A diverse province, the Karanga, a Shona subgroup, form the majority, with minorities of Shangani in the southeast and Ndebele in the west.
Masvingo Province is home to the Great Zimbabwe ruins, a World Heritage Site and major tourist attraction.
With the land reforms of the early 21st century large scale cattle and mixed farms are being redistributed to small farmers.
The province is dominated by the Save, Runde, Mwenezi and Limpopo river systems which all either join or drain directly into the Indian Ocean.
Kopjes, grey and bald in the hot sun, dot the countryside with mopane trees,which are drought tolerant and sturdy, found throughout the province.
Masvingo province has a tropical savannah climate and is located in the low veld of the country where rainfall is minimal and uncertain.
Most parts of the province, therefore, are generally unfit for agriculture, apart from cattle ranching[2][3][4] Hippo Valley estates in Chiredzi and Triangle use the water from Lake Kyle for irrigation.
Despite the aridness, the residents of the province are proud tillers of the earth and like most Bantu tribes in Southern Africa they practise animal husbandry to supplement their diets.
In Chiredzi District, there are communities of Shangani people while those of the Ndebele are found on the western edge of the province.
The province's leader is a Minister for Provincial Affairs appointed by the country's president for a five-year term of office.
The districts are Bikita, Chivi, Zaka and Masvingo in the center of the province, Gutu in the north, and Mwenezi, and Chiredzi in the south and east respectively.