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Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
and largest city of
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
. The
city proper A city proper is the geographical area contained within city limits. The term ''proper'' is not exclusive to city, cities; it can describe the geographical area within the boundaries of any given locality. The United Nations defines the term as " ...
has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metropolitan province. The city is situated in north-eastern Zimbabwe in the country's
Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northeastern Zimbabwe. It is home to nearly half of the population of Zimbabwe. The majority of the Mashonaland people are from the Shona tribe while the Zezuru and Korekore dialects are most common. Harare is the larg ...
region.
Harare Metropolitan Province Harare Metropolitan Province () is a province in northeastern Zimbabwe that comprises Harare, the country's capital and largest city, and three other municipalities, Chitungwiza, Epworth and Ruwa. At independence in 1980, it was originally pa ...
incorporates the city and the municipalities of
Chitungwiza Chitungwiza is the third populous urban centre in Zimbabwe and town of Harare Province in Zimbabwe. It is located on the outskirts of Harare. History As of the 2022 census, Chitungwiza had a population of 371,244. There are two main highwa ...
, Epworth and
Ruwa Ruwa is a town in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe, situated 23 km south-east of the capital Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a populatio ...
. The city sits on a
plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
at an elevation of
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
, and its
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...
falls into the subtropical highland category. The city was founded in 1890 by the
Pioneer Column The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Zimbabwe (once Southern Rhodesia). Background Rhodes was anxious to ...
, a small
military force A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...
of the
British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...
, and was named Fort Salisbury after the British Prime Minister
Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...
. Company
administrators Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...
demarcated the city and ran it until
Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...
achieved
responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...
in 1923. Salisbury was thereafter the seat of the Southern Rhodesian (later
Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
n) government and, between 1953 and 1963, the capital of the
Central African Federation Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
. It retained the name Salisbury until 1982 when it was renamed Harare on the second anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence from the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. The national
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
moved out of Harare upon completion of the New Parliament of Zimbabwe in Mount Hampden in April 2022. Being the commercial capital of
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
, it remains an important center of
commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...
and
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
, as well as
finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
, real estate,
manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...
,
healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...
,
education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
,
art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
,
culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
,
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
,
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
,
mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
and regional affairs. Harare has the second-highest number of embassies in Southern Africa and serves as the location of the African headquarters of the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
, which it shares with
Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
. Harare has hosted multiple international
conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...
s and events, including the
1995 All-Africa Games The 6th All-Africa Games, also known as Harare 1995, were played from 13 to 23 September 1995 in Harare, Zimbabwe. 46 countries participated in eighteen sports. South Africa, having previously been banned from competition by the other African ...
and the 2003
Cricket World Cup The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is a quadrennial world cup for cricket in One Day International (ODI) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament is one of the world's most viewed sporting events and consid ...
. In 2018, Harare was ranked as a Gamma
World City A global city (also known as a power city, world city, alpha city, or world center) is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that glo ...
. It is also home to Dynamos FC, the club with the most titles in Zimbabwean football.


History


Early colonial history

The
Pioneer Column The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Zimbabwe (once Southern Rhodesia). Background Rhodes was anxious to ...
, a military volunteer force of settlers organized by
Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes ( ; 5 July 185326 March 1902) was an English-South African mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded th ...
, founded the city on 12 September 1890 as a fort. They originally named the city Fort Salisbury after The 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, then-
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
, and it subsequently became known simply as Salisbury. The Salisbury Polo Club was formed in 1896.Horace A. Laffaye, ''Polo in Britain: A History'', Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2012, p. 76 Salisbury was declared a municipality in 1897, and it became a city in 1935. At the time of the city's founding, its site and surroundings were poorly drained. The earliest development was on sloping ground along the left bank of a stream, in an area where the Julius Nyerere Way industrial road runs today. The first area to be fully drained was near the head of the stream and was named Causeway. Causeway is now the site of many important government buildings, including 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 el ...
House and the Office of the Prime Minister. After the position was abolished in January 1988, the office was renamed for the use of the
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
. Salisbury was the seat of the
British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...
administrator and became the capital of the
self-governing Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...
British colony of
Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...
in 1923.


Post-war period

In the immediate aftermath of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Salisbury expanded rapidly, boosted by its designation as the capital of the
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation (CAF), was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southern ...
. This growth ushered in a wave of
liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
, investment and
developmentalism Developmentalism is an economic theory which states that the best way for less developed economies to develop is through fostering a strong and varied internal market and imposing high tariffs on imported goods. Developmentalism is a cross-disci ...
from 1953 to 1963, transforming the city's skyline in the process. This was accompanied by significant post-war immigration by White people, primarily from
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
,
Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
and, to a lesser extent,
Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...
. According to the US Department of State, more than half of white Zimbabweans arrived in Zimbabwe after WW2. The rapid rise of motor vehicle ownership and the investment in road development greatly accelerated the outward sprawl of suburbs such as Alexandra Park and Mount Pleasant. At the same time, mostly black suburbs like Highfield suffered from
overcrowding Overcrowding or crowding is the condition where more people are located within a given space than is considered tolerable from a safety and health perspective. Safety and health perspectives depend on current environments and on local cultural ...
as their populations boomed. The optimism and prosperity of this period proved to be short-lived, as the Federation collapsed, which hindered the city's prosperity.


