Harare Metropolitan Province () is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

in northeastern

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. It comprises

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, the country's capital and most populous city, and two other municipalities . Originally part of Mashonaland Province, in 1983 the province was divided into three large provinces,

Mashonaland Central Mashonaland Central is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 28,347 km² and a population of 1,152,520 (2012 census), representing about 8.5% of the total Zimbabwe population. Geography Background Bindura is the capital of the ...

Mashonaland East Mashonaland East, informally Mash East, is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 32,230 km2 and a population of approximately 1.35 million (2012). Marondera is the capital of the province. Geography Districts Mashonaland East ...

, and

Mashonaland West Mashonaland West is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 57,441 km² and a population of approximately 1.5 million (2012). Chinhoyi is the capital of the province. Districts Mashonaland West is divided into 7 districts: * Chegutu ...

, while the city of Harare became its own metropolitan province, along with two nearby cities. Harare Province is divided into four

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. Oliver Chidawu is the current Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Harare Metropolitan Province, since March 2019.

provincial governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. Harare Province has an area of , equal to 0.22% of the total area of Zimbabwe. It is the second-smallest in area of the country's provinces, after the city-province of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

. As of the 2022 census, the province has a population of 2,427,209,Citypopulation.de
Population of provinces and districts in Zimbabwe of whom 1,849,600 live in Harare proper, 371,244 in

Chitungwiza Chitungwiza is an urban centre and town of Harare Province in Zimbabwe. History As of the 2022 census, Chitungwiza had a population of 371,244. There are two main highways which connect the city to Harare namely Seke road and Chitungwiza r ...

, and the remaining 206,365 in Epworth. In total, Harare Province is home to 16.26% of Zimbabwe's population, making it the country's most populous province. The province is Zimbabwe's leading political, financial, commercial, and communications centre, as well as a trade centre for

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus ''Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chie ...

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

, cotton, and

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

fruits. Manufacturing, including

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant t ...

, and

chemicals A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., with ...

, is also economically significant, as is

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface, ...

. The province is home to several universities, a number of leading professional sports teams, and many historical sites and tourist attractions.

Etymology

Harare Province is named after the city of

, which in turn took its name from a black township in the city now known as

Mbare Mbare is a suburb in the south of Harare, Zimbabwe. Founded in 1907 as a township, it includes an informal settlement. Mbare Musika is the largest farm produce market in Zimbabwe. History Mbare was the first township, now known as a high de ...

. Originally, the name "Harare" applied to a village near the Harare Kopje led by the

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people * Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today Shona may also refer to: * ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing * Shona (given name) * ...

chief Neharawa, whose name meant "he who does not sleep." The city of Harare, previously named Salisbury, was renamed on 18 April 1982, the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence. When Harare and two nearby towns separated from Mashonaland Province in 1983, the new province took the same name.

Geography

Harare Province covers an area of , making it the 2nd-smallest province in Zimbabwe, after Bulawayo Metropolitan Province. It is situated in the northeastern part of the country, in the

Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces, * Mashonaland West * Mashonaland Central * Mashonaland East * Harare The Zimbabwean capital of Harare, a province unto itself, lies entirely ...

region. It is bordered to the north by

Mashonaland Central Province Mashonaland Central is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 28,347 km² and a population of 1,152,520 (2012 census), representing about 8.5% of the total Zimbabwe population. Geography Background Bindura is the capital of the ...

, to the west by

Mashonaland West Province Mashonaland West is a province of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana ...

, and to the east and south by Mashonaland East Province. Harare proper covers most of the province's area, while Chitungwiza and Epworth take up smaller areas of the province, both bordering Mashonaland East.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Harare Province has a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(Köppen ''Cwb''), an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

variety.

Government and politics

Provincial government

Harare Province is overseen by the Minister of State for Harare Province, a

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

who oversees provincial affairs and sits in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible govern ...

of the Parliament of Zimbabwe. The governor is appointed by the

President of Zimbabwe The president of Zimbabwe is the head of state of Zimbabwe and head of the executive branch of the government of Zimbabwe. The president chairs the national cabinet and is the chief commanding authority of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. The i ...

and is not appointed to a set term. Historically, the governor held the title Governor of Harare, but the office has since been renamed to align with the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe, which does not allow for provincial governors. The current Minister of State for Harare Province is Miriam Chikukwa, a

ZANU–PF The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years under Robert Mugabe, first as prime ministe ...

member who was appointed by President

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

in December 2013.

Districts

Harare Province is divided into four

: Harare Urban, Harare Rural, Chitungwiza, and Epworth. The city of Harare is divided between Harare Urban and Rural districts, while Chitungwiza and Epworth are conterminous with their respective districts.

National politics

Like each of Zimbabwe's ten provinces, Harare Province is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the ...

by six senators, three of whom must be women. Senators are not directly elected by voters, but are instead selected by party lists via a

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

system. The province's current senators since the 2018 elections are Theresa Makone (

MDC Alliance The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance was an electoral coalition of seven political parties formed to contest Zimbabwe's 2018 general election. After the 2018 election, a dispute arose over the use of the name MDC Alliance leading the MDC ...

Elias Mudzuri Elias Mudzuri is a Zimbabwean engineer and politician. Mudzuri was elected to a four-year term as Mayor of Harare, a city of 1.8 million, in March 2002. He was Acting president of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T). Trained in Sierre Leone a ...

(

), Kerina Gweshe (

), Morgan Femai (

), Sipani Hungwe (

), Oliver Chidawu (

). Harare Province is represented by 29 Members of Parliament in the

, Zimbabwe's lower house of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. The province's current MPs since the 2018 elections are Samuel Banda, Tendai Biti, Starman Chamisa, James Chidakwa, Happymore Chidziva, Wellington Chikombo, Goodrich Chimbaira, Kennedy Dinar, Shakespear Hamauswa, Chalton Hwende, Winnie Kankuni, Godfrey Karakadzay Sithole, Earthrage Kureva, Costa Machingauta, Willias Madzimure, Joanah Mamombe, Susan Matsunga, Allan Norman Markham, Tapiwa Mashakada, Maxwell Mavhunga, Tongai Mnangagwa, Peter Moyo, Erick Murai, Miriam Mushayi, Evan Mushoriwa, Job Sikhala, Unganai Tarusenga, Vimbai Tsvangirai-Java, and Murisi Zwizwai. All are members of the

except for Mnangagwa, a

member and the nephew of President

Emmerson Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (, US: (); born 15 September 1942) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Mugabe, he held a s ...

References

{{Authority control Provinces of Zimbabwe