Zimbabwe Districts (original) (raw)

Roy Cole has very helpfully provided me with areas for the districts. He downloaded a public-domain ArcInfo map of the districts from theUSAID Data Dissemination Service . Then he calculated the areas using a geographic information system, Manifold GIS 6.0. The results should be considered a close approximation to the actual areas, probably within a few km.².

The list of 63 districts below is taken from the Population Statistics pages of the Zimbabwe Relief and Recovery Unit site. However, it doesn't exactly match the districts as seen on several online maps. The details of the differences are as follows.

This Zimbabwe map , from the Southern Africa Humanitarian Information Management Network, is captioned "Base map, DFID, 2002, Partial Data, Not verified." I think that means that the districts are shown as of 2002 or earlier, and may be incomplete. This Zimbabwe map is from the ZRRU site. The ZRRU was formed in October 2001. I believe this map is more recent than the SAHIMN one. If that's true, and if both maps are accurate, the changes shown are these: Chinhoyi district merged with Makonde; Chitungwiza district merged with Harare; Gokwe district split into Gokwe North and Gokwe South; Mutare Urban district split from Mutare; name of Muzarabani district changed to Centenary. (The ZRRU map shows two Chivi districts side by side, an obvious mistake; the one to the east should be labeled Masvingo.)

The ZRRU site has several other maps. This typical Zimbabwe map is dated November 2003. Some districts on this map are unlabeled. Comparing it to the first ZRRU map, the differences are that Bulilimalangwe district is split into Bulilimalangwe North and Bulilimalangwe South, and Chitungwiza district is shown separate (but not labeled).

Finally, the census list shows Harare divided into four districts (Chitungwiza, Epworth, Harare Rural, and Harare Urban), where the maps all show it as one or two districts (Harare and sometimes Chitungwiza). The census list does not show Chinhoyi district, which presumably is included in Makonde. The census list shows both Bulilimalangwe and Gokwe split into north and south districts. And there are a few name changes. According to the census list, the halves of Bulilimalangwe are called "Bulilima (North)" and "Mangwe (South)". The census list gives the spelling Mukoto for a district that everyone else spells Mutoko.

Change history:

According to a publication of the United Nations Development Program, "The District Councils Act 1980 (amended in 1981 and 1982) applied to the Communal Lands, where it ... consolidated the previously fragmented authorities from over 220 to 55. ... The Rural District Councils Act 1988, purported to end the dual system of local government in rural Zimbabwe, through amalgamation of the Rural Councils and the District Councils into 55 Rural District Councils."

The ZRRU page doesn't show any 1992 population for Epworth district or for any of the districts in Matabeleland South and Midlands provinces. This may mean that Epworth district was created, and the two provinces were reorganized, between 1992 and 2002.

Other names of subdivisions:

1. Bulilimalangwe North: Bulilima (variant)
2. Bulilimalangwe South: Mangwe (variant)
3. Centenary: Muzarabani, Mzarabani (obsolete)
4. Chiredzi: Hartley (variant)
5. Guruve: Sipolilo (obsolete)
6. Gweru: Gwelo (variant)
7. Harare Urban: Salisbury (obsolete)
8. Hurungwe: Karoi, Urungwe (variant)
9. Hwange: Wankie (obsolete)
10. Kadoma: Gatooma (obsolete)
11. Kwekwe: Que Que (obsolete)
12. Makonde: Lomagundi (obsolete)
13. Marondera: Marandellas (obsolete)
14. Masvingo: Victoria (obsolete)
15. Mberengwa: Mberingwe (variant)
16. Mutare: Umtali (variant)
17. Shurugwi: Selukwe (obsolete)
18. UMP: Murehwa (UMP) (variant)
19. Wedza: Hwedza (variant)
20. Zvishavane: Shabani, Shavani (variant)