1960s and 1970s

The
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation (CAF), was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southern ...
was dissolved in 1963.
Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...
's Rhodesian Front government declared Rhodesia independent from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965, with Salisbury retained as the capital. Smith's Rhodesia later became the short-lived state of
Zimbabwe Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia (), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, was a short-lived unrecognised sovereign state that existed from 1 June 1979 to 18 April 1980, though it lacked international recog ...
; it was not until 18 April 1980 that the country was internationally recognized as independent as the Republic of Zimbabwe.


Post-independence years

The city initially boomed under a wave of optimism and investment that followed the country's independence in 1980. The name of the city was changed to Harare on 18 April 1982, the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence, taking its name from the village near Harare Kopje of the Shona chief Neharawa, whose nickname was "he who does not sleep". Before independence, "Harare" was the name of the black residential area now known as Mbare. Significant investment in education and healthcare produced a confident and growing
middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...
, evidenced by the rise of firms such as Econet Global and innovative design and
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
, exemplified by the Eastgate Centre. A notable symbol of this era in Harare's history is the New Reserve Bank Tower, one of the city's major landmarks. Harare was the location of several international summits during this period, such as the 8th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in September 1986 and the 1991 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The latter produced the
Harare Declaration The Harare Commonwealth Declaration was a declaration of the Commonwealth of Nations, setting out the Commonwealth's core principles and values, detailing the Commonwealth's membership criteria, and redefining and reinforcing its purpose. The D ...
, dictating the membership criteria of the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
. In 1998, Harare was the host city of the 8th Assembly of the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...
. However, by 1992, Harare began to experience an economic downturn and the government responded by enacting
neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...
reforms. These policies provoked a boom in
banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
, finance and agriculture, but also led to significant job losses in
manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...
, thereby greatly increasing unemployment and
income inequality In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes ...
. Domestic firms struggled to compete with imports, leading to the collapse of several institutions, particularly in the textile industry.


Economic difficulties and hyperinflation (1999–2008)

In the early 21st century, Harare was adversely affected by the political and economic crises that plagued Zimbabwe, particularly following the contested 2002 presidential election and 2005 parliamentary elections. The elected council was replaced by a government-appointed commission due to alleged inefficiency. Still, essential services such as rubbish collection and street repairs rapidly worsened, and are now virtually non-existent in poorer parts of the city. In May 2006, the Zimbabwean newspaper '' Financial Gazette'' described the city in an editorial as a "sunshine city-turned-sewage farm". In 2009, Harare was voted the world's toughest city to live in according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's livability poll, which factors in stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. The situation was unchanged in 2011, according to the same poll.


Operation Murambatsvina

In May 2005, the Zimbabwean government demolished shanties, illegal vending sites, and backyard cottages in Harare, Epworth and other cities in
Operation Murambatsvina Operation Murambatsvina (''Move the Rubbish''), also officially known as Operation Restore Order, was a large-scale Zimbabwean government campaign to forcibly clear slum areas across the country. The campaign started in 2005 and, according to U ...
("Drive Out Trash"). It was widely alleged that the true purpose of the campaign was to make sure shanty towns would not develop in any urban areas that might favor the Movement for Democratic Change, and to reduce the likelihood of mass action against the government by driving people out of the cities. The government claimed its actions were necessitated by a rise of criminality and disease. This was followed by Operation Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle (Operation "Better Living") a year later, which consisted of building poor-quality concrete housing.


Economic uncertainty

In late March 2010, Harare's Joina City Tower was finally opened after fourteen years of delayed construction, marketed as 'Harare's New Pride'. Initially, uptake of space in the tower was low, with office occupancy at only 3% in October 2011. By May 2013, office occupancy had risen to around half, with all the retail space occupied. The
Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts ...
rated Harare as the world's least livable city (out of 140 surveyed) in February 2011, rising to 137th out of 140 in August 2012. In March 2015,
Harare City Council The Harare City Council is the local governing body of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. It is composed of 46 councillors, each representing a different Ward (electoral subdivision), ward. It is headed by the mayor of Harare, who is assisted by a ...
planned a two-year project to install 4,000 solar street lights, starting in the central business district, at a cost of $15,000,000. In November 2017, the biggest demonstration in the history of the Republic of Zimbabwe was held in Harare, which led to the forced resignation of the long-serving 93-year-old
President of Zimbabwe The president of Zimbabwe is the head of state and head of government of Zimbabwe. The president chairs the national cabinet and is the chief commanding authority of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. The incumbent president is Emmerson Mnangagwa, ...
,
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 th ...
, an event which was part of the first successful coup in Zimbabwe.


