Harare

Harare (/həˈrɑːreɪ/ hə-RAR-ay),[5] formerly known as Salisbury[6] (/ˈsɔːlzbəri/ ⓘ SAWLZ-bər-ee), is the capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 982.3 km2 (379.3 sq mi), a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 census[7] and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metropolitan province.[7] The city is situated in north-eastern Zimbabwe in the country's Mashonaland region. Harare is a metropolitan province, which also incorporates the municipalities of Chitungwiza and Epworth.[8] The city sits on a plateau at an elevation of 1,483 metres (4,865 feet) above sea level, and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category.

The city was founded in 1890 by the Pioneer Column, a small military force of the British South Africa Company, and named Fort Salisbury after the British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury. Company administrators demarcated the city and ran it until Southern Rhodesia achieved responsible government in 1923. Salisbury was thereafter the seat of the Southern Rhodesian (later Rhodesian) government and, between 1953 and 1963, the capital of the Central African Federation. It retained the name Salisbury until 1982 when it was renamed Harare on the second anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence from the United Kingdom. The parliamentary wing was removed from Harare upon completion of the New Parliament of Zimbabwe in April 2022, meaning that Zimbabwe has two capital cities at the moment, Mount Hampden and Harare.[9]

Long the commercial capital of Zimbabwe, Harare has seen recent economic turbulence. It remains an important centre of commerce, government, finance, real estate, manufacturing, healthcare, design, education, art, culture, tourism, agriculture, mining and regional affairs.[10] Harare has the second-highest number of embassies in Southern Africa and serves as the location of the African headquarters of the World Health Organization, which it shares with Brazzaville.[11]

Harare has hosted multiple international conferences and events, including the 1995 All-Africa Games and the 2003 Cricket World Cup. In 2018, Harare was ranked as a Gamma World City. The city's marquee festival is the Harare International Festival of the Arts, modelled on the Edinburgh Festival and one of the largest arts festivals in the southern hemisphere.[12] It is also home to Dynamos FC, the club with the most titles in Zimbabwean football.