economic life in the rural areas, and harassment of ZANU-PF members. Occasionally, some demanded that Nkomo and his colleagues be reinstated in the cabinet. More frequently, however, dissidents called for the return of farms and other properties seized from PF-ZAPU.

Because of the unsettled security situation immediately after independence and the continuing anti-government dissidence, the government kept in force a "state of emergency," which was first declared before UDI. This gave government authorities widespread powers under the "Law and Order Maintenance Act," including the right to detain persons without charge.

In 1983-84, the government declared a curfew in areas of Matabeleland and sent in the army in an attempt to suppress dissidents. Credible reports surfaced of widespread violence and disregard for human rights by the security forces during these operations, and the level of political tension rose in the country as a result. The pacification campaign, known as the "Gukuruhundi," or strong wind, resulted in as many as 20,000 civilian deaths. Nkomo and his lieutenants repeatedly denied any connection with the dissidents and called for an all-party conference to discuss the political problems facing the country. In the 1985 elections, ZANU-PF increased its majority, holding 67 of the 100 seats. ZANU-PF and PF-ZAPU agreed to unite in December 1987, and the parties formally merged in December 1989.

In October 1987, in accordance with the Lancaster House Accords, the constitution was amended to end the separate roll for white voters and to replace the whites whose reserved seats had been abolished; among the new members were 15 whites in the Senate and House of Assembly. Elections in March 1990 resulted in another overwhelming victory for Mugabe and his party, which won 117 of the 120 election seats. However, voter turnout was only 54%, and the campaign was not free and fair although the actual balloting was. Not satisfied with a de facto one-party state, Mugabe called on the ZANU-PF Central Committee to support the creation of a de jure one-party state in September 1990 and lost. The state of emergency was lifted in July 1990.

After the remaining restrictions of the Lancaster House agreement expired on April 18, 1990, the government embarked on a campaign of amending the existing constitution. Both the judiciary and human rights advocates fiercely criticized some of the first amendments, which were enacted in April 1991, because they restored corporal and capital punishment and denied recourse to the courts in cases of compulsory purchase of land by the government.

During the 1990s students, trade unionists and workers often demonstrated to express their discontent with the government. Students protested in October 1990 against proposals for an increase in government control of universities and again in May 1991 and May 1992, when they clashed with police. Trade unionists and workers were also vocal critics of the government during this time. In June 1992, police prevented trade unionists from holding anti-government demonstrations. In 1994, there was widespread industrial unrest. In August and September 1996, thousands of civil servants demanding salary increases organized a national strike and in October and November of the same year, nurses and junior doctors went on strike over salary issues.

In part through its control of the media, the huge parastatal sector of the economy, and the security forces, the government managed to keep organized political opposition to a minimum through most of the 1990s. Beginning in 1999, however, Zimbabwe has experienced a period of considerable political and economic upheaval. Opposition to President Mugabe and the ZANU-PF government has grown in recent years, in part due to worsening economic and human rights conditions. The opposition is currently led by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which was established in September 1999.

The MDC's first opportunity to test opposition to the Mugabe government came in February 2000, when a referendum was held on a draft constitution proposed by the government. Among its elements, the new constitution would have permitted President Mugabe to seek two additional terms in office, granted government officials immunity from prosecution, and authorized government seizure of white-owned land. The referendum was handily defeated. Shortly thereafter, the government, through a loosely organized group of war veterans, sanctioned an aggressive land redistribution program often characterized by forced expulsion of white farmers and violence against both farmers and farm employees.

Parliamentary elections held in June 2000 were marred by localized violence, and claims of electoral irregularities and government intimidation of opposition supporters. Nonetheless, the MDC succeeded in capturing 57 of 120 seats in the National Assembly.

The March 2002 presidential election was preceded by months of intensive violence and intimidation against MDC supporters, and more than 50 people, mostly opposition supporters, were killed. President Mugabe was declared the winner over challenger Morgan Tsvangirai by a 56-to-42 percent margin. Most international observers condemned the election as seriously flawed—the pre-election environment was neither free nor fair, and the election itself was marred by significant fraud and rigging—but regional opinions were mixed. Soon after the election, the MDC filed a petition challenging Mugabe's victory, citing flaws in electoral laws, electoral irregularities and pre-election violence. As of the end of 2004, the case had not yet been decided.

As a result of this election, the United States, the EU, and other European countries imposed travel restrictions against senior Zimbabwean officials and embargoed the sale of arms to Zimbabwe. The U.S. and the EU also froze the financial assets of selected ruling party officials. The Commonwealth suspended Zimbabwe from council meetings for one year after its election observer team found the election neither free nor fair. At the mid-term suspension review in March 2003, the three-country committee charged with deciding Zimbabwe's fate decided to continue the suspension until the next Commonwealth meeting in December 2003. At this meeting, despite vigorous campaigning by South Africa, Zimbabwe was not invited to attend the meeting and the Commonwealth decided to continue with the suspension. Immediately after this, Mugabe withdrew Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth.

Since the presidential election, the political climate has remained tense and intensely polarized. Violence escalated in the run up to rural council elections in September 2002 and various parliamentary by-elections that year. Parliamentary by-elections in Kuwadzana, Highfield, Zengeza, and Lupane in 2003 were marred by widespread intimidation and beatings. The government also passed legislation that curtailed free speech, free press, and rights of assembly. In March 2003, MDC leaders Morgan Tsvangirai, Welshman Ncube, and Renson Gasela went on trial for treason. Charges against Ncube and Gasela were subsequently dropped and in October 2004 Tsvangirai was found not guilty. In August 2005, the government dropped a second charge of treason against Tsvangirai.

The government subscribed to the electoral principles of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in 2004 but failed to implement key elements of the principles in advance of the 2005 parliamentary elections. The campaign period and election day were largely non-violent, but the elections were not free and fair. The election process was marred by repressive legislation that limits freedom of speech and assembly; millions of expatriate Zimbabweans were not permitted to vote; the government used food distributions to influence an increasingly hungry population; an astonishingly high 10% (as high as 30% in some areas) of would-be voters were turned away; and discrepancies in officially announced results and the government's refusal to release key voting data have led to questions about the possibility of fraud.

In May 2005, the government began Operation Murambatsvina (also known as Operation Restore Order), ostensibly to rid urban areas of illegal structures, illegal business enterprises, and criminal activities. The International Organization for Migration estimated that at least 300,000 people were displaced nationwide, as the operation moved from urban areas into rural areas and included apparently legal structures. Families and traders, especially at the beginning of the operation, were often given no notice before police destroyed their homes and businesses. Others were able to salvage some possessions and building materials but often had nowhere to go, despite the government's statement that people should be returning to their rural homes. Thousands of families were left unprotected in the open in the middle of Zimbabwe's winter. The government interfered with non-governmental organization (NGO) efforts to provide emergency assistance to the displaced in many instances. Some families were removed to transit camps, where they had no shelter or cooking facilities and minimal food, supplies, and sanitary facilities. The operation continued into July 2005, when the government began a program to provide housing for the newly displaced. As of September 2006, housing construction fell far short of demand, and there were reports that beneficiaries were mostly civil servants and ruling party loyalists, not those displaced. The government campaign of forced evictions continued in 2006, albeit on a lesser scale.

==Further reading==
*[http://www.theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/746zsgtg.asp How Tyranny Came to Zimbabwe, Jimmy Carter still has a lot to answer for], by [[James Kirchick]], ''The Weekly Standard'', 06/18/2007, Volume 012, Issue 38.

{| style="width: 100%; background:transparent; border: 2px solid #000099;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"
!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #000088; color: white; "|'''Copyright Details'''
|-
!style="background-color: #000088; color:white;"|License:
|style=" background-color: none;"| Some content for this article is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:
|style="background-color: none;border-top: 2px solid black"| File available from the {{{1|[[United States Federal Government]] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5479.htm]}}}.
|}

==See also==
* [[Big government]] [[Welfare state]] leads to [[Nanny state]], leads to [[Police state]]

==References==
<references/>

{{African Countries}}

----
{{Economic preparedness topics}}

[[Category:Economic Preparedness]]
[[Category:Dictatorships]]
[[Category:Landlocked Countries]]
[[Category:Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Police State]]
[[Category:Inflation]]
[[Category:Christian-Majority Countries]]
[[Category:Left-wing Nationalism]]

Prince Louis of Cambridge

2022-09-24T07:58:39Z

Claudius: Update.

{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Prince Louis of Wales
|image=
|birth_date=April 23, 2018 (age 3)
|birth_place=St Mary's Hospital, United Kingdom
|death_date=
|death_place=
|religion=
|spouse=
|children=
|alma_mater=
|party=
|office=
|term_start=
|term_end=
|preceded=
|succeeded=
}}
'''Prince Louis''', birth name '''Louis Arthur Charles''', (b. April 23, 2018) is a son of [[William, Prince of Wales]] and 4th in line to the British Throne.

== Birth ==
Louis Arthur Charles was born on April 23, 2018 at St Mary's Hospital.

== Education ==
Louis started his education at Willcocks Nursery School in April 2021.

== Family ==
Prince William (Father) Princess Catherine (Mother)

Charles III

2022-09-24T07:55:58Z

Claudius: An update to the slightly outdated page.