Contemporary Harare

Since 2000, Harare has experienced periods of spectacular decline, particularly in the 2000s, but since the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
it has stabilised and experienced significant population growth and uneven economic growth. There has nonetheless been substantial international investment and speculation in the city's
financial Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
and property markets. Development on the urban fringes of the city has occurred in areas such as
Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland, England. It is in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, and is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' to distinguis ...
, Glen Lorne, The Grange, Mount Pleasant Heights, as well as in the new suburbs of Hogerty Hill, Shawasha Hills, Bloomingdale and Westlea. Urban sprawl has also expanded into the nearby areas of Mount Hampden,
Ruwa Ruwa is a town in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe, situated 23 km south-east of the capital Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a populatio ...
and Norton. In addition, inner city areas such as Avondale, Eastlea, Belgravia,
Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region * Newlands, Western Australia, a town in the Shire of Donnybrook–Balingup Ireland * Newlands Cross, Dublin, named after the former Newlands ...
and Milton Park have seen increased
gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
driven by speculation from expat Zimbabweans. This speculation has also attracted other foreign buyers, resulting in high property prices and widespread rent increases. Harare sustained the highest population increase and urban development of any major Zimbabwean city since 2000, with other cities such as
Bulawayo 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 claimed it to be about ...
, Gweru, and
Mutare Mutare, formerly known as Umtali until 1982, is the capital and largest city in the province of Manicaland. It is the third most populated in Zimbabwe. Having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban area, urban population of 224,802 ...
largely stagnating during the same period. Beginning in 2006, the city's growth extended into its northern and western fringes, beyond the city's urban growth boundary. Predictions that by 2025 the metropolitan area population will reach 4 to 5 million have sparked concerns over unchecked sprawl and unregulated development. The concentration of real estate development in Harare has also come at the expense of other Zimbabwean cities such as Gweru and particularly
Bulawayo 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 claimed it to be about ...
, which is increasingly characterized by stagnation and high unemployment due to the collapse of many of its heavy industries. Today, Harare's property market remains highly priced, more so than regional cities such as
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
and
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
. The top end of the market is completely dominated by wealthy or dual-citizen Zimbabweans (see Zimbabwean diaspora and Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom), Chinese and South African buyers. Despite gentrification and speculation, the country's and city's unemployment rates remain high. In 2020, Harare was classified as a Gamma city by the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a British think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leic ...
.


Demographics

As of 2012, Harare has a population of 2,123,132. Over 90% of people in Harare are Shona-speaking people of African descent. Harare is also home to many Ndebele and
Kalanga people The Kalanga or BaKalanga are a southern Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group mainly inhabiting Matebeleland in Zimbabwe, northern Botswana, and parts of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. The BaKalanga of Botswana are the second largest ethni ...
as well. Roughly 25,000
white Zimbabweans White Zimbabweans (formerly White Rhodesians) are a Southern African people of Europeans, European descent. In Natural language, linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, these people of European ethnic groups, European ethnic origin are mos ...
also live in the Harare metro area.


Geography


Topography

The city sits on one of the higher parts of the
Highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld,'' , ) is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly , but below , thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of t ...
plateau of Zimbabwe at an elevation of . The original landscape could be described as a "parkland" or wild place. The soils of Harare are varied: the northern and central areas largely have reddish brown, granular clay; some of the southern parts have gray-brown sand over pale, loamy sand or sandy loam.


