Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Thin Reserves and the Lowest Defense Burden in This Bundle's Figures

Zimbabwe's economy was valued at $41.54 billion in 2024, with per-capita output of $2,497.20, on a population of 16,634,373, per World Bank WDI figures. Government debt is projected at 42.3% of GDP in 2026, per IMF WEO, a forward-looking projection rather than a confirmed outturn. Foreign reserves stood at $484.97 million in 2024, per World Bank WDI, the same reference year as the GDP figure but a separate series that should not be merged into any ratio not already provided.

Defense Posture

SIPRI Milex data put military spending at $159.64 million in 2025, equivalent to 0.565% of GDP by SIPRI's own GDP series for that year. Active personnel numbered 29,000 in 2022, per COW NMC, with a composite index of national capability (CINC) of 0.00084460876 for the same year, also per COW NMC.

Governance

V-Dem v15's 2025 scores show an electoral democracy index of 0.268, a liberal democracy index of 0.147, and a state capacity score of 0.177 — figures indicating limited electoral competitiveness and constrained administrative reach, per V-Dem's framework. All three figures are drawn from the same V-Dem v15 release and reference year, 2025, forming a single coherent governance snapshot.

Energy

Zimbabwe's primary energy consumption was 0.1871 exajoules in 2023, per Our World in Data's energy series, with electricity generation of 10.26 terawatt-hours in 2024 from the same source. Both oil and gas production are recorded at 0.0 terawatt-hours, but that figure dates to 2016, per Our World in Data.

Data Gaps

The oil and gas production figures are a decade old; this bundle contains no more recent production series, so current hydrocarbon output cannot be assessed from these figures alone, though Zimbabwe has not historically been a significant producer of either. The reserves figure stands at $484.97 million for 2024, per World Bank WDI, stated here without computing any ratio against other series. The 0.565% milex/GDP figure is tied to SIPRI's own GDP series for 2025 and should not be checked against the World Bank's $41.54 billion GDP figure for 2024, a different year and series.

Sources: World Bank WDI, IMF WEO, SIPRI Milex, COW NMC, V-Dem v15, Our World in Data (Energy).