{{Infobox officeholder
|name=King Charles III
|image=Charles, Prince of Wales at COP21.jpg
|birth_date=Charles Philip Arthur George November 14, 1948 (age 72)
|birth_place=Buckingham Palace, United Kingdom
|death_date=
|death_place=
|religion=
|spouse=
Diana (m. 1981, div. 1996)
Camilla Parker Bowles (m. 2005)
|children=
|alma_mater=
|party=
|office=King of England
|term_start=September 8, 2022
|term_end=
|preceded=[[Queen Elizabeth II]]
|succeeded=
|office2=[[Duke of Edinburgh]]
|term_start2=April 9, 2021
|term_end2=
|preceded2=[[Prince Philip]]
|succeeded2=
}}

'''King Charles III''', (November 14, 1948 at [[Buckingham Palace]] in [[London]]) is the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and other Commonwealth realms. He is the eldest son of Queen [[Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip]], and spent most of his life as heir apparent to the [[British]] throne (and to the thrones of the 14 other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] realms). Prior to becoming king, he held the titles [[Prince of Wales]], Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, and Baron of Renfrew.

Charles married [[Princess Diana|Lady Diana Spencer]] in 1981, and the couple had two children, [[Prince William]], now [[Prince of Wales]]), in 1982, and [[Prince Henry]] (called Harry), now Duke of Sussex, in 1984. Charles and Diana were divorced in 1996, and the then-Prince was married to [[Camilla Parker Bowles]] in 2005. He has five grandchildren, three through Prince William: [[Prince George of Wales]] (born 2013), [[Princess Charlotte of Wales]] (born 2015), and [[Prince Louis of Wales]] (born 2018). And Prince Harry: [[Archie Mountbatten-Windsor]] (born 2019) and [[Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor]] (born 2021).

[[Category:Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British History]]
[[Category:Current Heads of State]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Monarchs]]
[[Category:Anglicans]]
[[Category:British Royal Family]]

Australia

2022-07-12T05:43:04Z

Claudius: This page needs SERIOUS editing. Will do more later.

{{Country
|name =''Commonwealth of Australia''
|map =Australia rel 1999.jpg
|map2 =Australia location.png
|flag =Flag of Australia.png
|arms =Australia coat-of-arms.jpg
|capital =Canberra
|capital-raw =
|government =Constitutional monarchy
|government-raw =
|language =English
|king =
|queen =Elizabeth II
|monarch-raw =
|president =
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Anthony Albanese
|pm-raw =
|area =2,988,888 sq mi
|pop =25,500,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$1,350,000,000,000 (2020)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$52,941 (2020)
|currency =Australian dollar
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The [[Commonwealth]] of '''Australia''' is an independent nation that occupies the continent of Australia, with its west coast on the [[Indian Ocean]], east coast on the [[Pacific Ocean]] facing [[New Zealand]], southern coast on the [[Southern Ocean]] facing [[Antarctica]], and northern coast facing [[Indonesia]] and [[Papua New Guinea]]. Australia is considered geographically as part of [[Oceania]], but has been establishing its place politically and commercially in [[Southeast Asia]].

Politically, Australia combines the structures of a democratic political system with a governing culture that is authoritarian or even fascist in many respects. It shifted towards [[Leftism]] as the result of enacting [[gun control]] in the wake of an isolated mass shooting in 1996, the Port Arthur massacre. In contrast, the [[United States]] has remained more [[conservative]] by rejecting that totalitarian approach urged by the [[liberal media]].

The continuing influence of [[atheist]]ic, [[imperialism|imperialistic]] [[England]] is felt in Australia as the capital of its Northern Territory is named "Darwin", after the racist [[British]] pseudo-scientist.

In October 2021, under Australia's mostly leftwing government, citizens and residents were held prisoner in their own country by the government. Masks and vaccines were mandatory, and citizens even had to report their whereabouts to government. The world's top tennis player was detained and deported in January 2022 and thereby prevented from competing in the Australian Open, merely because he was not vaccinated.

Australia is the #3 producer of [[gold]] in the world, narrowly behind only the much larger [[China]] and [[Russia]],<ref>https://www.gold.org/goldhub/data/gold-production-by-country</ref> and its mining of that and many additional rare minerals make it an attractive target of aggression by China.<ref>"Australia produces 19 useful minerals in significant amounts, from over 350 operating mines. ... Australia is one of the world's leading producers of bauxite (aluminum ore), iron ore, lithium, gold, lead, diamond, rare earth elements, uranium, and zinc. Australia also has large mineral sand deposits of ilmenite, zircon and rutile. In addition, Australia produces large quantities of black coal, manganese, antimony, nickel, silver, cobalt, copper and tin. Mining occurs in all states of Australia, the Northern Territory and Christmas Island." [https://www.ga.gov.au/education/classroom-resources/minerals-energy/australian-mineral-facts]</ref>
==Geography==
[[File:Sydney harbour bridge.jpg|thumb|370px|Sydney Harbour Bridge.]]
Australia is the only country to occupy an entire continent,<ref>This refers just to the Australian mainland. Some authorities now include [[Papua New Guinea]], [[New Zealand]], and various other [[Pacific Ocean]] islands in the continent of "Oceania". See [http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/au.htm WorldAtlas.com].</ref> the smallest of the planet's seven continents.<ref>Some people count six, combining North and South America or Europe and Asia. See [http://worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/contnent.htm WorldAtlas.com].</ref>
It is 2,400 miles, (3,860 km) from east to west and 2,000 miles (3,220 km) from north to south, and covers an area of 2,967,877 sq miles (7,686,810 km2). The Australian coastline is 22,812 miles long (36,735 kilometers), roughly the size as the mainland 48 states of the USA.
{{Clear}}

====The States and Territories of Australia====
[[File:State Library of Victoria Australia.jpg|thumb|220px|Melbourne, State Library of Victoria.]]
Australia has six states and two internal territories. The states are:
* [[New South Wales]]
* [[Victoria]]
* [[Queensland]]
* [[Western Australia]]
* [[South Australia]]
* [[Tasmania]]
The internal territories are:
* The [[Northern Territory]] (responsible government since 1978)
* [[Australian Capital Territory]] (responsible government since 1988) which is the location of Australia's capital city, [[Canberra]].
The external territories are:
* [[Christmas Island]]
* [[Norfolk Island]]
* [[Australian Antarctic Territory]]
* [[Coral Sea Islands]]
* [[Ashmore and Cartier Islands]]
* [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]]
* [[Heard Island and McDonald Islands]]
{{Clear}}

====Low density====
80% of Australia's population live on the coast line. It is one of the world's most sparsely populated countries (2.7 people per square kilometre).<ref>[http://www.abs.gov.au ABS]</ref>

====Weather====
Weather extremes are fairly common in parts of Australia with temperatures sometimes measured into the high 40s Celsius (45 degrees Celsius = 113 degrees Fahrenheit). The city of Darwin was heavily damaged by Cyclone Tracy on Dec. 25, 1974, killing 66 people, and destroying 80% of the buildings. Darwin's utilities were knocked out and 35,000 people were evacuated.

Bush fires often ravage the southern states - one of the worst occurring on Ash Wednesday in 1983 when over 2,000 homes were destroyed and over 70 people lost their lives in Victoria and South Australia. In 2009 severe fires hit much of Victoria, worsened by hot dry winds and a severe drought.

Water is somewhat scarce and some cities have forms of water restrictions in place, especially during the Summer months.

====Flora and fauna====
Australia is noted for its unique biodiversity. Many animals are found only in Australia, the most well known examples are the group of marsupials ([[kangaroo]]s, [[wombat]]s, [[wallaby|wallabies]] and [[koala]]s), and the only two [[monotremes]], the [[platypus]] and the [[echidna]]. Examples of plants that are native to Australia are the [[banksia]], [[yellow wattle]] and [[gum tree]].

Current evolutionary studies indicate that Australia's unique wildlife is the result of Australia becoming an island, being cut off from the Asian land bridge between 40,000 and 250,000 years ago on the [[Uniformitarianism (science)|uniformitarian timescale]]. Contrary to that, young earth creation scientists assert that the entire subset animals that are all the Earth's species of kangaroos, wallabies and other similar creatures travelled together to Australia following the Great Flood. It is not known whether they communicated the idea amongst themselves or all went the same way by chance.

==People==
===Demographics===
[[File:Australian fishing family.jpg|right|270px]]
Although Australia has scarcely more than three people per square kilometer, it is one of the world's most urbanized countries. Less than 2.5% of the population lives in remote or very remote areas.
*Population (2017 est.): 24.7 million.<ref>http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3101.0 Australian Bureau of Statistics</ref>
*Annual population growth rate: 1.7%.
*Ethnic groups: European 92%, Asian 6%, Aboriginal 2%.
*Religions (2021): Catholic 20%, Protestant 18%, other Christian 5.8%, other non-Christian 4.5%, Buddhist 2.4%, Islam 3.2%, no religion 38.9%, and not stated 7.2%.
*Languages: English.
*Education: Years compulsory—to age 16 in all states and territories except New South Wales and the Northern Territory where it is 15, and Western Australia where it is 17. Literacy—over 99%.
*Health: Infant mortality rate—4.7/1,000. Life expectancy—males 78 yrs., females 83 yrs.
*Work force (10.8 million): Agriculture—3.3%; mining—1.5%; manufacturing—9.8%; retail trade—11.3%; public administration, defense, and safety—6%; construction—9.2%

===Aborigines and Torres Straits Islanders===
Australia's indigenous inhabitants are a hunting-gathering people collectively referred to today as Aborigines and Torres Straits Islanders (ATSI). Although evolutionary theorists purport that native Australians arrived more than 60,000 years ago, this view rejects the Biblical account of Noah as historic and is based on the old-earth paradigm. Aboriginal people arrived in Australia some time after the events at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. Although their technical culture remained static—depending on wood, bone, and stone tools and weapons—their spiritual and social life was highly complex. Most spoke several languages, and confederacies sometimes linked widely scattered tribal groups. Indigenous population density ranged from one person per square mile along the coasts to one person per 35 square miles in the arid interior. When Captain James Cook claimed Australia for Great Britain in 1770, the native population is estimated to have numbered between 318,000 and 750,000 in as many as 500 tribes speaking many different languages. In 2006 the indigenous population was approximately 517,200, representing about 2.5% of the population. Since the end of World War II, the government and the public have made efforts to be more responsive to aboriginal rights and needs, most recently with Prime Minister Rudd's historic apology to the indigenous people in February 2008.