Suburbs

The City of Harare is divided into suburbs, outside of which are independent municipalities such as Epworth, Mount Hampden, Norton, Ruwa, and
Chitungwiza Chitungwiza is the third populous urban centre in Zimbabwe and town of Harare Province in Zimbabwe. It is located on the outskirts of Harare. History As of the 2022 census, Chitungwiza had a population of 371,244. There are two main highwa ...
, which are still located within the greater metropolitan province. The
central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
of Harare is characterized by wide streets and a mix of historic, post-war, and modern buildings. Downtown sights include the Kopje Africa Unity Square, the Harare Gardens, the National Gallery, the August House parliamentary buildings, and the
National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...
.
Causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...
, a road and sub-neighbourhood of central Harare, is a busy workaday area that acts as the city's "embassy row" (along with Belgravia to the north-east) in which numerous embassies, diplomatic missions, research institutes, and other international organizations are concentrated. Additionally, many government ministries and museums, such as the Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences, are located here. Rotten Row is a sub-district of downtown Harare that begins at the intersection of Prince Edward Street and Samora Machel Avenue and runs to the flyover where it borders Mbare on Cripps Road. Rotten Row was named after a road in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
of the same name. The name "Rotten Row" is an altered form of the French phrase "Route du Roi," the
King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents) is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...
. It is known as Harare's legal district, home to the Harare Magistrate's Court, the city's central library, and the ZANU-PF building, along with numerous law offices. The neighbourhood also lends its name to the eponymous book by Petina Gappah published in 2016. The northern and north-eastern suburbs of Harare are generally home to its more affluent residents, including former 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 th ...
, who lived in Borrowdale Brooke. These northern suburbs are often referred to as "dales" because of the common suffix "-dale" found in some suburbs such as Avondale, Greendale, and Borrowdale. The dwellings are mostly low-density homes of 3 bedrooms or more, and these are usually occupied by families. Borrowdale in particular is home to some of the most extensive real estate developments in the city. The north-western suburb of Emerald Hill is named so either due to the green colour of the tree-covered hill or its Irish connections — many of the roads in the suburb have Irish names, such as
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
,
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
, Wicklow, and Cork. To the east of Harare's city center, notable suburbs include Arcadia,
Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region * Newlands, Western Australia, a town in the Shire of Donnybrook–Balingup Ireland * Newlands Cross, Dublin, named after the former Newlands ...
, Arlington, and others.
Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region * Newlands, Western Australia, a town in the Shire of Donnybrook–Balingup Ireland * Newlands Cross, Dublin, named after the former Newlands ...
was named by Colin Duff, Zimbabwe's agricultural secretary in the 1920s. Arlington is a newer suburb adjacent to Harare International Airport and was previously owned by William Harvey Brown, a former mayor of Salisbury. Brown was originally from
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
and joined the occupying
British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...
forces in the 1890s to collect specimens for the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
The southern portions of Harare have historically been more industrial areas, often home to most of its African population as well as some lower-class European-descended populations. Willowvale, is perhaps best known for the 1988 Willowgate scandal, which implicated several members of the ZANU-PF party in a scheme where automobiles were illegally resold by various government officials. Harare's south-west also contains many high-density townships, which were set up by the government from the 1930s onwards. For example, Highfield, established in 1930, is the second-oldest high-density suburb in Harare. Highfield was created as a place for black workers to settle, providing labor for the industrial areas of Southerton and Workington.


Climate

Under the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
, Harare has a
subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...
(Köppen ''Cwb''), an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
variety. Because the city is situated on a plateau, its high altitude and cool south-easterly airflow cause it to have a climate that is cooler and drier than a
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
or
subtropical climate The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 3 ...
. The average annual temperature is , rather low for the tropics. This is due to its high altitude position and the prevalence of cool south-easterly airflow. There are three main seasons: a warm, wet summer from November to March/April; a cool, dry winter from May to August (corresponding to winter in the Southern Hemisphere); and a warm to hot, dry season in September/October. Daily temperature ranges are about in July (the coldest month), about in October (the hottest month) and about in January (midsummer). The hottest year on record was October 26, 2011 with and the coldest year was 1965 with . The average annual rainfall is about in the southwest, rising to on the higher land of the northeast (from around Borrowdale to Glen Lorne). Very little rain typically falls during the period of May to September, although sporadic showers occur most years. Rainfall varies a great deal from year to year and follows cycles of wet and dry periods from 7 to 10 years long. Records begin in October 1890 but all three Harare stations stopped reporting in early 2004. The climate supports the natural vegetation of open woodland. The most common tree of the local region is the msasa or '' Brachystegia spiciformis'' whose wine-red leaves are most visible in the city in late August. Two introduced species of trees, the
jacaranda ''Jacaranda'' is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas while cultivated around the world. The generic name is also used as the common name. The species ' ...
and the
flamboyant Flamboyant () is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.Encyclopedia Britannica, "Flamboyant style ...
from South America and Madagascar respectively, were introduced during the colonial era and contribute to the city's colour palette with their lilac and red blossoms. The two species flower in October/November and are planted on alternating streets in the capital.
Bougainvillea ''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the family, Nyctaginaceae. They are native to Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Argentina. There are between 4 and 22 species in the genus. The i ...
is prevalent in Harare as well. Some trees from Northern Hemisphere middle latitudes are also cultivated, including
American sweetgum ''Liquidambar styraciflua'', commonly known as the American sweetgum among other names, is a deciduous tree in the genus ''Liquidambar'' native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central A ...
, English oak, Japanese oak and Spanish oak.


