Harare Metropolitan Province
| |
|---|---|
Location of Harare Province in Zimbabwe | |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Established | 1997 |
| Capital | Harare |
| Districts | Districts
|
| Government | |
| • Senators | |
| • Minister for Provincial Affairs and Devolution | Charles Tawengwa |
| • Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution | Cosmas Chiringa |
| Area | |
• Total | 872 km2 (337 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,490 m (4,890 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 1,540 m (5,050 ft) |
| Population (2022 census)[1] | |
• Total | 2,427,209 |
| • Rank | 1st |
| • Density | 2,780/km2 (7,210/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (Central African Time) |
| HDI (2021) | 0.665 |
| Website | harareprovince |
Harare Metropolitan Province (/həˈrɑːreɪ/[2]) is aprovince in northeasternZimbabwe that comprisesHarare, the country'scapital and largest city, and three other municipalities,Chitungwiza,Epworth andRuwa.[3][4] Atindependence in 1980, it was originally part ofMashonaland Province which in 1983 was divided into three large provinces,Mashonaland Central,Mashonaland East, andMashonaland West - at this point, the city of Harare became part of Mashonaland East. In 1997, along withBulawayo, it became ametropolitan province, along with the then two nearby urban settlements. Harare Metropolitan Province is divided into four local government areas -a city council,a municipality andtwo local boards.
Harare Province has an area of 872 square kilometres (337 sq mi), 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 ofBulawayo. As of the 2022 census, the province has a population of 2,427,209,[1] of whom 1,849,600 live in Harare proper, 371,244 in Chitungwiza, 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.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1,485,615 | — |
| 2002 | 1,896,134 | +27.6% |
| 2012 | 2,123,132 | +12.0% |
| 2022 | 2,427,231 | +14.3% |
| Source:[5] | ||
The province is Zimbabwe's leading political, financial, commercial, and communications centre, as well as a trade centre fortobacco,maize,cotton, andcitrus fruits. Manufacturing, includingtextiles,steel, andchemicals, is also economically significant, as isgold mining. The province is home to several universities, a number of leading professional sports teams, and many historical sites and tourist attractions.
Harare Province is named after the city ofHarare, which in turn took its name from a black township in the city now known asMbare. Originally, the name "Harare" applied to a village near theHarare Kopje led by theShona chief Neharawa, whose name meant "he who does not sleep."[6] The city of Harare, previously named Salisbury, was renamed on 18 April 1982, the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence.[6] When Harare and two nearby towns were separated fromMashonaland East Province in 1997, the new province took the same name.
Harare Province covers an area of 872 square kilometres (337 sq mi), making it the second-smallest province in Zimbabwe, afterBulawayo Metropolitan Province. It is situated in the northeastern part of the country, in theMashonaland region. It is bordered to the north byMashonaland Central Province, to the west byMashonaland West Province, and to the east and south byMashonaland East Province. The City of Harare proper covers most of the province's area, while Chitungwiza, Epworth and Ruwa take up smaller areas of the province, both bordering Mashonaland East.
Under theKöppen climate classification, Harare Province has asubtropical highland climate (KöppenCwb), anoceanic climate variety.
| Climate data for Harare (1961–1990, extremes 1897–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 33.9 (93.0) | 35.0 (95.0) | 32.3 (90.1) | 32.0 (89.6) | 30.0 (86.0) | 27.7 (81.9) | 28.8 (83.8) | 31.0 (87.8) | 35.0 (95.0) | 36.7 (98.1) | 35.3 (95.5) | 33.5 (92.3) | 36.7 (98.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 26.2 (79.2) | 26.0 (78.8) | 26.2 (79.2) | 25.6 (78.1) | 23.8 (74.8) | 21.8 (71.2) | 21.6 (70.9) | 24.1 (75.4) | 28.4 (83.1) | 28.8 (83.8) | 27.6 (81.7) | 26.3 (79.3) | 25.5 (77.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 21.0 (69.8) | 20.7 (69.3) | 20.3 (68.5) | 18.8 (65.8) | 16.1 (61.0) | 13.7 (56.7) | 13.4 (56.1) | 15.5 (59.9) | 18.6 (65.5) | 20.8 (69.4) | 21.2 (70.2) | 20.9 (69.6) | 18.4 (65.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 15.8 (60.4) | 15.7 (60.3) | 14.5 (58.1) | 12.5 (54.5) | 9.3 (48.7) | 6.8 (44.2) | 6.5 (43.7) | 8.5 (47.3) | 11.7 (53.1) | 14.5 (58.1) | 15.5 (59.9) | 15.8 (60.4) | 12.3 (54.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 9.6 (49.3) | 8.0 (46.4) | 7.5 (45.5) | 4.7 (40.5) | 2.8 (37.0) | 0.1 (32.2) | 0.1 (32.2) | 1.1 (34.0) | 4.1 (39.4) | 5.1 (41.2) | 6.1 (43.0) | 10.0 (50.0) | 0.1 (32.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 190.8 (7.51) | 176.3 (6.94) | 99.1 (3.90) | 37.2 (1.46) | 7.4 (0.29) | 1.8 (0.07) | 2.3 (0.09) | 2.9 (0.11) | 6.5 (0.26) | 40.4 (1.59) | 93.2 (3.67) | 182.7 (7.19) | 840.6 (33.09) |
| Average precipitation days | 17 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 82 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 76 | 77 | 72 | 67 | 62 | 60 | 55 | 50 | 45 | 48 | 63 | 73 | 62 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 217.0 | 190.4 | 232.5 | 249.0 | 269.7 | 264.0 | 279.0 | 300.7 | 294.0 | 285.2 | 231.0 | 198.4 | 3,010.9 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 7.0 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 9.0 | 9.7 | 9.8 | 9.2 | 7.7 | 6.4 | 8.2 |
| Source 1:World Meteorological Organization,[7] NOAA (sun and mean temperature, 1961–1990),[8] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Deutscher Wetterdienst (humidity, 1954–1975),[9] Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)[10] | |||||||||||||
Harare Province is overseen by theMinister of State for Harare Province, ade factogovernor who oversees provincial affairs and sits in theHouse of Assembly of theParliament of Zimbabwe. The governor is appointed by thePresident of Zimbabwe 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 the2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe, which does not allow for provincial governors.
Harare Province is divided into four local government areas: Harare City Council, Chitungwiza Municipality, Epworth Local Board and Ruwa Local Board.[11]
| Year | ZANU–PF | MDC /MDC–T |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 26.52%204,710 | 71.12%548,889 |
| 2013 | 38.85%172,163 | 59.11%261,925 |
| 2008 | 19.41%61,215 | 72.01%227,166 |
| 2002 | 24.38%101,395 | 74.51%309,832 |
| 1996 | - | - |
| 1990 | - | - |
| Sources:[12][13][14][15] | ||
Like each of Zimbabwe's ten provinces, Harare Province is represented in theSenate by six senators, three of whom must be women.[16] Senators are not directly elected by voters, but are instead selected by party lists via aproportional representation system.[16]
Harare Province is divided up into 30constituencies, for which Members of Parliament are elected to theNational Assembly, Zimbabwe's lower house ofParliament.