===Immigrants===
Immigration has been vital to Australia's development since the beginning of European settlement in 1788. Originally used as a prison for [[convicts]], the discovery of gold in [[Victoria]] convinced many to come to Australia. For generations, most settlers came from the British Isles, and the people of Australia are still predominantly of British or Irish origin, with a culture and outlook similar to those of Americans. A [["White Australia" policy]] operated from 1901 to the 1960s; it encouraged immigration by Europeans and blocked almost all other immigration.

Many of the Chinese who arrived in the late 19th century to work in the gold mines left voluntarily or were expelled. Likewise, most of the "Kanakas"—Polynesians—who came to work in the sugar fields were expatriated after 1901. Many Germans settled in South Australia, but those without Australian citizenship were put in camps during World War I and most were sent back to Germany after the war.

In 2017, the Australian government adopted measures to conduct extreme vetting of immigrants, particularly Muslims, to ensure that radical Islamists do not enter the country, and it reformed its [[H-1B visa]].<ref>Munro, Neil (April 20, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/20/australian-government-adopts-immigration-vetting-guest-worker-reforms/ Australian Gov’t Adopts ‘Extreme Vetting’ for Islamic Migrants, Reforms Foreign Worker Visas]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 20, 2017.</ref> In 2018, the government stated it would refuse to sign the UN global migration compact because of its negative effect on Australian [[sovereignty]].<ref>Multiple references:
*Remeikis, Amy (July 24, 2018). [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/25/dutton-says-australia-wont-surrender-our-sovereignty-by-signing-un-migration-deal Dutton says Australia won't 'surrender our sovereignty' by signing UN migration deal]. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
*Riordan, Primrose (July 25, 2018). [https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/peter-dutton-says-he-will-not-sign-un-agreement-on-migration-in-its-current-form/news-story/953fcb518c3ac46d69f50034f08b0faf Peter Dutton says he will not sign UN agreement on migration ‘in its current form’]. ''The Australian''. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
*Kan, Janita (July 25, 2018). [https://www.theepochtimes.com/australia-will-not-sign-un-global-migration-agreement-in-its-current-form_2603283.html Australia Will Not Sign UN Global Migration Agreement ‘In Its Current Form’]. ''The Epoch Times''. Retrieved July 27, 2018.</ref> In November 2018, Prime Minister [[Scott Morrison]] promised he would reduce immigration levels,<ref>Kent, Simon (November 19, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/11/19/enough-enough-enough-australia-ready-to-slash-migrant-intake/ ‘Enough, Enough, Enough’: Australia Ready to Slash Migrant Intake]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved November 19, 2018.</ref> and he implemented that promise in March 2019.<ref>Packham, Colin (March 19, 2019). [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-politics-immigration-idUSKCN1R10A5 Australia cuts annual immigrant cap, puts key cities off-limits to some]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved June 30, 2019. See also:
*Kelly, Lidia (October 26, 2019). [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-politics-immigration/australia-to-settle-more-immigrants-outside-major-cities-idUSKBN1X501K Australia to settle more immigrants outside major cities]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
*Koziol, Michael (November 22, 2019). [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/government-wants-half-of-new-refugees-to-be-settled-in-regional-australia-by-2022-20191121-p53ct1.html Government wants half of new refugees to be settled in 'regional' Australia by 2022]. ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. Retrieved November 24, 2019.</ref> Because of Australia's conservative immigration policies, permanent migration in 2019 fell to the lowest level in a decade.<ref>Kent, Simon (September 5, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/09/05/skilled-workers-preferred-permanent-migration-to-australia-falls-to-lowest-level-in-a-decade/ Skilled Workers Preferred: Permanent Migration To Australia Falls to Lowest Level in a Decade]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved September 5, 2019.</ref> Australia's government advocated for integrating migrants into Australia's culture.<ref>Kent, Simon (December 4, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2019/12/04/australia-wants-migrants-to-speak-english-fully-integrate-and-pledge-allegiance/ Australia Wants Migrants to Speak English, ‘Fully Integrate’ and Pledge Allegiance]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved December 4, 2019.</ref>

====Illegal immigration====
In 1999, there was a surge in illegal immigration to Australia.<ref name="Dawson">Dawson, Stephan (August 28, 2015). [https://ricochet.com/archives/how-australia-stopped-illegal-immigration/ How Australia Stopped Illegal Immigration]. ''Ricochet''. Retrieved August 18, 2016.</ref> The Liberal (the conservative party) prime minister [[John Howard]] cracked down on illegal immigration and by 2002, there was virtually no illegal immigration.<ref name="Dawson"/> In 2007, [[Kevin Rudd]] of the Labor party was elected prime minister, and because of his government's lenient immigration policy, the number of illegal immigrants skyrocketed, reaching over 20,000 people and 300 boats in the year 2013 alone.<ref name="Dawson"/> However, the government did not acknowledge that its lax policies were the reason for the growth in illegal immigration.<ref name="Dawson"/> In 2013, the Liberal Party was voted back into the government, and again instituted strict (and thus, controversial) policies again, and illegal immigration dropped to virtually zero, with only one boat arriving in 2014, and none in 2015.<ref name="Dawson"/>

Australia continued enacting additional border security measures which resulted in all forms of migration falling even further by 2018.<ref>Kent, Simon (May 30, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/05/30/toughened-border-security-drives-plunge-in-australias-migration-intake/ Toughened Border Security Drives Plunge in Australia’s Migration Intake]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 30, 2018.</ref> Because of its immigration policies, Australia's migration levels reached a 10-year low in 2017.<ref>Kent, Simon (July 13, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/07/13/tougher-border-controls-crash-australias-migrant-numbers-to-10-year-low/ Tougher Border Controls Crash Australia’s Migrant Numbers to 10-Year Low]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved July 13, 2018.</ref> In August 2018, [[Scott Morrison]], who created the country's tough immigration policy, became prime minister.<ref>Kent, Simon (August 24, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/08/24/hardline-border-security-advocate-scott-morrison-australias-new-pm/ Hardline Border Security Advocate Scott Morrison Australia’s New PM]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved August 24, 2018.</ref><ref>Pannett, Rachel (August 24, 2018). [https://www.wsj.com/articles/scott-morrison-to-be-australias-next-prime-minister-1535080332 Australia Ousts Another Prime Minister as Ruling Party Shifts Right]. ''The Wall Street Journal''. Retrieved August 24, 2018.</ref>

In 2019, facing a very thin Liberal Party majority, Australia's parliament undermined the country's tough immigration policies, though foreign countries such as [[Nauru]] took some steps to preserve it.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-immigration/nauru-could-thwart-refugee-medical-transfers-to-australia-idUSKCN1Q813G Nauru could thwart refugee medical transfers to Australia]. ''Reuters''. February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.</ref> However, Prime Minister [[Scott Morrison]]'s tough immigration policies helped him win the 2019 federal elections.<ref>Pinkerton, James P. (May 19, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/05/19/pinkerton-immigration-curbs-key-to-conservative-victory-in-australia-and-a-lesson-for-trump/ Pinkerton: Immigration Curbs Key to Conservative Victory in Australia and a Lesson for Trump]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 20, 2019.</ref> After the election, Australia's government refused to soften the policy.<ref>Kent, Simon (July 17, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/07/17/australia-rejects-call-to-open-borders-soften-illegal-immigration-stand/ Australia Rejects Call to Open Borders, Soften Illegal Immigration Stand]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved July 17, 2019.</ref> It also succeeded in repealing some of the weakened policies pushed by Parliament earlier in the year.<ref>Packham, Colin (December 3, 2019). [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-immigration/australia-restricts-medical-transfer-of-refugees-from-pacific-camps-idUSKBN1Y8058 Australia restricts medical transfer of refugees from Pacific camps]. ''Reuters''. Retrieved December 3, 2019.</ref>

===Recent trends===
[[File:Melbourne-australia-protest-10-30-21.jpg|right|300px|thumb|'''The LGB (Let's Go Brandon) movement goes global.''' Australian citizens protest leftwing fascism.]]
Since the end of World War II, Australia's population has more than doubled.

Non British/Irish immigration has increased significantly since World War II through an extensive, planned immigration program. Since 1945 around 6.6 million migrants have settled in Australia, including 690,000 refugee and humanitarian entrants. About 80% have remained; 24%--almost one in four—of Australians are foreign-born. Britain, Ireland, Italy, Greece, New Zealand, and the former Yugoslavia were the largest sources of post-war immigration, but New Zealand is closing on Britain as the largest source country for permanent migrants to Australia.