Economy

Harare is Zimbabwe's leading financial, commercial, and communications centre, as well as an international 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 ...
,
maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
,
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
, and
citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...
fruits. Manufacturing of products including
textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
s,
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
, and
chemicals A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...
is also economically significant, as is the trade of precious minerals such as
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
,
diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...
and
platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
. Early investor optimism following the inauguration of the Mnangagwa government in 2017 has since largely subsided due to the slow pace of reforms aimed at making Harare and Zimbabwe more business-friendly. The economy suffered high inflation and frequent power outages in 2019, which further hampered investment, and the poor implementation of adequate monetary reforms alongside deficit reduction attempts had a similar effect. Although the government has repeatedly stressed its commitments to improving transparency, increasing the ease of doing business, and fighting corruption, progress remains limited under the Mnangagwa administration. Harare experienced a real estate boom in the 2000s and early 2010s, particularly in the wealthy northern suburbs, with prices rising dramatically over the last decade despite challenges in other sectors of the economy. This boom was largely fueled by members of the Zimbabwean diaspora and by speculation, with investors hedging against the local currency. However, the once-growing market began to cool off due to a 2019 hike in interest rates and the economic fallout from the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, leaving a number of projects unfinished. Another challenge to Harare's economy is the persistent emigration of highly educated and skilled residents to the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand, largely due to the economic downturn and political unrest. The city's brain drain, almost unprecedented compared to other
emerging markets An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or we ...
, has led to declining numbers of local entrepreneurs, an overstretched and declining middle class, and a dearth of employment opportunities outside the informal and
public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...
. In addition, the city's working-class residents are increasingly moving to nearby South Africa and
Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
, though they are readily replaced by less well-off rural migrants. However, despite over a decade of neglect, the city's infrastructure and
human capital Human capital or human assets is a concept used by economists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a subs ...
still compares favourably with cities in other parts of Africa and Latin America. It remains to be seen whether the current government can entice its diverse and well-educated Zimbabwean diaspora, numbering some 4 to 7 million people, to invest in the economy, let alone consider returning.


Shopping and retail

Locally produced art, handicrafts and souvenirs can be purchased at locations including Doon Estate, Uwminsdale, Avondale Market and Mbare Musika. Msasa Park and Umwinsdale in particular host a number of galleries that produce high-quality Shona soapstone sculptures and textiles, such as Patrick Mavros Studios, which has another gallery in
Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. International brands are generally less common in Harare than in European cities. However, conventional and luxury shopping can be found on Fife Avenue, Sam Nujoma (Union) Avenue, Arundel Village, Avondale, Borrowdale, Eastgate, Westgate and Sam Levy's Village. Virtually all luxury shopping is concentrated in the wealthier northern suburbs, particularly Borrowdale.


Transportation

Harare is a relatively young city, mostly growing during the country's post-
Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
and post-independence booms. It was also segregated along racial and class lines until 1976. As a result, Harare today is a mostly low-density urban area geared towards private motorists, lacking a convenient public transportation system. Very little investment has been made to develop an effective and integrated public transportation system, leaving a significant number of the city's residents dependent on the city's informal minibus taxis. The rise of local ridesharing apps such as GTaxi and Hwindi has partly eased pressure on the city's transportation system, but such rides are still too expensive for most working people to use. In addition, bus services are also available but they are mostly geared towards intercity travel and recreation than journeys within Harare itself. The city's public transport system includes public and private sector operations. The former consists of ZUPCO buses. Privately owned public transport included licensed
station wagon A station wagon (American English, US, also wagon) or estate car (British English, UK, also estate) is an automotive Car body style, body-style variant of a Sedan (automobile), sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo ...
s (nicknamed 'emergency taxis') until 1993, when the government began to replace them with licensed buses and minibuses, referred to officially as 'commuter omnibuses'. Harare has two kinds of taxis,
metered taxis Instrumentation is a collective term for measuring instruments, used for indicating, measuring, and recording physical quantities. It is also a field of study about the art and science about making measurement instruments, involving the related ...
and the much more ubiquitous
share taxis A share taxi, shared taxi, taxibus, or jitney or dollar van in the US, or marshrutka in former Soviet countries, is a mode of transport which falls between a taxicab and a bus. Share taxis are a form of paratransit. They are vehicles for hire and ...
or 'kombis'. Unlike many other cities, metered taxis generally do not drive around the city looking for passengers and instead must be called and ordered to a destination. The minibus "taxis" are the de facto day-to-day form of transport relied upon by the majority of Harare's population. As of May 2023, Harare is not served by any
passenger rail A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...
service. The National Railways of Zimbabwe previously operated daily overnight passenger train services to
Mutare Mutare, formerly known as Umtali until 1982, is the capital and largest city in the province of Manicaland. It is the third most populated in Zimbabwe. Having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban area, urban population of 224,802 ...
and
Bulawayo 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 claimed it to be about ...
using the Beira–Bulawayo railway. Long-distance rail service was suspended in 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and has not been restarted. Between 2001 and 2006, three
commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
routes operated in Harare, serving Tynwald, Mufakose and
Ruwa Ruwa is a town in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe, situated 23 km south-east of the capital Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a populatio ...
. These commuter rail routes, nicknamed 'Freedom Trains', were reintroduced in 2021, but were suspended again in November 2022 due to payment disputes with ZUPCO. Long-distance bus services link Harare to most parts of Zimbabwe. The city is crossed by Transafrican Highway 9 (TAH 9), which connects it to the cities of
Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...
and Beira. The largest airport in Zimbabwe, the
Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (), (known colloquially as "RGM", or Harare Airport) and formerly known as Harare International Airport and Salisbury Airport, is an international airport in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is the largest airpo ...
, serves Harare.


