Massinga 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 ...

Inhambane Province Inhambane is a province of Mozambique located on the coast in the southern part of the country. It has an area of 68,615 km2 and a population of 1,488,676 (2017 census). The provincial capital is also called Inhambane. The climate is trop ...

in south-east

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 ...

. Its principal town is Massinga. The district is located at the east of the province and borders with

Inhassoro District Inhassoro District is a district of Inhambane Province in south-east Mozambique. The district is located at the northeast of the province, and borders with Govuro District in the north, Vilanculos District in the southeast, Massinga District in ...

in the north, Vilanculos District in the northeast,

Morrumbene District Morrumbene District is a district of Inhambane Province in south-east Mozambique. Its principal town is Morrumbene. The district is located at the east of the province and borders with Massinga District in the north, Homoine District in the sou ...

in the south, and with

Funhalouro District Funhalouro District is a Districts of Mozambique, district of Inhambane Province in south-east Mozambique. Its principal town is Funhalouro. The district is located at the west of the province, and borders with Mabote District in the north, Inhasso ...

in the west. In the east, the district is bounded by the Indian Ocean. The area of the district is . In terms of the area, this is the biggest district of Inhambane Province. It has a population of 184,531 as of 2007.

Geography

There are no rivers in the district which flow throughout the whole year, only streams generated by rain. The climate is tropical arid in the interior, with the annual rainfall varying between and , and tropical humid at the coast, with the annual rainfall being .

History

In 1894, Massinga Military Command was established, thus bringing part of the area under the control of the military. In 1897, this part was subordinated to

Gaza District Gaza District was one of the districts of Mandatory Palestine The Districts and Sub-districts of Mandatory Palestine formed the first and second levels of administrative division and existed through the whole era of Mandatory Palestine, namely ...

, and in 1907, it was transferred to Inhambane District, thus bringing all current area of Massinga District, under both civil and military rule, into Inhambane District. Later in the same year, the military rule was abolished, and Massinga Circunscrição, a type of administrative unit used in Portuguese colonies in Africa, was established. In July 1986, a new administrative division of Mozambique was introduced, and Massinga District was established.

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into two postos, Massinga (three localities) and Chicomo (two localities).

Demographics

As of 2005, 43% of the population of the district was younger than 15 years. 17% did speak

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. The population was predominantly speaking

Chopi language Chopi, also spelled ''Copi, Tschopi,'' and ''Txopi'', is a Bantu language spoken along the southern coast of Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muz ...

. 59% were analphabetic, mostly women.

Economy

In 2005, 1% of the households in the district had electricity.

Agriculture

In 2005, the district had 42,000 farms exploiting on average the area of each. The main agricultural products are maize,

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 ...

, peanuts, sweet potatoes, cotton, and rice.

Transportation

There is a road network in the district which includes the stretch of the national road EN1, crossing the eastern part of the district, and about secondary roads.

References

{{coord, 23.332, S, 35.382, E, type:adm1st, display=title Districts in Inhambane Province States and territories established in 1986