Midlands Province

Midlands Dunhu reMidlands (Shona) Isabelo seMidlands (Northern Ndebele)
Province
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 km^2 (18,983 sq mi)
Population  (2022 census)
• Total	1,811,905
• Density	36.853/km^2 (95.448/sq mi)
HDI (2021)	0.590[2] medium · 3rd of 10

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.

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

Districts of Midlands

Fossil Stromatolites, around 2650 million years old. Mberengwa, Midlands

Geography

Generally hilly and temperate, similar to the Highveldt of South Africa.

Districts

Midlands Provinces is divided into eight districts:

• Chirumhanzu
• Gokwe North
• Gokwe South
• Gweru
• Kwekwe
• Mberengwa
• Shurugwi
• Zvishavane

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;

• Gokwe North RDC in Gokwe North
• Gokwe South RDC in Gokwe South
• Mberengwa RDC in Mberengwa
• Runde RDC in Zvishavane
• Tongogara RDC in Shurungwi
• Takawira RDC in Chirumhanzu
• Vungu RDC in Gweru
• Zibagwe RDC in Kwekwe

Urban councils

• City Councils in the province are Gweru and Kwekwe municipalities.
• Town Councils are Shurugwi, Zvishavane and Gokwe, Redcliff.

Education

Main article: List of secondary schools in Midlands Province

See also

• Provinces of Zimbabwe
• Districts of Zimbabwe

References

1. "Mnangagwa Appoints Coup Plotters to Key Ministries in Recycled Mugabe Cabinet". Voice of America. 1 December 2017. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
2. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
3. "Zimbabwe: Administrative Division (Provinces and Districts) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map". www.citypopulation.de. Archived from the original on 20 February 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
4. Ministries of Local Government International |Chapter 29:15 Urban Councils Act|Zimbabwe Urban_Councils Act Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine mlgi.org.za|Retrieved 1 March 2016
5. Ministries of Local Government International Rural District Councils Act. Archived 8 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine MLGI|Resources|Retrieved 1 March 2016

19°00′S 30°00′E / 19.000°S 30.000°E / -19.000; 30.000