Education

The University of Zimbabwe is located in Harare. Founded in 1952, the university is the country's oldest and largest, offering a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The student population stands at 20,399, with 17,718 undergraduate students and 2,681 postgraduate students.


Sports

Harare has long been regarded as Zimbabwe's sporting capital due to its role in developing Zimbabwean sport, the range and quality of its sporting events and venues, and its high rates of spectatorship and participation. The city is also home to more professional
sports team A sports team is a group of individuals who play a team sport together. The number of players in the group depends on the sport. The highest level of a sports team is a professional sports team. In professional sports, the athletes are very t ...
s competing at the national and international levels than any other Zimbabwean city.
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
is the most popular sport in Harare, particularly among working-class residents, with the city producing many footballers who have gone on to play in the
English Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
and elsewhere.
Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
and rugby are also popular sports with those from middle-class backgrounds. In 1995, Harare hosted most of the sixth
All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...
, sharing the event with other Zimbabwean cities such as
Bulawayo 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 claimed it to be about ...
and
Chitungwiza Chitungwiza is the third populous urban centre in Zimbabwe and town of Harare Province in Zimbabwe. It is located on the outskirts of Harare. History As of the 2022 census, Chitungwiza had a population of 371,244. There are two main highwa ...
. It hosted some of the matches of 2003 Cricket World Cup, which was hosted jointly by
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
, South Africa and
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
. Harare also hosted the ICC Cricket 2018 World Cup Qualifier matches in March 2018. Harare is home to Harare Sports Club Ground, which hosts many
Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
,
One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
s and T20I Cricket matches. The Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League clubs of Dynamos F.C., Black Rhinos F.C., and CAPS United F.C. also call the city home. Harare's main stadiums are National Sports Stadium and Rufaro Stadium.


Popular teams

The following table shows the major sports teams in the Harare area. Football and cricket The main football stadiums in Harare are the National Sports Stadium and Rufaro Stadium. Virtually all first-class and international
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
matches are hosted at Harare Sports Club, with most domestic tours occurring in spring and summer. This city is also home to the Mashonaland Eagles in the domestic
Logan Cup The Logan Cup is the premier domestic first-class cricket competition in Zimbabwe and is organised by Zimbabwe Cricket. It is named after James Douglas Logan. History The first recorded cricket match in what was known at the time as Rhodesia w ...
tournament. The Eagles are coached by renowned former
Zimbabwe national cricket team The Zimbabwe men's national cricket team, also known as the Chevrons, represents Zimbabwe in men's international cricket and is overseen by Zimbabwe Cricket. Zimbabwe has been a Full Member of the International Cricket Council since 1992. As o ...
batsman Grant Flower. The team are one of the country's strongest sides and last won the Logan Cup in the 2022-23 Logan Cup season. Rugby Harare is also the heartland of
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
in Zimbabwe, rivalling
Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...
in Namibia as the strongest rugby region in Africa beyond South Africa. The governing Rhodesia Rugby Football Union was founded in Harare in 1895 and became the Zimbabwe Rugby Union in 1980. The union and national sides are based in the northern suburb of Alexandra Park. Harare is home to four of the country's national Super Six Rugby League (SSRL) clubs: Harare Sports Club, Old Georgians, Old Hararians and Old Miltonians. Additionally, the Zimbabwe Rugby Academy, the national development side which plays in the second division of the
Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...
, is largely made up of players from the city. International rugby test matches tend to be hosted at Harare Sports Club, the Police Grounds, and at Hartsfield in
Bulawayo 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 claimed it to be about ...
, with a particularly strong rivalry with the
Namibia national rugby union team The Namibia national rugby union team (nicknamed the Welwitschias) represents Namibia in men's international rugby union competitions. They are a tier-two nation in the World Rugby tier system, and have participated in seven Rugby World Cup compe ...
. Traditionally the city hosted tours by the
British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, and the All-Blacks on their respective tours of South Africa. However, this is no longer the case, due to the end of traditional rugby tours and the
Zimbabwe national rugby union team The Zimbabwe national rugby union team, nicknamed the Sables, represents the Zimbabwe Rugby Union in international competition. While sides representing the colony of Rhodesia have played as early as 1910, the modern day Zimbabwe rugby team di ...
's decline in the international rugby rankings.
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
was the last major country to tour Harare, visiting in 1993. High school teams are generally of a high standard, with Prince Edward School, St. George's College, and St. John's College all ranking among the country's leading teams and frequently sending their first XV sides to compete against well-known
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n high schools during
Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The ...
. After high school, the city's best players unfortunately tend to move on to South Africa or the United Kingdom due to a lack of professionalism and greater educational and earning opportunities abroad, thus depleting the strength of the rugby union in Zimbabwe. Notable internationals hailing from Harare include Tendai Mtawarira, Don Armand, and Brian Mujati, among numerous others.