The barriers against Asians fell in the 1970s and thousands of immigrants from the Chinese diaspora resettled in Australia. Immigrants from India and the Philippines were numerous as well.

====COVID-19 pandemic====
{{See also|CCP global pandemic}}

When the government of Australia requested an international investigation into the CCP coverup and the Wuhan Virology Lab, the official Chinese state media response was to derisively and dismissively call Australia the "gum stuck to the bottom of China's shoes".<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/28/australia-called-gum-stuck-to-chinas-shoe-by-state-media-in-coronavirus-investigation-stoush</ref>

In response to the spread of the virus, Australia's [[leftwing]] [[fascist]] parties implemented some of the most stringent loss of freedoms and expansion of government power on the planet.<ref> https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/09/02/premier-gladys-berejiklian-of-the-new-south-wales-directorate-has-a-warning-message-for-australian-citizens-demanding-freedom/</ref> Fascist premier Gladys Berejiklian of the New South Wales Liberal Party ordered the most [[draco]]ian [[lockdown]] procedures on the planet.<ref>https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/08/australia_has_gone_stark_raving_mad.html</ref> Berejiklian was reportedly bribed and blackmailed by [[Big Pharma]] to force the “vaccines” on Aussies. As of October 2021, only 1,421 Aussies have been reported to have died after testing “positive” for COVID-19 over a 20 month period in a nation of 23 million. Berejiklian resigned under a cloud in a corruption probe.<ref> https://www.newstarget.com/2021-10-12-gladys-berejiklian-bribed-blackmailed-big-pharma-vaccine.html</ref>

=====Genetic experiments on children=====
{{See also|Nuremberg Code}}
Australia performed forced mRNA genetic experiments on 24,000 school children.<ref>https://nationalfile.com/australian-government-to-seize-24000-children-vaccinate-them-without-parents-present-in-massive-stadium/</ref><ref>https://www.newstarget.com/2021-08-19-australia-runs-mass-child-sacrifice-luciferian-vaccine-ritual-targeting-24000-children-warning-graphic.html</ref>

=====Totalitarian lockdowns=====
[[File:Melbourne assault on peaceful lockdown protesters.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Australia's leftwing fascist regime firing upon lockdown protesters.<ref>https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/09/22/melbourne-australia-police-and-riot-squads-fire-upon-peaceful-protestors-while-media-frame-covid-anti-lockdown-protests-as-domestic-extremists/</ref>]]
During the [[Chinese Communist Party pandemic]] beginning in 2020, Australian leftist totalitarian regimes at the provincial level imposed the most draconian measures against the population outside of the [[Peoples Republic of China]]. The population, having been disarmed, was powerless against state-sponsored tyranny.
Leftwing fascist Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, outlined the rules and regulations for opening society back up after almost a year of total [[lockdown]]. The futile attempt to block the COVID-19 virus through a policy known as “COVID-ZERO” was abandoned. The new approach was to open up society and the economy by forcing everyone to take the vaccine, and then allowing only the vaccinated to participate in the [[economy]] as varying percentages of the population are double-vaxxed, and admittedly, later, booster-vaxxed.

Vaccination passports or exemptions are required to work, shop, attend events and essentially live in the [[New World Order]] Premier Daniel Andrews created for the citizens of Victoria. The day after Andrews outlined the new rules – the [[working class]], who were locked down and compliant to this point, finally had enough.

On September 20, 2021 a large group of members of the biggest trade union in Australia, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), went to CFMEU headquarters to confront their leadership, CFMEU Secretary John Setka. Their demand was to have their voices heard and use the power of the trade union to stop the Victorian government overreach. The union members wanted their leadership to block the new vaccine mandate and stop the creation of a two-tiered society as outlined by fascist Premier Daniel Andrews.

However, regional union secretary John Setka turned a deaf ear to the concerns of his members and would not listen. Angry at his members Setka asked, “What do you want me to do, shut it down?“, meaning use the power of the union -strike if necessary- to push back against the government. The members said “yes”, exactly that. However, union boss Setka was unwilling as it appears he’s in alignment with the objectives of the socialist Premier. Steka surrounded himself with thugs and bodyguards while turning against hundreds of his own members. The police arrived and used rubber bullets, tear gas, and riot units to dispel the crowd.

In response to the defiant nature of the CFMEU trade union, Premier Dan Andrews announced he was shutting down the construction industry as punishment for their non-compliance. Simultaneously, union boss Setka then went on media to attack his own members calling them fascists, Nazis and worse. This only made the issues more explosive.

On September 21, 2021, the trade union members took to the streets in even larger numbers, now joined by blue-collar workers of all stripes who identify with the cause. Even workers who did not previously like the union members or their prior political tactics joined in common cause over the issue of COVID-19. Tens-of-thousands of non-union workers joined with the trade union protesters in solidarity.

=====Confiscation of property=====
Citizens were required to have their physical location scanned via a [[QR code]] on their phone. These checkpoints were to assist in controlling the COVID spread and were used for contact tracing throughout the past two years. However, the checkpoints and gateway compliance scans also registered your physical location; the consequence was an increased ability for police and COVID compliance officers to catch people violating the COVID rules. Ex: If you checked in at the grocery store, they knew how far from home you are, and the police could figure out if you violated your one hour of time outside the home at the next checkpoint.

The result of all this compliance monitoring was thousands of fines, civil citations for violating COVID rules. Thousands of people given thousands of fines that would need to be paid. The enforcement actions to collect these fines from the State Penalty and Enforcement Register (SPER) are quite extreme. Citizens with outstanding tickets had their driver’s licenses suspended; bank accounts frozen and seized; homes and property confiscated, as well as business licenses suspended for outstanding citations.<ref>https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/banks-raided-property-seized-licences-cancelled-in-covid-cost-recovery-20211027-p593kz.html</ref>

====Refugees====
Australia's humanitarian and refugee program of about 13,000 per year is in addition to other immigration programs. In recent years, refugees from Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia have comprised the largest element in Australia's refugee program.

====Religion====
Australia is a [[secular]] nation, in that it has no established religion associated with the Government.
(Requires mathematic correction)
According to the 2006 census, 64% of citizens consider themselves to be Christian, including 26% Roman Catholic, 19% Anglican, and 19% other Christian. Buddhists constitute 2.1% of the population, Muslims 1.7%, Hindus 0.7%, Jews 0.4%, and all others professing a religion 0.5%. Of Australia's 21 million people, about 1.5 million attend weekly religious services.<ref>[http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?docid=2250&track=82083 National Church Life Survey 2004]; U.S. State Department, "International Religious Freedom Report 2008" [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108400.htm online]</ref> See also: [[Irreligion in Australia]]
[[File:Ballarat Hebrew Congregation Australia.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Ballarat Hebrew Congregation.]]
In 1911, during the first census, 96% identified themselves as Christian. In recent decades traditional Christian denominations have seen their total number and proportion of affiliates stagnate or decrease significantly, although from 2001 to 2006, the total number of Pentecostal and charismatic Christians increased by 12.9%. Over the past decade, increased immigration from Southeast Asia and the Middle East considerably expanded the numbers of citizens who identify themselves as Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims, and increased the ethnic diversity of existing Christian denominations. Between 2001 and 2006, the numbers increased for Buddhists by 17% (to 418,000), Muslims by 21% (to 340,393), Jews by 6% (to 89,000), and Hindus by 55% (to 148,131). In 2006 approximately 18.7% of citizens considered themselves to have no religion, up from 17% in 2001, and 11.2% made no statement regarding religious affiliation. According to a 2002 survey, 23% of adults had participated in church or religious activities during the previous 3 months.

The Australian public school system is "free, secular and compulsory" with the secular meaning without favor to any particular religion. Schools are required to offer religious instruction at the primary level, but are not allowed to discriminate between religions. The state systems of a number of states offer studies in religion at the senior level.

There is a large Catholic school system in Australia with most parishes having their own primary school and many hundreds of Catholic high schools across the country. There are also a large number of independent schools founded by various religions or denominations of the Christian faith - some hold that religious background to be more important than others. All schools, state or religious, receive government funding, as funding is provided for every student that is an Australian resident.
[[Image:Sidney opera house.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Sydney Opera House, an iconic symbol of the nation]]
At the time of European settlement, aboriginal inhabitants followed religions that were animistic, involving belief in spirits behind the forces of nature and the influence of ancestral spirit beings. According to the 2006 census, 5,206 persons, or less than 0.03% of respondents, reported practicing aboriginal traditional religions, down from 5,244 in 2001. The 2006 census reported that almost 64% of Aborigines identify themselves as Christian and 20% listed no religion.

====Culture====

Much of Australia's culture is derived from European roots, but distinctive Australian features have evolved from the environment, [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] culture, and the influence of Australia's neighbors. The vigor and originality of the arts in Australia—film, opera, music, painting, theater, dance, and crafts—have achieved international recognition.

Australian actors and comedians such as Nicole Kidman, Rachel Griffiths, Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Hogan, Hugh Jackman, the late Heath Ledger, and Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphries) have achieved enormous popularity in the United States. Directors such as Peter Weir, Philip Noyes, and Russell Mulcahy, the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, and singers and musicians such as Olivia Newton-John, Men At Work, The Wiggles, AC/DC, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Nellie Melba, and Kylie Minogue are well known.

