ATI
COUNTRY PROFILE
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a low economic transformer with an overall ATI score of 17.3, falling short of the African average on all DEPTH dimensions. While the country made gains in economic transformation between 2000 and 2007, much of that progress has since eroded.
Harare
16.7 million
2.1 %
5.0 %
US $1,592
Zimbabwe’s Performance on the African Transformation Index
The overall African Transformation Index score measures the five dimensions of DEPTH.
Overall score
17.3 /100
Score change
since 2000
At a glance
- Zimbabwe is a low economic transformer with an overall ATI score of 17.3, falling short of the African average on all DEPTH dimensions.
- While the country made gains in economic transformation between 2000 and 2007, much of that progress has since eroded.
| Score /100 |
Change since 2000 | ||
 |
Diversification |
30.4 |
-20.4
|
 |
Export competitiveness |
4.2 |
-11.7
|
 |
Productivity increases |
8.2 |
0.0
|
 |
Technology upgrading |
18.3 |
-20.0
|
 |
Human well-being |
25.2 |
-9.9
|
Diversification of production and exports measures countries’ capability to produce and export a widening array of goods and services.
Score
30.4 /100
Score change
since 2000
At a glance
- Since 2000, Zimbabwe’s economy has become less diversified, even though the dominant pillar of the economy has shifted from the agriculture sector to the service sector (wholesale and retail trade; and recreation and tourism).
- The country’s exports remain highly concentrated in a small number of products—mostly minerals and tobacco—which account for 84 percent of total exports.
- Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector has been volatile despite showing some uptick, but credit constraints and high input costs discourage the entry of new businesses.
- Similarly, the service sector saw an increase in value addition, peaking at 65.49 percent of GDP in 2015, but this trend has since reversed.
- The share of manufactured goods and services in total exports declined from a high of 63 percent in 2006 to 17.7 percent in 2020.
Export competitiveness is measured as the ratio of a country’s share in the world’s exports of non-extractive goods and services to its share in world non-extractive GDP.
Score
4.2 /100
Score change
since 2000
At a glance
-
Zimbabwe's export competitiveness has declined significantly, from 52.3 percent in 2007 to 4.2 percent in 2020.
-
The country’s non-extractive exports to GDP ratio has become less competitive in the last decade due to significant FDI investments in its mineral sector.
-
Heavy reliance on low-sophistication agricultural and mineral exports reflects limited success in diversifying into non-traditional exports and upgrading production technology.
-
This vulnerability to external shocks has led to substantial exchange rate distortions, keeping economic activity below its potential.
Productivity increases measure the value added per unit of labor in agriculture, manufacturing, and services.
Score
8.2 /100
Score change
since 2000
At a glance
- Zimbabwe is among the least productive countries in Africa, with no significant progress in productivity.
- The country’s productivity score of 8.2 is about three times less than the African average.
- While labor productivity improved slightly in the service and industry (manufacturing and construction) sectors over the past two decades, agricultural productivity declined drastically during the same period.
Technology upgrading measures the medium-and high-technology content in total production activities and total commodity exports.
Score
18.3 /100
Score change
since 2000
At a glance
- Zimbabwe's progress on technology upgrading stalled in 2019 and 2020, after almost two decades of improvement.
- The average score on this dimension over the past two decades was 36.7, but it has since declined to 18.3 in 2020, below the African average of 29.7.
- The share of medium and high-technology in production was stagnant at 10 percent in the first decade. It peaked at 23.3 percent after the commodity supercycle collapse in 2016, but has since returned to its initial level.
- Meanwhile, the share of medium and high-technology exports in manufactured exports has steadily declined, highlighting a shift towards extractive exports and a lack of complexity in the country’s exports.
Human well-being measures economic and social outcomes and enablers in terms of incomes, income inequality, formal employment, and female participation in formal labor markets.
Score
25.2 /100
Score change
since 2000
At a glance
- Zimbabwe has seen consistent declines in its human well-being score over the past two decades, with a current score of 25.2, below the African average of 42.5.
- Despite progressing from low-income to lower-middle income status, Zimbabwe's volatile growth has not sufficiently reduced poverty and income inequality.
- The lack of job creation has led to the emergence of more low-productivity, low-wage informal businesses, while formal employment has steadily declined over the past two decades.
- Progress in promoting female economic empowerment remains stagnant, with the share of females in salaried employment close to 20 percent of total female employment.
Discover more from the ATI
ATI Scorecard
Explore the data behind the economic transformation progress of 30 African countries between 2000-2020.
Growth with DEPTH
Explore the ATI in DEPTH and see how African countries performed on each dimension between 2000-2020.
Methodology
Learn more about our methodology, sources, and how we calculate the index.
Country Profiles
To explore the results of the index in greater detail and provide context and analysis, the ATI report includes 11 case studies.
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