Harare Province, which includes the city of Harare, is the most populous of Zimbabwe's ten provinces, with over two million inhabitants in 2012. Manicaland Province and Midlands Province are the second and third most populous provinces, respectively. Seven of the ten provinces have a population larger than one million. Only three, Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South are the least populous provinces. According to 2012 census data, Bulawayo is the least populous province, with around 650,000 inhabitants, though the city/provincial government disputes these statistics, arguing that they are politically motivated. Bulawayo produced its own municipal statistics showing a population 1.2 million. Depending on which data is accepted, either Bulawayo or Matabeleland South is the country's least populous province.
List by current population RankProvinceCensus population, 2012% of the total population, 2012Harare2,123,13216.26Manicaland1,752,69813.42Midlands1,614,94112.36Mashonaland West1,501,65611.50Masvingo1,485,09011.37Mashonaland East1,344,95510.30Mashonaland Central1,152,5208.82Matabeleland North749,0175.73Matabeleland South683,8935.24Bulawayo653,337 (or 1,200,337)5.00 (or 9.19) — total13,061,239—
Historical population data
Since independence +Population history of Zimbabwean provincesProvince2012 population% of total population, 2012% change, 2002–20122002 population% of total population, 2002% change, 1992–20021992 population% of total population, 1992% change, 1982–19921982 population% of total population, 1982Harare2,123,13216.26 +11.971,896,13416.30 +28.221,478,81014.21———Manicaland1,752,69813.42 +11.711,568,93013.49 +2.031,537,67614.78 +39.891,099,20214.57Midlands1,614,94112.36 +10.311,463,99312.59 +12.421,302,21412.52 +19.261,091,84414.47Mashonaland West1,501,65611.50 +22.621,224,67010.53 +9.651,116,92810.74 +30.03858,96211.38Masvingo1,485,09011.37 +12.471,320,43811.35 +8.071,221,84511.75 +18.431,031,69713.67Mashonaland East1,344,95510.30 +19.301,127,4139.69 +9.101,033,3369.93–30.931,495,98419.82Mashonaland Central1,152,5208.82 +15.78995,4278.56 +16.11857,3188.24 +52.17563,4077.47Matabeleland North749,0175.73 +6.25704,9486.06 +9.98640,9576.17–27.60885,33911.73Matabeleland South683,8935.24 +4.72653,0545.61 +10.36591,7475.69 +13.88519,6066.89Bulawayo653,3375.00–3.45676,6505.82 +8.97620,9365.97——— total13,061,239— +12.2911,631,657— +11.8210,401,767— +37.847,546,041—
References