From an Industrial Powerhouse to a Nation of Vendors: Over Two Decades of Economic Decline and Deindustrialization in Zimbabwe 1990–2015

From being the second most industrialized country in Sub-Saharan Africa at independence in 1980, Zimbabwe’s economy has declined rapidly to a point where the country ranks among the poorest economic performers in the region. The three pillars which had underpinned the country’s vibrant economy, namely, agriculture, mining and manufacturing, have suffered greatly from poor government policy choices, resulting in the near collapse of each of the sectors and massive unemployment. As a result, an estimated 90% of the Zimbabwean population was unemployed at 2015 and was forced to eke out a living in the informal sector, mostly through vending of second-hand clothes and other basic items. With regard to the manufacturing sector specifically, the sector had all but collapsed by 2015, as companies either folded or relocated to escape the country’s harsh economic climate. This article traces the decline of the Zimbabwean manufacturing sector from 1990 to 2015 and seeks to explain the factors contributing to this decline.