Australian artists with international reputations include Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale, Pro Hart, and Arthur Boyd. Writers who have achieved world recognition include Thomas Keneally, Colleen McCullough, Nevil Shute, Morris West, Jill Ker Conway, Peter Carey, Robert Hughes, Germaine Greer, and Nobel Prize winner Patrick White.

====Sports====
[[File:Melbourne Cup Australia.jpg|left|200px|thumb|The [[Melbourne]] Cup.]]
Australia is known as a sporting nation with success worldwide in [[swimming]], [[tennis]], [[rugby union]], [[cricket]], [[Formula One]], [[V8 Supercars]], [[netball]] and [[basketball]]. Australians are very keen at betting on horse races, with the Melbourne Cup<ref>[http://www.melbournecup.com.au Melbourne Cup]</ref> attracting up to 120,000 spectators at Flemington Race Course on the first Tuesday in November. There is a public holiday for the cup race in Melbourne, while the remainder of the country virtually pauses during the running.

Unique to Australia is a game known as [[Australian rules football]] or Aussie Rules, which is played on a [[cricket]] oval in winter. Australian rules football is the sport most attended in the states of [[Victoria]], [[South Australia]] and [[Western Australia]], and most attended overall in Australia; in 2006 2.5 million people had attended at least one Aussie Rules game in the preceding 12 months.[http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/ProductsbyCatalogue/1F8FAC9C2C7B1623CA2568A900139417?OpenDocument] Australian Rules Football was written by persons educated at the [[Rugby School]] in England and [[Cambridge University]] before the organisation of uniform football codes. It is not as popular in [[New South Wales]] and [[Queensland]] although premiership teams are based in these two states and new teams from each have seen an increase in interest.

The other national football code is [[rugby league]]. Rugby league football is the most attended sport in New South Wales and Queensland with its premier club competition being the [[National Rugby League]].

[[File:Anzac Memorial Sydney Australia 2007.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Anzac Memorial, Sydney, 2007.]]
====Tourism====

Most tourists visit places such as Sydney Harbour, Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Central Australia and the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland. Other favourite destinations are the wine making areas of South Australia and northern Victoria, the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, the natural wonders of Tasmania and the huge outback expanses of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Some cattle stations in Australia rival Texas in size and the distance between towns in some areas is enormous.

====Gun control====
In response to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in which 35 people were killed (23 wounded) by a gunman, Australia introduced strict gun control laws. Due to bipartisan support the laws were quickly passed and a "gun buy-back" scheme was imposed, gun owners were forced to surrender their guns to the government in exchange for monetary compensation. As there is little to no "gun culture" in Australia, these measures were widely accepted and even welcomed. Since 1997 both the homicide rate and gun death rate in Australia have fallen dramatically. {{cn}}

==Government==
[[File:Sydney.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Sydney skyline from Taronga Zoo.]]
Australia became a federated nation on January 1, 1901 under the [[Constitution of Australia]], and all former British colonies became states. The parliament met in [[Melbourne]] until the infrastructure was built for the capital city, [[Canberra]].

Australia has a [[Parliament|parliamentary system]] of government based on the British system with a [[bicameral]] system meeting as the [[Parliament of Australia]], consisting of the [[Australian House of Representatives]] and the [[Australian Senate]]. Each state and territory also has its own parliament.

The two other branches of government under the Constitution are the Executive ([[Governor-General of Australia]] taking advice from the Ministers) and the [[judicial]].

Australia is a democracy which has allowed men of European descent to vote since federation, with women gaining the vote in 1902 and Aboriginal men and women gaining suffrage in 1962. Voting is compulsory for all citizens who are 18 years old and over (with a few exceptions.)

Australia's Head of Government is the Prime Minister of Australia. The current Prime Minister is Anthony Albanese who is the leader of the Labor Party (a left-leaning political party).

The Head of State is [[Queen Elizabeth II]], the Queen of Australia (who is the same person, but a different title, as the Queen of Great Britain.) Under the Constitution, and in practice, the authority of the Head of State is vested in the [[Governor-General of Australia]], currently David Hurley AC, Previously Governor of [[New South Wales]], who assents to acts of parliament, is the Commander in Chief of the military forces, and appoints all Ministers of the Government; all these various powers are normally exercised on advice from the Prime Minister.

The Government of Australia is exercised, day-to-day, by the Ministers through their various Departments of State.

====Voting====
{{main|Voting in Australia}}

Australia has [[preferential voting]], and voting is compulsory for adults (18 years and over), unless they have been deemed unfit to vote, either by mental illness or conviction for serious offenses. Preferential voting encourages a multiplicity of parties and independent candidates, and counting the votes and allocating preferences can take some time where the results are close.

====Terms====
A Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives is elected for a maximum of three years, but the timing of elections is decided by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/general/constitution/par3cha1.htm |title=Parliament of Australia: Senate: Constitution - Chapter 1 Part III |accessdate=2010-10-13}}</ref> A Member of Parliament in the Senate is typically elected for six years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/general/constitution/par2cha1.htm |title=Parliament of Australia: Senate: Constitution - Chapter 1 Part II |accessdate=2010-10-13}}</ref> The Prime Minister is normally a member of the House of Representatives, and the tenure is not limited by statute. Ministers may continue to serve for up to three months when not a Member or Senator, but must in that time be elected in order to continue. ([[John Gorton]] was a Senator when appointed leader of his party after the death of his predecessor. He immediately resigned from the Senate and stood for election to the House of Representatives, while remaining Prime Minister throughout.)

====Parliamentary political parties====
Currently, the main political parties in Australia are:
* [[Australian Greens]]
* [[Australian Labor Party]]
* [[Family First Party]]
* [[Liberal Party of Australia]]
* [[National Party of Australia]]
* One Nation Party
[[File:Australian house of representatives.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Australian house of representatives.]]
Despite the US connotation associated with the name, the Liberal Party is conservative in political stance. Robert Menzies helped found the Liberal Party in 1944 and was the Prime Minister from 1939 until 1941 and then again from 1949 until 1966.<ref>[http://www.liberals.net/liberalpartyhistory.htm History of the Liberal Party in Australia]</ref> The term "liberal" refers to the party's predominantly-[[free market|free-market]] approach to [[economics|economic management]].

The party currently in power (since the 2022 Federal Election) is the Labor Party. The Liberal-National Coalition is also in government in New South Wales and Tasmania. The remainder of the states and territories are governed by the Labor party. The Prime Minister is the Labor, Anthony Albanese.

Conservative Queensland politician and businesswoman, Pauline Hanson formed the One Nation party to give a conservative voice to voters that were not being effectively represented by the major parties. One Nation has held seats in both the Federal Senate and Lower House, and have been the subject of ridicule by left-leaning media commentators.

Though the Labor party is "social democratic" and the Liberals are "liberal conservatives", some of the smaller parties are more left leaning or more conservative than Labor and Liberal respectively.

''See also a [[list of Prime Ministers of Australia]].''

The Prime Minister of Australia is the most senior elected person in the country. The role is normally filled by the parliamentary leader of the party which forms the government.

===Principal Government Officials===
*Head of State—[[Queen Elizabeth II]]
*Governor General—David Hurley
*Prime Minister—[[Anthony Albanese]]
*Deputy Prime Minister—Richard Marles
*Treasurer—Jim Chalmers
*President of the Senate—Slade Brockman
*Leader of the Government (Senate)—Penny Wong
*Manager of Government Business (Senate)—Katy Gallagher
*Leader of the Opposition (Senate)—Simon Birmingham
*Manager of Opposition Business (Senate)—Anne Ruston
*Speaker of the House of Representatives—Andrew Wallace
*Leader of the House of Representatives—Tony Burke
*Manager of Opposition Business (House)—Paul Fletcher
*Chief Justice—Susan Kiefel

===Political Conditions===
Three political parties dominate the center of the Australian political spectrum. The Liberal Party (LP), nominally representing urban business interests, and its smaller coalition partner, The Nationals, nominally representing rural interests, are the more conservative parties. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) nominally represents workers, trade unions, and left-of-center groups. While the ALP, founded by labor unions, traditionally had been moderately socialist in its policies and approaches to social issues, today it is best described as a social democratic party. All political groups are tied by tradition to welfare programs. Over the last decade, Australia has increased welfare payments to families while imposing obligations on those receiving unemployment benefits and disability pensions. There is strong bipartisan sentiment on many international issues, including Australia's commitment to its alliance with the United States.
[[File:Protests in front of Parliament House Canberra Australia.jpg|left|320px]]
The ALP, under the leadership of Anthony Albanese, defeated the Liberal/National coalition, led by then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison, in the May 21, 2022 election. The ALP now holds 77 seats in the House of Representatives, against 58 for the Liberal/National coalition, and 16 Crossbench. The composition of the Senate is 32 seats for the coalition, 26 for the ALP, 12 seats for the Greens, two for One Nation, two for Lambie Network, one for United Australia and one independent.

The ALP won the election with a message promising "new leadership" after 11 years of the Howard government. Rudd portrayed himself as an "economic conservative," while criticizing unpopular Howard government policies on workplace relations reform, climate change, and the war on Iraq. The Rudd government ratified the Kyoto Protocol and is working with the international community on combating climate change. It is undoing some labor market reforms instituted by the Howard government, such as statutory individual contracts. The Australian government's foreign policy shows strong continuity with that of its predecessors, stressing relations with four key countries: the United States, Japan, China, and Indonesia. The Rudd government strongly supports U.S. engagement in the Asia-Pacific region and increased Australia's troop contribution in Afghanistan. It withdrew Australia's combat troops from Iraq in 2008; it intends to end its military mission in Iraq on July 31, 2009.

