Magude District is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Maputo Province Maputo Province is a province of Mozambique; the province excludes the city of Maputo (which comprises a separate province). The province has an area of and a population of 1,968,906 (2017 census). Its capital is the city of Matola. Geography ...

in southern

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The principal town is Magude. The district is located in the north of the province, and borders with Massingir and

Chókwè District Chókwè District is a district of Gaza Province in south-western Mozambique. Its principal town is Chokwe. The district is located in the south of the province, and borders with Mabalane District in the north, Guijá District in the east, Chibuto ...

s of

Gaza Province Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75,709 km2 and a population of 1,422,460 (2017 census), which is the least populous of all the provinces of Mozambique. Xai-Xai is the capital of the province. Inhambane Province is to t ...

in the north,

Manhiça District Manhiça District is a district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, sever ...

in the east, Moamba District in the south, and with

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in the west. The area of the district is . It has a population of 53,317 as of 2007.

Geography

The principal river in the district is the

Komati River The Komati River, also known as the Inkomati River or Incomati River (in Mozambique, from Portuguese Rio Incomati), is a river in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique. Originating in north-western Eswatini, it is joined by the Crocodile R ...

. Other rivers, such as the Mazimuchopes River, the Massintonto River, and the Uanétze River, are seasonal and only flow during the rainy season. The climate is subtropical dry, with the annual rainfall being .

History

The name Magude originates from Magudzo Cossa, a

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

king who was active in the area in the second half of the 19th century. Before 1874, the Magude Circunscrição, an administrative unit in colonial Portuguese Africa, was established, but the descendants of Magudzo Cossa retained the traditional role of the chiefs and were incorporated into the government.

Demographics

As of 2005, 42% of the population of the district was younger than 15 years. 41% of the population spoke Portuguese. The most common mothertongue among the population was

Xichangana Tsonga () or Xitsonga ( ''Xitsonga'') as an endonym, is a Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people of southern Africa. It is mutually intelligible with Tswa and Ronga and the name "Tsonga" is often used as a cover term for all three, ...

. 59% were analphabetic, mostly women.

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into five postos, Magude, Mapulanguene,

Mahela Mahela is a rural municipality located in the Atsinanana region of eastern Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar) ...

, Motaze, and Panjane, which in total contain 18 localities.

Economy

6% of the households in the district have access to electricity.

Agriculture

In the district, there are 7,500 farms which have on average of land. The main agricultural products are corn,

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

cowpea The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few input ...

, peanut, and sweet potato.

Transportation

There is a road network in the district of the total length of , of which are paved. There is a bridge over the Komati River, which requires a restoration.