Muhanga 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 ...

(''akarere'') in

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

. Its administrative centre is located in the city of

Muhanga Muhanga (former Gitarama, renamed in 2006) is a city in Rwanda, in the Muhanga District, in Southern Province. The city is above sea level. Though officially part of the Southern Province, Muhanga is geographically in central Rwanda, approxim ...

(former

Gitarama Muhanga (former Gitarama, renamed in 2006) is a city in Rwanda, in the Muhanga District, in Southern Province. The city is above sea level. Though officially part of the Southern Province, Muhanga is geographically in central Rwanda, approxim ...

Geography

Muhanga Districtis one of the eight

s comprising the Southern Province. It is subdivided into twelve (12) sectors, sixty three (63) cells and three hundred and thirty one (331) villages (Imidugudu). The District covers an area of six hundred forty seven point seven square kilometers (647.7 km2) and, it is neighbouring the Districts of Gakenke in the North, Kamonyi in the East, Ruhango in the South and Ngororero in the West,

Karongi District Karongi is a district (''akarere'') in Western Province, Rwanda. The capital being Rubengera, the district also contains Kibuye, the provincial capital and a major Rwandan lakeside resort. It is one of the districts with the least population de ...

to the southwest and

Ngororero District Ngororero District is a district (''akarere'') in Western Province, Rwanda. Its capital is the town of Ngororero. Location The district is one of the five districts that comprise Rwanda's Western Province. It is bordered by Nyabihu District to ...

to the west

Relief and climate

One part of Muhanga District is located in the "central plateau" of the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

with topography of

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...

s type. With high and low peaks, this part constitutes one of the best elements of the central "plateau" of the country. The other part of the District is on the high mountains of the Nil-Congo; it has peaks prancing beyond 2000 meters. The District is located in an area well watered, between 1100 mm and 1200 mm of

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

. This region enjoys a

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

of four seasons of which two rainy seasons and two dry seasons: a short rainy season, which extends from October to December, a short dry season that runs from January to February, and a long rainy season from March to June and a long dry season from June to August or early September. The District is located mainly in the agro-bioclimatic region called "Granite Ridge". However, it has some peaks namely Budaha-Ndiza and buberuka. (Muhanga, 2007).

Population

According to the Population and

Housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

of NISR, 2012 ,the total population of Muhanga district is 319,965.

Male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

s are less 155,193 (49%) than

female Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gamet ...

163,772 (51%). The Sectors of Nyamabuye (14%), Shyogwe (14%) and Cyeza (9%) located in southern part of the District and constituting the city of Muhanga are more populated and less populated are Rugendabari (5%) and Nyabinoni (5%).

Agriculture

Maize crop Maize

Is the main crop cultivated in Muhanga District, where it is cultivated in

Marshlands A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

and also on land scape, the crops has a big importance in the development of Muhanga District population, where they consume it and it generates money to them. According to the population of Muhanga, maize is the first crop needed in their daily life. The Economy of Muhanga District is also based on Agriculture of coffee, rice, cassava, vegetables and cereals.

Education

In this district, the net

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

enrolment rate is 90.7%, net secondary school enrolment is 20.8% and literacy rate for

person A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, ...

s aged 15–24 years is 86%. This is somehow different from the national achievements which are at: 91.7% for net primary school enrolment rate, 20.9% for gross secondary school enrolment and 83.7% for literacy rate for persons aged 15–24 years. The literacy rate is at 71.1% in Muhanga District against 69.7% of the total Rwandan population.

Overview

The district lies in the geographic centre of Rwanda, and contains three major radial roads leading to

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

to the east,

Butare Butare (), also known as Huye, is a city (population: 50,220 as of 2012) in the Southern Province of Rwanda and the capital of Huye district. It is the fourth largest town in Rwanda by population. History The Belgian colonial rulers establishe ...

to the south and Kibuye on the shores of

Lake Kivu Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which ...

to the west. A fourth road leads north to

Gisenyi Gisenyi, historically rendered as Kisenyi, is a city in Rubavu district in Rwanda's Western Province. Gisenyi is contiguous with Goma, the city across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Overview The city features a resort on th ...

, also on the eastern shores of Lake Kivu and to

Ruhengeri Ruhengeri, also known as Musanze or Muhoza, is a city and capital of Musanze District in the Northern Province of Rwanda. Some sources now refer to the city itself as Musanze, after the district in which it lies within. This has to do with the ad ...

in the foothills of the Virunga Mountains. Muhanga district is home to Kabgayi, the traditional centre of the

catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church in Rwanda, and Shyogwe, a big

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

centre.

Transportation

References

External links

*
Website of Muhanga District (Kinyarwanda) & (English)
{{coord, 02, 05, S, 29, 45, E, display=title, region:RW_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki Southern Province, Rwanda Districts of Rwanda