Media

Harare is host to some of Zimbabwe's leading media outlets. Despite accusations of government censorship and intimidation, the city maintains a robust press, much of which is defiantly critical of the current government. In print media, the most internationally-famous paper is the ''
Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...
'', the city's oldest newspaper, founded in 1893 and former paper of record prior to its purchase by the government. The paper is best noted for its heavy censorship during the Rhodesian Front government from 1962 to 1979, with many of its articles appearing as redacted — with black boxes marking the words removed by government censors — before its forced purchase. Today it is largely seen as little more than a government mouthpiece by residents and overwhelmingly supports the government line. In contrast, private newspapers continue to adopt a more independent line and enjoy a diverse and vibrant readership. These include the Financial Gazette, the financial paper of record which is nicknamed 'the Pink Press' for its tradition of printing on a pink broadsheet. Other newspapers include: the ''
Zimbabwe Independent ''Zimbabwe Independent'' is a private weekly newspaper published from Harare, Zimbabwe, by Alpha Media Holdings. The company also publishes '' The Standard'' and ''NewsDay''. See also * The Standard * NewsDay ''Newsday'' is a daily n ...
'', a
centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
newspaper and ''de facto'' paper of record noted for its investigative journalism; the ''Standard'', a centre-left Sunday paper; ''
NewsDay ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...
'', a left-wing tabloid; ''H-Metro'', a mass-market tabloid; the '' Daily News'', a left wing opposition paper; and ''Kwayedza'', the leading
Shona language Shona ( ; ) is a Bantu language spoken by the Shona people of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The term is variously used to collectively describe all the Central Shonic varieties (comprising Zezuru, Manyika, Korekore and Karanga or Ndau) or specifica ...
newspaper in Zimbabwe. Online media outlets include ''ZimOnline'', ''ZimDaily'', the ''Zimbabwe Guardian'' and ''NewZimbabwe.com'' amongst others.


Television and radio

The state-owned ZBC TV maintains a monopoly on free-to-air TV channels in the city, with private broadcasters (such as the now-defunct Joy TV) coming and going based on the whims of the government. As such, many households that can afford the cost subscribe to the satellite television distributor DStv for entertainment, news, and sport from Africa and abroad. In November 2021, it was announced that six new free-to-air private television stations would go live in Zimbabwe and join ZBC TV after the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe issued licences, ending the 64-year monopoly enjoyed by the state-owned broadcaster. Zimpapers Television Network, a subsidiary of diversified media group Zimbabwe Newspapers Ltd, was one of the channels awarded a free-to-air television licence. The other five were NRTV, 3K TV, Kumba TV, Ke Yona TV, and Channel Dzimbahwe. Harare is also well served by radio, with a number of the country's leading radio stations maintaining a presence in the city. There are currently four state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation channels (SFM, Radio Zimbabwe, Power FM and National FM), as well as private national commercial free-to-air stations such as Star FM, Capital 100.4 FM, and ZiFM. In addition, Channel Zim (an alternative satellite channel) and VOA Zimbabwe both broadcast via inexpensive free-to-air decoders. Eight newly licensed local commercial stations have been commissioned, but were not yet on air as of 2020. Commercial stations tend to show similar trends in programming, with high percentages of music, talk radio or phone-in programs, and sports, with only infrequent news bulletins. Despite the country's 16 official languages, virtually all broadcasts occur in English, Shona, and Ndebele.


Notable institutions

* 44 Harvest House * Eastgate Centre *
Econet Wireless Econet, officially known as Econet Group, is a diversified telecommunications group with operations and investments in Africa, Europe, South America and the East Asia Pacific Rim, offering products and services in the core areas of Mobile te ...
* Gwanzura * Joina City * Mbare Musika *
Parirenyatwa Hospital Parirenyatwa General Hospital is a government founded district general hospital in Harare and is the largest public hospital in Zimbabwe. The hospital was formerly known as the Andrew Fleming Hospital and was named after the principal medical offi ...
* Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe * St. George's College, Harare * Sam Nujoma Street * Zimbabwe Stock Exchange


