Zimbabwe

Located in Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia, with Black, Green, Red and Yellow as their flag colors; Zimbabwe is just one the many countries in Africa . With Harare being the Capital, a couple of major cities such as, Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Mutare, Epworth, Gweru, Kwekwe, Kadoma, Masvingo hold most of the population. With a population of 12,576,742, life expectancy is generally 39.01 years for males it is 40.09 years and for females it is 37.89 years, the sixth lowest in the world. Approximately 1.6 million adults 15 years and older were living with HIV/AIDS in 2005. Zimbabwe has a generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic with HIV transmitted primarily through heterosexual contact and mother-to-child transmission. The population is consisted African 98%, mixed and Asian 1%, and white less than 1%. More than two-thirds of the population speaks Shona as their first language. Shona-speaking people (made up of the Karanga, Korekore, Manyika, Ndau, Rozwi and Zezuru tribes) live mainly in the eastern two-thirds of the country, including the capital of Harare. Around one in five Zimbabweans (the Ndebele and Kalanga groups) speak Northern Ndebele, commonly known as Sindebele. Both Shona and Sindebele are Bantu languages originating from the time when Bantu-speaking tribes populated the region over 1000 years ago. 50 percent of Zimbabweans follow a syncretic religion, it is a hybrid of Christian and indigenous beliefs. Christians account for 25 percent of the population, with 24 percent practicing only indigenous beliefs. The traditional religions emphasize the spirits of ancestors, who are honored ceremonially and associated with both good and bad fortune. The traditional societies of Shona, Ndebele, Tonga, Shangaan and Venda people have several similarities. In particular, they have similar family structures and beliefs in the spiritual involvement of ancestors in day-to-day life. Traditional day-to-day life for women involves gardening, raising poultry and baking,

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