Australia has been an active participant in international affairs since federation in 1901, and Australian forces have fought beside the United States and other Allies in every significant conflict since World War I. On January 8, 1940, the governments of the United States and Australia announced the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations. In 1944, Australia concluded an agreement with New Zealand dealing with the security, welfare, and advancement of the people of the independent territories of the Pacific (the ANZAC pact). After World War II, Australia played a role in the Far Eastern Commission in Japan and supported Indonesian independence during that country's revolt against the Dutch. Australia was one of the founding members of the United Nations, the South Pacific Commission, and the Colombo Plan. In addition to contributing to UN forces in Korea—it was the first country to announce it would do so after the United States—Australia sent troops to assist in putting down the 1948-1960 communist revolt in Malaya and later to combat the 1963-1965 Indonesian-supported invasion of Sarawak. The United States, Australia, and New Zealand signed the ANZUS Treaty in 1951, which remains Australia's pre-eminent formal security treaty alliance. Australia sent troops to assist South Vietnamese and U.S. forces in Vietnam, and joined coalition forces in the Persian Gulf conflict in 1991, in Afghanistan in 2001, and in Iraq in 2003.

Australia has been active in the Australia-New Zealand-U.K. agreement and the Five-Power Defense Arrangements—successive arrangements with Britain and New Zealand to ensure the security of Singapore and Malaysia.

One of the drafters of the UN Charter, Australia has given firm support to the United Nations and its specialized agencies. It was last a member of the Security Council in 1985–86, a member of the Economic and Social Council for 1986–89, and a member of the UN Human Rights Commission for 1994-96 and 2003–2005. Australia recently declared its intention to seek a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2013–2014. Australia takes a prominent part in many other UN activities, including peacekeeping, nonproliferation and disarmament negotiations, and narcotics control. Australia also is active in meetings of the Commonwealth Regional Heads of Government and the Pacific Islands Forum, and has been a leader in the Cairns Group—countries pressing for agricultural trade reform in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations—and in founding the APEC forum. In 2002, Australia joined the International Criminal Court.

Australia has devoted particular attention to relations between developed and developing nations, with emphasis on the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the island states of the South Pacific. Australia is an active participant in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which promotes regional cooperation on security issues, and has been a member of the East Asia Summit since its inauguration in 2005. In September 1999, acting under a UN Security Council mandate, Australia led an international coalition to restore order in East Timor upon Indonesia's withdrawal from that territory. In 2006, Australia participated in an international peacekeeping operation in Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor). Australia led a regional mission to restore law and order in Solomon Islands in 2003 and again in 2006. Australia is part of the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, which also includes the United States.

The government is committed to increasing official development assistance to 0.5% of gross national income by 2015–2016. Australia budgeted A$3.79 billion (U.S. $3.03 billion) for FY 2008-2009 and has budgeted A$3.82 billion (U.S. $3.05 billion) for FY 2009–2010. The Australian aid program is currently concentrated in Southeast Asia (Papua New Guinea and Indonesia are the largest recipients) and the Pacific Islands. Selected aid flows are allocated to Africa, South Asia, and reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq. Contributions to multilateral organizations and other expenses account for about one-third of the foreign assistance budget.

===ANZUS and Defense===
The Australia, New Zealand, United States (ANZUS) security treaty was concluded at San Francisco on September 1, 1951, and entered into force on April 29, 1952. The treaty bound the signatories to recognize that an armed attack in the Pacific area on any of them would endanger the peace and safety of the others. It committed them to consult in the event of a threat and, in the event of attack, to meet the common danger in accordance with their respective constitutional processes. The three nations also pledged to maintain and develop individual and collective capabilities to resist attack.
[[File:Canberra Australia.jpg|thumb|300px|Canberra.]]
In 1984, the nature of the ANZUS alliance changed after the Government of New Zealand refused access to its ports by nuclear-weapons-capable and nuclear-powered ships of the U.S. Navy. The United States suspended defense obligations to New Zealand, and annual bilateral meetings between the U.S. Secretary of State and the Australian Foreign Minister replaced annual meetings of the ANZUS Council of Foreign Ministers. The first bilateral meeting was held in Canberra in 1985. At the second, in San Francisco in 1986, the United States and Australia announced that the United States was suspending its treaty security obligations to New Zealand pending the restoration of port access. Since 1985, U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense and the Australian Foreign and Defense Ministers have held 20 Australia-U.S. Ministerial consultations (AUSMIN), alternating between Australia and the United States. The next AUSMIN is scheduled to take place in Australia in 2010.

The U.S.-Australia alliance under the ANZUS Treaty remains in full force. AUSMIN meetings are supplemented by consultations between the U.S. Combatant Commander, Pacific and the Australian Chief of Defense Force. There also are regular civilian and military consultations between the two governments at lower levels.

ANZUS has no integrated defense structure or dedicated forces. However, in fulfillment of ANZUS obligations, Australia and the United States conduct a variety of joint activities. These include military exercises ranging from naval and landing exercises at the task-group level to battalion-level special forces training to numerous smaller-scale exercises, assigning officers to each other's armed services, and standardizing, where possible, equipment and operational doctrine. The two countries also operate joint defense facilities in Australia.

Following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, then-Prime Minister Howard and U.S. President George W. Bush jointly invoked the ANZUS Treaty for the first time on September 14, 2001. Australia was one of the earliest participants in Operation Enduring Freedom. Australian Defense Forces participated in coalition military action against Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Australian combat forces began their withdrawal from Iraq in mid-2008 and forces are to be fully removed by July 2009. Australia has approximately 1,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan and also provides significant development and capacity building assistance to the country. Based on growing defense commitments, Australia decided to increase the Australian Army from 26,000 to 30,000 over the next several years. This will enable the reestablishment of two infantry battalions, as well as enabling troops, such as a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) unit.

The Australian Government has stated its intention to maintain its investment in future capability of the Australian Defense Force (ADF). To do so, the government has committed to a 3% annual growth in real defense funding through 2018—and 2.2% annual real growth beyond—to ensure the ADF can continue to meet capability and interoperability goals. The Australian Defense Force numbers about 54,000 active duty personnel, with planned increases to 57,000 within the next decade. The Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) front-line fleet currently includes 12 frigates, including 4 of the Adelaide class and 8 Australian-built ANZAC class. In August 2004, Australia selected the Aegis Combat Control System for its three air warfare destroyers (AWD), which will start coming into service in 2014. The F/A-18 fighter, built in Australia under license from the U.S. manufacturer, is the principal combat aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force, backed by the U.S.-built F-111 strike aircraft. In October 2002, Australia became a Level III partner in the U.S.-led Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Additionally, the Australian Government signed the JSF Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development MOU in 2006. Australia is projected to buy up to 100 JSF aircraft with deliveries starting in 2013 and running through 2020. The F-111 strike aircraft are scheduled to exit service by 2010 and will be replaced by 24 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet fighters as an interim strike capability with deliveries commencing in 2010. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took delivery of the last aircraft in its buy of 4 Lockheed C-17 strategic airlift aircraft in 2008. In addition, Boeing will provide the Commonwealth of Australia's RAAF with an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) system based on the Next-Generation 737-700 aircraft as the airborne platform. Recent U.S. sales to the Australian Army include the M1A1 AIM tank, as well as Hellfire and JAVELIN munitions. Future opportunities include CH-47 helicopter replacements, navy helicopter replacements, light and medium cargo aircraft replacements and artillery systems.

In May 2009, the Australian Government released its Defense White Paper, outlining Australia's long-term strategic outlook. In addition to buying the JSF aircraft, the White Paper proposes to double Australia's submarine fleet to 12, replace the ANZAC class frigates, and replace the army's armored personnel carriers.

==Economy==
[[Image:Melbourne tram 250.jpg|thumb|220px|A Melbourne tram.]]

Since the 1980s, Australia has undertaken significant structural reform of its economy and has transformed itself from an inward-looking, highly protected, and regulated marketplace to an open, internationally competitive, export-oriented economy. Key economic reforms included unilaterally reducing high tariffs and other protective barriers to free trade, floating the Australian dollar, deregulating the financial services sector, including liberalizing access for foreign banks, increasing flexibility in the labor market, reducing duplication and increasing efficiency between the federal and state branches of government, privatizing many government-owned monopolies, and reforming the taxation system, including introducing a broad-based Goods and Services Tax (GST) and large reductions in income tax rates.
[[File:Salamanca-Market-2008 Australia.jpg|left|320px]]
Australia enjoys a higher standard of living than any G7 country other than the United States. Australia's economic standing in the world is a result of a commitment to best-practice macroeconomic policy settings, including the delegation of the conduct of monetary policy to the independent Reserve Bank of Australia, and a broad acceptance of prudent fiscal policy where the government aims for fiscal balance over the economic cycle. Largely due to the fall in revenue as a result of the global economic downturn, net government debt is projected to reach about A$188 billion (U.S. $150.4 billion) in four years. The previous government, drawing from budget surpluses, created the “Future Fund” to provide for future liabilities resulting from the retirement of civil servants. The Government of Australia is predicting negative 0.5% growth in the 2009-2010 fiscal year; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted growth to be negative 1.4% for 2009.

