Zimbabwe Provinces

Zimbabwe is a plateau between two rivers, the Zambezi on the north and the Limpopo on the south, with the Eastern Highlands standing along the Mozambique border. The province is the unit that tells you which part of that plateau a round is on, and there are ten of them.

The quiz: Name to place, on the map
Grouped by: Three parts of the country, an unofficial cut
In the game: 10 provinces

Start

What you are looking at

The provinces of Zimbabwe: eight that cover the country, and two cities, Harare and Bulawayo, that have provincial status and are no bigger on the map than a dot. They are drawn here with a tap area, so you can reach them.

The names tell you the layout. Mashonaland is the north and east, home of the Shona, in three provinces round Harare. Matabeleland is the south west, in two provinces round Bulawayo. The Midlands runs through the middle, Masvingo lies to the south east, and Manicaland holds the highlands on the Mozambique border.

The groups are not an official classification. Zimbabwe has no tier between the province and the country, so the quiz cuts the ten into Mashonaland, Matabeleland, and the centre and east, to let you drill it a piece at a time. The provinces are the Zimbabwe Districts grouped, so the borders of the two maps match exactly.

Lake Kariba, on the Zambia border, is not part of any district in the boundary file and is left as a gap in the map.

How to place one

Start with the two cities. Harare is the capital, in the north east of the plateau, and Bulawayo is the second city, in the south west. Everything else is placed relative to them.
Read the north as Mashonaland. Mashonaland West, Central and East run along the Zambezi side and round Harare.
Read the south west as Matabeleland. Matabeleland North reaches the Zambezi at Victoria Falls, and Matabeleland South runs down to the Limpopo.
Leave the middle for last. The Midlands, Masvingo and Manicaland are the plain-looking bands between the two halves, and Manicaland is the one against the Mozambique border.

Every province, by group

Mashonaland4 provinces: Harare, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West
Matabeleland3 provinces: Bulawayo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South
Centre and east3 provinces: Manicaland, Masvingo, Midlands

Worked examples

Manicaland

The one on the highlands

Manicaland is the eastern province, on the border with Mozambique, and the one that holds the Eastern Highlands. Its capital is Mutare.

Bulawayo

The city that is a province

Bulawayo is the second city and a province of its own, surrounded by Matabeleland North and South. It is small on the map, so the quiz gives it a tap area.

Matabeleland North

The one on the Zambezi

Matabeleland North is the largest province in the west, with Victoria Falls and Hwange National Park inside it, and Lake Kariba along part of its northern edge.

Frequently asked questions

How many provinces does Zimbabwe have?

Ten: eight rural provinces, and Harare and Bulawayo, which are cities with provincial status.

Where do the groups come from?

They are an unofficial cut into three parts of the map, so you can drill a piece at a time. Zimbabwe itself has no tier between the province and the country.