Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents,
is a port city and capital of
Mwanza Region
Mwanza Region (''Mkoa wa Mwanza'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions The region covers a land area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of North Macedonia. Njombe Region i ...
on the southern shore of
Lake Victoria in north-western
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
. With an urban population of 1,182,000 in 2021, it is Tanzania's second largest city, after
Dar es Salaam. It is also the second largest city in the Lake Victoria basin after
Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...
, Uganda and ahead of
Kisumu
Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victoria Basin.
Apart from being an important polit ...
, Kenya at least in population size. Within the East African community, Mwanza city is the fifth largest city after Dar,
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
,
Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
, and Kampala. It is slightly ahead of
Kigali,
Kisumu
Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victoria Basin.
Apart from being an important polit ...
, and
Bujumbura in the population of city proper limits. However, in terms of infrastructure, Kigali and Kisumu cities are way ahead of Mwanza. Mwanza city is also the capital city of
Mwanza Region
Mwanza Region (''Mkoa wa Mwanza'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions The region covers a land area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of North Macedonia. Njombe Region i ...
, and is administratively divided into two municipal districts within that Region -
Ilemela and
Nyamagana.
Ethnicity
The
Sukuma constitute over 90 percent of the population of the
Mwanza Region
Mwanza Region (''Mkoa wa Mwanza'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions The region covers a land area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of North Macedonia. Njombe Region i ...
. Other ethnic groups in the region, in much smaller proportions, include the
Zinza,
Haya,
Sumbwa,
Nyamwezi,
Luo Luo may refer to:
Luo peoples and languages
*Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa
**Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania.
*** Luoland, th ...
,
Kurya,
Jita, Shashi and Kerewe. They live mainly in the Mwanza city area. National policy, however, gives very little importance to ethnic groupings and reliable data is difficult to find.
Economy
The bridge of Furahisha in Mwanza represents transportation and safety of its people. This has a created safe space for the citizens and it stand as a remarkable symbol of Mwanza.
In 2011 the City Council announced plans to create a major commercial development in the Ilemela District. Construction works on Rock City Mall were finalized in early 2016. This mall is the first of its size in Mwanza and one of the biggest malls in the country.
Tanzania Breweries Limited has a brewery in Mwanza
Fishing
One major occupation of the inhabitants along the shores of Lake Victoria in Mwanza region is fishing, and there are five fish processing plants in the area. The
Nile perch
The Nile perch (''Lates niloticus''), also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi , Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is wi ...
were previously introduced to the lake, and are exported in large quantities.
The consequences of the Nile perch industry are the subject of the Academy Award nominated documentary ''
Darwin's Nightmare'' (2004) by Hubert Sauper.
Water supply and sanitation
Water supply coverage is at 75% and sewerage at 23.7%.
[ Projects to increase coverage including the UN Habitat Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation (LVWATSAN-Mwanza) project.
Water is managed by the Mwanza Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (Mwauwasa), established in 1996 and wholly owned by the government of Tanzania.] The authority covers Mwanza City, Kisesa
Kisesa is an administrative ward in the Magu District of the Mwanza Region of Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African ...
Township in Magu District
Magu District is one of the seven districts of the Mwanza Region of Tanzania, East Africa. Its administrative centre is the town of Magu on the Simiyu River.
It is bordered to the north by Lake Victoria and Busega District, to the east by Bariad ...
,[ Misungwi town and Nyahiti Village in Misungwi District,][ ]Geita
Geita is a town and regional capital of Geita Region in northwestern Tanzania. The town is known for its gold trade. Geita, with a population of 99,795 (2012 census). It is located in the centre of a gold mining area. In March 2012 it became th ...
, Sengerema and Nansio, and Lamadi in Simiyu Region
Simiyu Region (''Mkoa wa Simiyu'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The regional capital is the town of Bariadi. Simiyu Region is named after the Simiyu River. The region is home to the Serengeti National Park, a U ...
. Mwauwasa operates a wastewater treatment plant in Butuja Ilemela
Tourism
National Parks
Saanane Island National Park is located on a rocky island in Lake Victoria, 500 meters from Capri Point in the centre of Mwanza.
The westernmost gate (Ndabaka Gate) of Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in northern Tanzania that stretches over . It is located entirely in eastern Mara Region and north east portion of Simiyu Region and contains over of virgin savanna. The park was established in ...
is located at around 150 kilometres by road from Mwanza town. Day trips to Serengeti National Park are organised by several tour operators in Mwanza.
Rubondo Island National Park
Rubondo Island National Park is one of two Tanzanian national parks located on an island in Lake Victoria (the other being Saanane Island National Park). The Island is administered by Geita District of Geita Region, and as a National Park, the i ...
can be reached by road and boat, or by a direct flight from Mwanza. It is located around 110 kilometres west of Mwanza town.
Culture
The Sukuma Museum is located in Bujora, just east of Mwanza near Kisesa. It gives an overview of the history, architecture, culture and language of the Sukuma tribe, from which the majority of the native population originates.
Education
St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) is the main university in Mwanza. The University extends over in the Nyegezi-Malimbe area 10 km south of Mwanza City. It lies 4 km off the main Mwanza- Shinyanga road on the south eastern shores of Lake Victoria. The University is a half-hour's drive from Mwanza by car or by bus.
