Midlands Province
Province in Zimbabwe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Midlands is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 49,166 square kilometres (18,983 mi2) and a population of 1,811,905 (2022). It spread across eight administration district: Gweru,Gokwe south,Kwekwe, Mberengwa,Shurugwi,eZvishavane and Chirumanzu.It is home to various peoples. Located at a central point in the country, it contains speakers of Shona, Ndebele, Tswana, Sotho, Vendaand Chewa, as well as of various other languages. The main language in Midlands province are Shona and isiNdebele with Shona acting as a primary, widespread language and isiNdebele heavily featured in specific districs. Shona is the most wide ly language, particularly in areas like Gweru with dialwts such as Karanga,Zezuru and Mhari commonly used.IsiNdebele prevalent in the western parts of the province and in areas bordering Mathebeleland.Gweru a well connected city with robust infrastructure, serves as the third-largest city in Zimbabwe, is the capital of the province.
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Midlands
| |
|---|---|
Midlands, Province of Zimbabwe | |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Capital | Gweru |
| Government | |
| • Type | Provincial Government |
| • Minister of State for Provincial Affairs | Owen Ncube[1] (ZANU-PF) |
| Area | |
• Total | 49,166 km2 (18,983 sq mi) |
| Population (2022 census) | |
• Total | 1,811,905 |
| • Density | 36.853/km2 (95.448/sq mi) |
| HDI (2021) | 0.590[2] medium · 3rd of 10 |
Midlands Province contains Kwekwe, a city of considerable mining and manufacturing industries, in which also the Sable Chemicals Trust maintains a presence.
Demographics
| Census | Population[3] |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 1,463,993 |
| 2012 | 1,614,941 |
| 2022 | 1,811,905 |
Geography
Generally hilly and temperate, similar to the Highveldt of South Africa.
Districts
Midlands Provinces is divided into eight districts:
Local government
The Provincial Administrator oversees all eight districts in the province, each district having its own district administrator. District Administrators work with local authorities in their respective districts, with the local authorities having their own Chairmen (mayors for municipalities). These urban councils were established in accordance with the Zimbabwe Urban Councils Act, Chapter 29.15[4] while rural district councils were created in terms of the Zimbabwe Rural District Councils Act, Chapter 29.13[5]
Of the eight districts, Gokwe South, Gweru, Kwekwe, Shurugwi and Zvishavane have two local government administrative authorities; the Urban District Council (town council or municipality) and the Rural District Council. Chirumhanzu, Gokwe North and Mberengwa districts have no urban councils.
Mberengwa's main economic activities are mostly concentrated at Mataga growth point.
Rural councils
The 8 rural district councils in all 8 subdivisions;