Bulawayo

Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe and the largest in the country's Matabeleland region, covering 546 square kilometers along the Matsheumhlope River. Its population is disputed, with the 2022 census listing 665,940 residents while the Bulawayo City Council claims about 1.2 million; along with the capital Harare, it is one of two cities in Zimbabwe that are also provinces. A group led by Gundwane Ndiweni founded it around 1840 as the kraal of the Ndebele king Mzilikazi under the name Gibixhegu, and his son Lobengula, who succeeded him in the 1860s, renamed it koBulawayo and ruled from it until British South Africa Company soldiers captured the settlement during the First Matabele War in 1893; the first white settlers arrived that year and rebuilt the town, which was later besieged by Ndebele warriors during the Second Matabele War before attaining municipality status in 1897 and city status in 1943. Historically Zimbabwe's principal industrial center, Bulawayo produces cars and car products, building materials, electronics, textiles, furniture and food products, serves as the hub of the country's rail network, and hosts several colleges and universities including the National University of Science and Technology.