Places of worship
Among the places of worship
A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...
, they are predominantly Christian churches and temples : Africa Inland Church Tanzania, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mwanza
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mwanza ( la, Archidioecesis Mvanzaënsis) is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Mwanza in Tanzania.
History
* 1880: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Nyanza from the Apostolic Vicaria ...
(Catholic Church
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 ...
), Anglican Church of Tanzania
The Anglican Church of Tanzania (ACT) is a province of the Anglican Communion based in Dodoma. It consists of 28 dioceses (27 on the Tanzanian mainland, and 1 on Zanzibar) headed by their respective bishops. It seceded from the Province of East A ...
(Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
), Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) is the federation of Lutheran churches in Tanzania and one of the largest Lutheran denominations in the world, with more than 6 million members, or 13% of the Tanzanian population. It is the secon ...
(Lutheran World Federation
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish ...
), Baptist Convention of Tanzania (Baptist World Alliance
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...
), Assemblies of God. There are also Muslim mosques and BAPS temple for the Hindu community.
Climate
Mwanza features a tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...
under the Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
. Temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the course of the year, tempered by the city's altitude. Thus, the climate is not quite as hot as one might expect, given the city's location near the equator. Average temperatures in Mwanza is roughly throughout the year. The city features a lengthy wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
which runs from October through May and a short pronounced dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...
that covers the remaining four months. Mwanza receives on average roughly of precipitation annually.
Transport
Airport
Mwanza is served by the Mwanza Airport
Mwanza International Airport is a major regional airport in northern Tanzania serving the city of Mwanza. It is located near the southern shores of Lake Victoria approximately from the city. It serves as the main hub for Auric Air and a second ...
, which is designated as a regional airport.
Air Tanzania offers flights to Dar es Salaam. Precision Air
Precision Air Services Plc (operating as Precision Air; DSE:PAL) is a Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam. The airline operates scheduled passenger services to Nairobi, Entebbe, and to various airp ...
has daily flights to Mwanza, including from Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
(via Kilimanjaro), and Air Tanzania also flies to the city.
Railway
The city is connected by rail with Shinyanga
Shinyanga, also known as Shinyanga Mji in the local Swahili language, is a city in northern Tanzania. The city is the location of the regional headquarters of Shinyanga Region as well as the district headquarters of Shinyanga Urban District. The ...
on a branch of Tanzania's Central Railway. Twice a week the train departs to Dar es Salaam, via Dodoma, Tabora
Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226,999. ...
and Kigoma
Kigoma is a city and lake port in Kigoma-Ujiji District in Tanzania, on the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma R ...
.
Buses
Nyegezi bus station is located in Nyamagana district. Buses going to the south and west leave from Nyegezi, as well as international services.
Buzuruga bus station is located in Ilemela district. Buses going to the east, North and the Kenyan border depart from Buzuruga bus station.
Ferry
In December 2014 the regular ferry service between Mwanza, Bukoba
Bukoba is a city with a population of 128,796 (2012 census), situated in the north west of Tanzania on the south western shores of Lake Victoria. It is the capital of the Kagera region, and the administrative seat for Bukoba Urban District. ...
and Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...
was halted whilst the ferry boat MV Victoria underwent major maintenance.
Sports
The CCM Kirumba Stadium has hosted matches of the Tanzania national football team
The Tanzania national football team ( sw, Timu ya Taifa ya Mpira wa Miguu ya Tanzania) represents Tanzania in men's international football and is controlled by the Tanzania Football Federation, the governing body for football in Tanzania, Tan ...
.
Mbao FC is a football team from Mwanza that was promoted to the Tanzanian Premier League at the end of the 2015/2016 football season.
Cooperation with cities outside Tanzania
* Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
, Finland: The relationship between Tampere and Mwanza is part of the North-South Local Government Co-operation Programme.
* Tifariti
Tifariti (Berber: Tifariti, ar, تيفاريتي) is an oasis town located in north-eastern Western Sahara, east of the Moroccan Berm, from Smara and north of the border with Mauritania. It is part of what Polisario Front calls the '' Liberated ...
, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (; SADR; also romanized with Saharawi; ar, الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية ' es, República Árabe Saharaui Democrática), also known as Western Sahara, is a ...
* Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg ...
, Germany"HIV: New Problems for Africa", University of Würzburg
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Gallery
Mwanza Jamatkhana.jpg, The Jamatkhana Mosque.
Nyakahoja Catholic Church.JPG, The Nyakahoja Catholic Church.
A street sight of Mwanza downtown.JPG, A street sight of Mwanza downtown.
Mwanza is a city among the rocks.JPG, Mwanza a city among the rocks.
Nyerere road Mwanza.jpg, Nyerere road, Mwanza
Mwanza city-5.jpg, The Mwanza city centre.
Mwanza Tanzania we call this place Rock City, Beautful place indeed.jpg, Bismark rock in Rock city.
See also
* Community Development and Relief Agency
* Peter Le Jacq, Maryknoll medical missionary
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Tanzania
Lake Victoria
Regional capitals in Tanzania
Populated places in Mwanza Region
Populated places on Lake Victoria
Port cities in Tanzania
Cities in the Great Rift Valley