Moxico (Portuguese spelling) or Moshiko (Bantu spelling) is the largest

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. It has an area of , and covers 18% of the landmass of Angola. The province has a population of 758,568 (2014 census) and a population density of approximately 3.4 residents per km² (8.8/sq mi), making it one of the most sparsely populated areas of Angola. The population of the province is in flux; displaced residents have slowly returned to Moxico since the end of the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

in 2002. The war left Moxico as one of the most landmine-contaminated places in the world. The governor of the province is Gonçalves Manuel Muandumba. Luena is the capital of the Moxico Province, and is located from the Angolan capital of

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

History

Moxico Province was the scene of much guerrilla fighting during the Angolan Civil War. Its long border with Zambia at the east of the province was a base of operations for

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...

and

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social d ...

. As a result, Moxico Province saw many raids by the military of

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 ...

. Moxico Province is known as the place where UNITA rebel leader

Jonas Savimbi Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (; 3 August 1934 – 22 February 2002) was an Angolan revolutionary politician and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). UNITA waged a guerrilla war agai ...

was killed in 2002, signalling an end to over a quarter-century civil war in Angola. Savimbi's body was buried in the village of Lucusse, about south-east of the capital, Luanda, under a tree near where he was killed.

Geography

Moxico Province borders

Lunda Sul Province :''Lunda Sul Province is not to be confused with Luanda Sul, a satellite city of Luanda, the capital of Angola.'' Lunda Sul ("South Lunda") is a Provinces of Angola, province of Angola. It has an area of 77,637 km² and a 2014 census popula ...

to the north,

Bié Province Bié is a province of Angola located on the Bié Plateau in central part of country. Its capital is Kuito, which was called Silva Porto until independence from Portugal in 1975. The province has an area of and a population of 1,455,255 in 2014. ...

to the west,

Cuando Cubango Province Cuando Cubango (Umbundu: Kwando Kubango Volupale) is a province of Angola and it has an area of 199,049km2 and a population of 534,002 in 2014. Menongue is the capital of the province. The governor of the province is José Martins, who was appoi ...

to the south, the nation of

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

to the east, and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

to the northeast.

Municipalities

The province of Moxico contains nine

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

( pt, municípios): *

Alto Zambeze Alto Zambeze is a municipality in the Moxico province of Angola. It is situated near the Zambian border, with a population of 110,900 (2014 census)

(Cazombo) *

Bundas The Municipality of Bundas lies at the south-eastern corner of Moxico Province of Angola near the border with Zambia. Its principal town is Lumbala. Due to the destruction of the Angolan Civil War, it is one of the most remote municipalities in An ...

(Lumbala-N'guimbo) *

Camanongue Camanongue is a town, with a population of 12,930 (2014 census), and a municipality in the Moxico province in eastern Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital ...

Cameia Lumeje (or Cameia) is a municipality in Moxico Province, Angola. The seat of the municipality is Lumeje Kameia. It is notable for its national park. Lumeje and Lucano form the boundaries of the park. Cameia National Park was established as a game ...

(Lumeje) *

Léua Léua is a city and municipality in Angola of the Moxico province Moxico (Portuguese spelling) or Moshiko (Bantu spelling) is the largest province of Angola. It has an area of , and covers 18% of the landmass of Angola. The province has a popula ...

* Luau *

Luacano Luacano is a town and municipality in Moxico Province, Angola. The municipality had a population of 20,755 in 2014. The Luacano River (''Rio Luacano'') flows past the town to the west before entering the Kasai River, which forms the border between ...

Luchazes Luchazes is a town and municipality in Moxico province, Angola. It is one of the four Municipalities predominantly inhabited by the Mbunda in Angola. Its principal town is Kangamba. The municipality had a population of 14,451 in 2014. See also *M ...

* Moxico (Luena) Moxico is also home to

Cameia National Park Cameia National Park is a national park in the Moxico province of Angola, located at about 1100 m above sea level. Covering a surface of 14.450 km. It shares its name with the nearby municipality of Cameia. The Cameia– Luacano road forms the n ...

in the Cameia Municipality.

Communes

The province of Moxico contains the following

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

( pt, comunas); sorted by their respective municipalities: * Alto Zambeze Municipality –

Caianda Caianda is a town in eastern Moxico province, which is in the northeastern part of Angola, adjacent to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Location The town in a few kilometers from Zambia. It is located on the road between Lue ...

(Kaianda), Calunda,

Cazombo Cazombo is a town with a population of 34,000 (2014),Citypopulation.de
Population of cities & urban localities in ...

, Lóvua Leste (Lóvua do Zambeze), Lumbala-Caquengue (Lumbala-Kakengue),

Macondo Macondo is a fictional town described in Gabriel García Márquez's novel '' One Hundred Years of Solitude''. It is the home town of the Buendía family. Aracataca Macondo is often supposed to draw from García Márquez's childhood town, Aracat ...

, Nana Candundo (Candundo) * Bundas Municipality – Chiume, Lumbala-Guimbo (Lumbala-N'guimbo) Lutembo, Luvuei, Mussuma, Ninda, Sessa * Camanongue Municipality –

* Cameia Municipality –

(Lumeje) * Léua Municipality –

, Liangongo * Luau Municipality – Luau * Luacano Municipality – Lago-Dilolo,

* Luchazes Municipality – Cangamba (Kangamba),

Cangombe Cangombe is a town and commune of Angola, located in the province of Moxico, adjacent to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units i ...

, Cassamba, Muié, Tempué * Moxico Municipality – Cangumbe (Kangumbe), Cachipoque, Lucusse, Luena, Lutuai (Muangai)

Demographics

Moxico Province is composed of a diversity of ethnic groups, and is primarily a

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

area. Populations of Chokwe, Lovale, Mbunda, Lucazi, and

Ovimbundu The Ovimbundu, also known as the Southern Mbundu, are a Bantu ethnic group who live on the Bié Plateau of central Angola and in the coastal strip west of these highlands. As the largest ethnic group in Angola, they make up 38 percent of the ...

make up the majority of the province. Isolated communities of other ethnic groups exist throughout Moxico.

Chokwe language Chokwe (also known as Batshokwe, Ciokwe, Kioko, Kiokwe, Quioca, Quioco, Shioko, Tschiokloe or Tshokwe) is a Bantu language spoken by the Chokwe people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and Zambia. It is recognised as a national la ...

is the most commonly spoken language in the province.

List of governors

References

External links

Official website of province governor

Information on this province at the Angolan ministry for territorial administration

Information on this province at ''Info Angola''

Province geographical info at geoview.info
{{coord, 12, S, 20, E, source:cawiki_region:AO_type:adm1st, format=dms, display=title Provinces of Angola