Over 2008, unemployment has risen to around 5.5% from 4.2%, and the labor market participation has remained at around 65%. Both the federal and state governments have recognized the need to invest heavily in water, transport, ports, telecommunications, and education infrastructure to expand Australia's supply capacity. The largest river system in Australia, the Murray-Darling, and related coastal lakes and wetlands in South Australia are critically threatened and the government has developed a plan to improve irrigation infrastructure and efficiency and buy back unused water allocations along the river.
*Nominal GDP: $1.35 trillion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $52,941 (2020)
*Inflation rate (year to March 2009): 2.5% per annum.
*Reserve Bank official interest rate (May 2009): 3.00%.
*Trade: Exports ($178.9 billion, 2008 estimate)--coal, iron ore, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment. Major markets—Japan, China, South Korea, U.S. ($10.7 billion), and New Zealand. Imports ($187.2 billion, 2008 estimate)--machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products. Major suppliers—China, United States ($23.96 billion), Japan, Singapore, and Germany.
*Exchange rate (May 2011): U.S. $1.05 = A$1

Australia is a developed country with a capitalist economy. It has a very small population compared to other Western countries like the [[USA]] and the [[UK]] but despite this, Australia is in the top 15 countries by GDP. Australia is currently the fourteenth-largest economy.

===Exports and Imports===
The economy of Australia is very different to that of other developed countries. For example, there is a nearly equal amount of exports compared to imports, which is generally not seen in Western Economies. This is mainly due to the fact that Australia is vast and rich in natural resources, and exports items such as coal, gold, meat, wool, iron ore, wheat and machinery. Australia has maintained trade links with various countries throughout history, but more recently with the economic boom of China and India exports (especially natural resources) have experienced a spike in growth. In 2008, China was 2nd while India was 4th on the Australian exports list, and China was 1st on Australia's Imports list.

===Strong growth===
Australia's strong trade market is generally attributed to its 2 decades of continuous growth at above average rates. This is really remarkable after considering the fact that there have been 2 recessions in that time frame (the early 2000s recession and the current recession). Australia is the only western nation that isn't in recession currently due to the Global Economic crisis. Australia's GDP reached over $1 trillion in the mid - late 2000's and this has been the result of the booming trade in some states like Western Australia where the exports account for twice as much value than their imports.

===Businesses===
Businesses are attracted to Australia for a number of factors which include:

* The fact that Australia is the fastest place in the world in which to start a business (according to the World Bank)

* Strategic location in the fast-growing Asia–Pacific region

* Economic and political stability

* A good and stable financial and legal system.

===Unemployment===
The unemployment rate in Australia is currently 5.5% and despite the global financial crisis, the unemployment rate had never gone over 6%, instead peaking at at only 5.8% in October 2009. This is unlike the US where the unemployment rate went over 10% despite massive stimulus. [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/markets/total-employment-soars-by-35200-amid-consensus-for-10000-australian-bureau-of-statistics/story-e6frg926-1225819149211] [http://www.news.com.au/business/jobless-rate-falls-to-55pc-in-december/story-e6frfm1i-1225819147794]

=== Resources ===

Australia has lots of natural resources; they especially have a high number of energy.

====Energy====
[[File:Energy 500kv-power-lines Australia.jpg|right|400px]]
Australia is rich in natural resources with significant petroleum, natural gas and coal reserves. Australia's energy consumption is dominated by coal, which fuels most of the country's power generation. Petroleum accounts for a large share of energy consumption, but due to declining output, Australia is facing a growing dependence on petroleum imports. Over the past two decades, Australia has steadily consumed increasing amounts of natural gas, which is likely to continue over the medium term.<ref>See Energy Information Administration, "Australia" (2009) [http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Australia/Background.html online]</ref>

Australia is one of the four countries (along with Norway, Canada and Mexico) belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that is a significant net energy exporter. Australia is the world's largest coal exporter and is the fifth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Australia's prospects for expanding energy exports in the future are promising as Asian demand for both coal and LNG rises. However, Australia can expect increasing export competition from China (coal) and Indonesia (coal and LNG).

In July 2005, the Australian government formed the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). The AER is responsible for economic regulation in Australian energy markets. In addition, the AER promotes investment in the energy sector to ensure supply security, while monitoring prices faced by end users. In 2006, Australia's 13 government bodies transferred energy regulation responsibility to the AER. The AER is seeking $23 billion in infrastructure investments over the next 15 years.

====Comparing Australian and U.S. Economic and Health statistics====
Whilst the Australian society is similar in many aspects to those of the U.S., a comparison of key economic (in $U.S.) and health indicators highlights some interesting fundamental differences:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! !!Australia!!U.S.
|-
| '''GDP Per Capita'''
| $32,900.00
| $43,500.00
|-
| '''Budget Deficit/Surplus''' Per capita
| $444.00 surplus. Australia has had budget surpluses every year since 2001
| $841.00 deficit
|-
| '''Public Debt'''
| 14.1% of GDP
| 64.7% of GDP
|-
| '''Military Expenditure'''
| 2.5% of GDP
| 4.06% of GDP
|-
| '''Life Expectancy at Birth''' (combined male and female)
| 80.5 years
| 77.85 years
|-
| '''Infant Mortality Rates''' deaths/1,000 live births
| 4.63
| 6.43
|-
| '''HIV/AIDS Prevalence Rates'''
| 0.1% of population
| 0.6% of population
|}
Australia has a universal health scheme and significant subsidies on most prescription medications.

== History==
''See main article [[History of Australia]]''

Australia was uninhabited until stone-culture peoples arrived, perhaps by boat across the waters separating the island from the Indonesia archipelago more than 40,000 years ago. Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English explorers observed the island before 1770, when Captain Cook explored the east coast and claimed it for Great Britain.
[[File:Aboriginal art Australia.jpg|thumb|300px|Aboriginal art.]]
On January 26, 1788 (now celebrated as Australia Day), the so-called '''First Fleet''' landed at Sydney and the Colony of New South Wales was established. Many, but by no means all, of the first settlers were convicts, some condemned for offenses that today would often be thought trivial. From the mid-19th century convict transportation to Australia significantly declined; the last ship to arrive was in 1868. Many officers of the Royal Navy received grants and established large farms and ranches. Ranchers who used government lands for their herds of sheep were informally called "squatters"; despite the term, most were wealthy. The discovery of gold in 1851 led to increased immigration, wealth, and trade. A third of the new arrivals were Irish Catholics, and there emerged a political and cultural tension between them and the Protestant British.

The six colonies that became the states of the Australian Commonwealth were established in the following order: New South Wales, 1788; Tasmania, 1825; Western Australia, 1829; South Australia, 1836; Victoria, 1851; and Queensland, 1859. Settlement preceded these dates in most cases.

Negotiations between Australians and the government in London led Parliament to create the '''Commonwealth of Australia''' in 1900, effective January 1, 1901.

Australia came of age in World War I, when it supported the British war effort, and imprisoned German citizens living there. The great defeat at Gallipoli focused Australia's heroes self-image.
[[File:UNMCK Australia.jpg|left|280px]]
In May 1927, the seat of government was transferred to Canberra, a planned city designed by American Walter Burley Griffin. Australia passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act on October 9, 1942 (with effect as of September 3, 1939), which officially established Australia's complete autonomy in both internal and external affairs and formalized a situation that had existed for years.<ref>The Australia Act (effective March 3, 1986) eliminated almost all remaining vestiges of British legal authority, including the ability to appeal to the British Privy Council.</ref>

In World War II Australia again rallied to the British cause, but were left practically undefended when at fall of Singapore in 1942 the Japanese captured much of the Australian army. The rest of the army was rushed back from the Middle East to defend against a possible Japanese invasion. Britain was no help, so Australia turned, permanently, to the United States for its defense.

In practice the monarch is only symbolic—a symbol especially of ties to the [[British Empire]] that the Irish and new immigrants are unwilling to continue. In 1998,republicans were given a free hand to choose the form of republic they wanted. This was put to a referendum in 1999, and enjoyed strong support among the politicians and in the mainstream media. But a campaign led by a group, [http://www.norepublic.com.au Australians for Constitutional Monarchy ] resulted in the defeat of the referendum in all states and 72% of electorates. Republicans remain unable to agree on how to replace the present system—whether with a powerful elected president responsible directly to the people, or with a weak president chosen by the government (as in Germany), the model which was rejected in 1999 because of distrust of politicians.