Culture

Harare has a strong cultural and artistic scene that often responds to ongoing economic and political crises, offering opportunities for satire, experimentation, and reinvention. While authors and musicians such as
Doris Lessing Doris May Lessing ( Tayler; 22 October 1919 â€“ 17 November 2013) was a British novelist. She was born to British parents in Qajar Iran, Persia, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where ...
, Petina Gappah and Thomas Mapfumo have long criticized the corruption and shortcomings of the Smith and Mugabe governments, the emergence of protest and critical theatre since 2000 has invigorated the local arts scene. Actors, directors and artists have joined musicians and writers in criticizing political maleficence and audiences have rallied behind them, making the local theatre and art scene one of the most vibrant in the southern hemisphere. The city is also the site of the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA), which has featured such acclaimed artists as Cape Verdean singer Sara Tavares. HIFA was cancelled in 2019, and it is unclear whether it has been held in subsequent years. Harare is home to several notable museums and monuments. The National Gallery of Zimbabwe exhibits Shona art and stone sculpture. The Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences near Rotten Row documents the archaeology of
Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
through the Stone Age and into the Iron Age. Artifacts, newspapers, and other items from milestones in Zimbabwe's history can be found at the National Archives. The Heroes' Acre is a burial ground and national monument, whose purpose is to commemorate both pro-independence fighters killed during the Rhodesian Bush War and contemporary Zimbabweans who have served their country and are buried at the site. Private cultural institutions include Chapungu Sculpture Park in the Msasa Park neighborhood, which displays the work of Zimbabwean stone sculptors. It was founded in 1970 by Roy Guthrie, who was instrumental in promoting the work of its sculptors worldwide. One notable example of architecture in Harare is the Eastgate Centre, a shopping mall with an innovative design, located equidistant from Unity Square and Borrowdale.


Green spaces

Harare has been nicknamed Zimbabwe's "Sunshine City" for its abundant parks and outdoor amenities. There is an abundance of parks and gardens across town, many close to the CBD, with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways, and tree-lined avenues. Harare's parks are often considered the best public parks in all of Zimbabwe's major cities. There are also many parks in the surrounding suburbs, particularly in the affluent suburbs of Borrowdale, Mount Pleasant, and Glen Lorne, located northeast of the central business district. Within the city, prominent green spaces include: * The National Botanical Gardens in Alexandra Park, which cultivates
Southern African Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and the physical geography definition b ...
plants in woodland habitats such as the msasa,
miombo Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located in central and southern tropical Africa. It includes three woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) chara ...
, or less commonly the Cape
fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...
. * The Royal Harare Golf Course, an 18-hole championship course set in msasa woodland that hosts the Zimbabwe Open each year as part of the
Sunshine Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the Southern Africa Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the F ...
. * Cleveland Dam Recreational Park, which overlooks its namesake dam and is located in msasa woodland along the highway to
Mutare Mutare, formerly known as Umtali until 1982, is the capital and largest city in the province of Manicaland. It is the third most populated in Zimbabwe. Having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban area, urban population of 224,802 ...
. * Mukuvisi Woodlands, which comprises 263 hectares of indigenous msasa and miombo woodland and is home to zebras, giraffes, eland, wildebeest, ostriches, impalas, and birdlife and indigenous flora. Other sites near the City of Harare include Lake Chivero Dam and Recreational Park, Epworth's balancing rocks, Ewanrigg Botanical Gardens, Domboshava National Monument, Lion and Cheetah Park, and Vaughn Animal Sanctuary.


Places of worship

Most
places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...
in Harare are
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
churches and temples. Some of the denominations active in Harare, and their associated places of worship, include:
Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
, Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe (
Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...
), Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (
World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...
),
Church of the Province of Central Africa The Church of the Province of Central Africa is part of the Anglican Communion, and includes 15 dioceses in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Primate of the Church is the Archbishop of Central Africa. Albert Chama is the current archbi ...
(
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...
), Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Harare (
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
).


Sister cities

Harare has co-operation agreements, partnerships, or
sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...
agreements with the following towns: *
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, United States *
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, China *
Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...
, Russia * Lago, Italy *
Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...
, Mozambique *
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Germany *
Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima (, ) is the capital of Nakhon Ratchasima province, the largest city in Isan, Northeastern Thailand and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, third-largest city in Thailand. It is 250 km (1 ...
, Thailand *
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, United Kingdom *
Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...
, Italy *
Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...
, Namibia


Gallery

File:Harare secondst.jpg, Sam Nujoma Street, looking south File:Harare anglicanchurch.JPG, Anglican Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints File:Harare Downtown.jpg, Downtown Harare, facing the Reserve Bank File:First Street, Harare, Zimbabwe.jpg, First Street File:Harare Downtown1.jpg, Side view of the Parliament Buildings File:Eastgate Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe.jpg, Eastgate Centre File:Heroes Acre, Harare, Zimbabwe (2).jpg, Relief at National Heroes' Acre File:Heroes Acre, Harare, Zimbabwe (1).jpg, National Heroes' Acre


See also

*
Districts of Zimbabwe The Republic of Zimbabwe is broken down into 10 administrative provinces of Zimbabwe, provinces, which are divided into 64 districts and 1,970 Wards of Zimbabwe, wards. Bulawayo Province * Bulawayo Harare Province * Harare ...
* Place names in Zimbabwe *
Provinces of Zimbabwe Provinces are constituent Polity, political entities of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe currently has ten provinces, two of which are City, cities with provincial status. Zimbabwe is a unitary state, and its provinces exercise only the powers that the centr ...


References


Bibliography


External links

* {{Authority control 1890 establishments in Africa 1890 establishments in the British Empire Populated places established in 1890 Populated places in Harare Province Capitals in Africa