What is the population of Harare?
Harare has a city population of 1,542,813. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
Capital city · Zimbabwe · Africa
Harare
City population
1,542,813
#1
in Zimbabwe
#1
in Harare
#305
worldwide
-17.828, 31.053
About Harare
With a metropolitan population of 1,558,000, Harare ranks among Africa's major urban centers. The city proper holds 1,542,813 residents at a density of 1,623 people per km², situated at an elevation of 1,494 m. Founded in 1890, the city continues to grow at 1.5% annually, indicating a steadily expanding population base.
Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport serves the city, providing regional connectivity. Jacob Mafume leads the municipality. Harare's high elevation and dense urban footprint shape its character as Zimbabwe's principal metropolitan area.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
1,558,000
0.019% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+1.45%
Archive estimateDensity
1,623/km²
960 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Harare
Rank in region
#1of 2
Founded
1890
Leadership
Jacob Mafume
Coordinates
-17.828, 31.053
Record updated
7 February 2025
Entry edited, not measured
City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.
Nearby Cities
All 29 in ZimbabweClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
| Harare | 1.54M |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- Robert Gabriel Mugabe International AirportHRE
12 km from the city centre
Source: OurAirports, matched by distance.
Population Trend in Zimbabwe
No free source publishes city population back to 1950, so the parent country's series is shown instead.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 2,790,905 |
| 1960 | 3,809,389 |
| 1970 | 5,215,918 |
| 1980 | 7,041,303 |
| 1990 | 10,137,281 |
| 2000 | 11,892,055 |
| 2010 | 13,356,548 |
| 2020 | 15,526,888 |
| 2030 | 18,610,349 |
| 2040 | 22,250,109 |
| 2050 | 25,866,385 |
| 2060 | 29,129,003 |
| 2070 | 32,010,414 |
| 2080 | 34,440,027 |
| 2090 | 36,154,189 |
| 2100 | 37,166,572 |
Harare Population FAQ
Where is Harare?
Harare is in Harare, Zimbabwe. Its coordinates are -17.828, 31.053.
How big is Harare compared with other cities in Zimbabwe?
It is the 1st largest of the 29 cities listed in Zimbabwe, holding 9.1% of the national population.