== See also ==

* [[Australian dollar]]
* [[Currency#Australia|Currency: Australia]]
* [[Australia, irreligion and obesity]]
*[[Irreligious Australia and alcoholism]]

==Bibliography==

===References===
* Bambrick, Susan ed. ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Australia'' (1994)
* Davison, Graeme, John Hirst, and Stuart Macintyre, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Australian History'' (2001) online at many academic libraries; also [https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Australian-History/dp/019551503X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search]
* O'Shane, Pat et al. ''Australia: The Complete Encyclopedia'' (2001)
* Shaw, John, ed. ''Collins Australian Encyclopedia'' (1984)
* Serle. Percival, ed. ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'' (1949) [http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/00-dict-biogIndex.html online edition]
[[File:Aussie1.jpg|thumb|280px]]
===Guides===
* ''Australia For Dummies'' by Marc Llewellyn and Lee Mylne. (2008) [https://www.amazon.com/Australia-Dummies-Travel-Marc-Llewellyn/dp/0470178345/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126338&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* '' Central Australia: Adelaide to Darwin'' by Charles Rawlings-Way and Meg Worby (2009) [https://www.amazon.com/Central-Australia-Adelaide-Darwin-Regional/dp/1741046637/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126389&sr=1-17 excerpt and text search]
* ''Frommer's Australia 2009'' by Lee Mylne et al. (2008) [https://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Australia-2009-Complete/dp/0470345446/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126132&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* ''Moon Living Abroad in Australia'' by James M. Lane (2008) [https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Living-Abroad-Australia-James/dp/1598801392/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126389&sr=1-24 excerpt and text search]
* ''The Rough Guide to Australia'' by Margo Daly et al. (2009) [https://www.amazon.com/Rough-Guide-Australia-Travel-Guides/dp/1848360738/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126389&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]
* Vaisutis, Justine et al. ''Lonely Planet Sydney & New South Wales'' (2009) [https://www.amazon.com/Australia-Country-Guide-Justine-Vaisutis/dp/174179160X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126132&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]

===Economics and business===
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* McLean, Ian W. "Consumer Prices and Expenditure Patterns in Australia 1850-1914." ''Australian Economic History Review''(1999) 39(1): 1-28; includes a consumer price index (CPI) for the period 1850 to 1914. Issn: 0004-8992 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Moran, Anthony. ''Australia: Nation, Belonging, and Globalization'' Routledge, 2004 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108858937 online edition]
*Robinson GM, Loughran RJ, and Tranter PJ. ''Australia and New Zealand: economy, society and environment''.(2000)

===Environment and Geography===
* Appleton, Richard, and Barbara Appleton. ''The Cambridge Dictionary of Australian Places'' (1993)
* Dovers, Stephen. ''Australian Environmental History: Essays & Cases'' (1995) [https://www.amazon.com/Australian-Environmental-History-Essays-Cases/dp/0195534824/ref=sr_1_8/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193540375&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* Garden, Don. ''Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific: An Environmental Hisory.'' ABC-CLIO, 2005. 398 pp.
* Hutton, Drew, and Libby Connors. ''History of the Australian Environment Movement'' (1999) [https://www.amazon.com/History-Australian-Environment-Movement-Hutton/dp/052145686X/ref=sr_1_4/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193540375&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
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*Powell JM . ''An Historical Geography of Modern Australia: The Restive Fringe''. (1988)
*Robinson GM, Loughran RJ, and Tranter PJ. ''Australia and New Zealand: economy, society and environment''.(2000)

===History===
see [[History of Australia]] for more detaile guide
* Atkinson, Alan. ''The Europeans in Australia: A History. Vol. 2: Democracy.'' (2005). 440 pp.
* Barker, Anthony. ''What Happened When: A Chronology of Australia from 1788.'' Allen & Unwin. 2000. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108433410 online edition]
* Basset, Jan. ''The Oxford Illustrated Dictionary of Australian History'' (1998)
* Bolton, Geoffrey. ''The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 5: 1942-1995. The Middle Way'' (2005)
* Clarke, Frank G. ''The History of Australia'' (2002). [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101344125 online edition]
* Davison, Graeme, John Hirst, and Stuart Macintyre, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Australian History'' (2001) online at many academic libraries; also [https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Australian-History/dp/019551503X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search]
* Day, David. ''Claiming a Continent: A New History of Australia'' (2001);
* Edwards, John. ''Curtin's Gift: Reinterpreting Australia's Greatest Prime Minister,'' (2005) [http://www.questia.com/read/108661368 online edition]
* Hughes, Robert. ''The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia’s Founding'' (1988). [https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Shore-Robert-Hughes/dp/0099448548/ref=pd_bbs_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193540375&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Kemp, Rod, and Marion Stanton, eds. ''Speaking for Australia: Parliamentary Speeches That Shaped Our Nation'' Allen & Unwin, 2004 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=110168653 online edition]
* Kingston, Beverley. ''The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 3: 1860-1900 Glad, Confident Morning'' (1993)
* Kociumbas, Jan. ''The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 2: 1770-1860 Possessions'' (1995)
* Macintyre, Stuart. ''The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 4: 1901-42, the Succeeding Age'' (1993)
* Macintyre, Stuart. ''A Concise History of Australia'' (2nd. ed. 2009) [https://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Australia-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521735939/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126389&sr=1-14 excerpt and text search]
* Martin, A. W. ''Robert Menzies: A Life'' (2 vol 1993–99), online at ACLS e-books
* Megalogenis, George. ''The Longest Decade'' (2nd ed. 2009), politics 1990-2008
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* Serle. Percival, ed. ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'' (1949)[http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/00-dict-biogIndex.html online edition]
* Taylor, Peter. ''The Atlas of Australian History'' (1991)
* Welsh, Frank. ;;Australia: A New History of the Great Southern Land'' (2008)

===International Relations and Military===
* Bridge, Carl ed., ''Munich to Vietnam: Australia's Relations with Britain and the United States since the 1930s,'' Melbourne University Press 1991
* Dennis, Peter, Jeffrey Grey, Ewan Morris, and Robin Prior. ''The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History.'' (1996)
* Firth, Stewart. ''Australia in International Politics: An Introduction to Australian Foreign Policy'' (2005) [http://www.questia.com/read/108662470 online edition]
* Grant, Ian. ''A Dictionary of Australian Military History - from Colonial Times to the Gulf War'' (1992)
* Lee, David. ''Search for Security: The Political Economy of Australia's Postwar Foreign and Defence Policy'' (1995)
* McLean, David. "From British Colony to American Satellite? Australia and the USA during the Cold War," ''Australian Journal of Politics & History" (2006) 52 (1), 64–79. Rejects satellite model. [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2006.00408a.x online at Blackwell-Synergy]
* McLean, David. "Australia in the Cold War: a Historiographical Review." ''International History Review'' (2001) 23(2): 299–321. Issn: 0707-5332
* Murphy, John. ''Harvest of Fear: A History of Australia's Vietnam War'' (1993)
* Watt, Alan. ''The Evolution of Australian Foreign Policy 1938–1965,'' Cambridge University Press, 1967

===Culture and society===
* Bebbington, Warren. ''A Dictionary of Australian Music'' (1999)
* Bennett, Bruce et al. ''The Oxford Literary History of Australia'' (1999)
* Bennett, Tony, and David Carter. ''Culture in Australia: Policies, Publics and Programs'' (2001) [https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Australia-Reshaping-Australian-Institutions/dp/0521004039/ref=sr_1_47/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193533775&sr=8-47 excerpt and text search]
* Breward, Ian. ''A History of the Churches in Australasia.'' (2002). 474 pp.
* Carey, Hilary. ''Believing in Australia: A Cultural History of Religions'' (1996)
* Horton, David. ''The Encyclopedia of Aboriginal Australia: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History, Society and Culture'' (2001)
* Huggan Graham. ''Postcolonialism, Racism, Transnationalism'' (Oxford Studies in Postcolonial Literatures) (2007) [https://www.amazon.com/Australian-Literature-Postcolonialism-Transnationalism-Postcolonial/dp/0199274622/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-10 excerpt and text search]
* Jupp, James, ed. ''The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins'' (2nd ed. 2002) 960pp [https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0521807891/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Jupp, James. ''The English in Australia'' (2004) [https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0521542952/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Kleinert, Sylvia. and Margo Neale. ''The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture'' (2001)
* Leitner, Gerhard. ''Australia's Many Voices: Australian English--the National Language'' (2004) [https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/3110181940/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Love, J.W. ed. ''Australia and the Pacific Islands'' (Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 9) (1998) [https://www.amazon.com/Australia-Pacific-Islands-Garland-Encyclopedia/dp/0824060385/ref=sr_1_14/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193533487&sr=8-14 excerpt and text search]
* McAllister, Ian, Steve Dowrick, Riaz Hassan; ''The Cambridge Handbook of the Social Sciences in Australia'' Cambridge University Press, 2003 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108131347 online edition]
* McCulloch, Alan. ''Encyclopedia of Australian Art'' 2 vol (1984)
* McDonald, John. ''Federation: Australian Art and Society, 1901-2001. Natl. Gallery of Australia, 2002. 264 pp.
* Moran, Albert. ''Historical Dictionary of Australian Radio and Television'' (2007)
* Nile, Richard. ''The Making of the Australian Literary Imagination.'' (2002). 315 pp.
* Rickard, John, ''Australia: A Cultural History'' (1988)
* Webby, Elizabeth. ''The Cambridge Companion to Australian Literature'' (2000) [https://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Companion-Australian-Literature-Companions/dp/0521658438/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search]
* Wilde, William H. et al eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature'' (1995) online at [[OUP]] [https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Australian-Literature/dp/019553381X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* ''The Oxford Literary History of Australia.''
* Samuels, Selina, ed. ''Australian Writers, 1915–50.'' (2002). 510 pp.
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* Webby, Elizabeth, ed. ''The Cambridge Companion to Australian Literature'' (2006)
* Wannan, Bill. ''A Dictionary of Australian Folklore: Lore, Legends, Myths and Traditions'' (1988)

==Primary sources==
* [http://samizdat.stores.yahoo.net/auslitandhis.html Australia: Literature and History 136 e-books]

==External links==
* [http://www.fed.gov.au Australian Government portal]
* [http://www.aph.gov.au Australian Parliament House (Reps & Senate) portal]
* [http://www.gg.gov.au Governor-General of Australia]
* [http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/oceania.htm Australia and Oceania]
* [http://www.norepublic.com.au Australians for Constitutional Monarchy]
* [http://www.crownedrepublic.com.au The Crowned Republic]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=35em}}

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