Niassa is a

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

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, Mala ...

. It has an area of 129,056 km² and a population of 1,810,794 (2017). It is the most sparsely populated province in the country. Lichinga is the capital of the province. There are a minimum estimated 450,000

Yao people The Yao people (its majority branch is also known as Mien; ; vi, người Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China and Vietnam. They are one of the 55 officially recognised ethnic minorities in China and reside in ...

living in Mozambique. They largely occupy the eastern and northern part of the Niassa province and form about 40% of the population of Lichinga, the capital of this province. The Ruvuma River forms much of the northern boundary of the province with Ruvuma Region,

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 ...

while Lake Niassa forms the western border of the province, separating it from

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...

. 75% of the province remains untouched by development, and remains free of

landmine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

s. The province shares the

Niassa National Reserve Niassa Reserve is a nature reserve in Cabo Delgado Province and Niassa Province, Mozambique. Covering over , it is the largest protected area in the country. The reserve is part of the Trans-Frontier Conservation Area and links to the Tanzanian ...

with neighboring

Cabo Delgado Province Cabo Delgado is the northernmost province of Mozambique. It has an area of and a population of 2,320,261 (2017). As well as bordering Mtwara Region in the neighboring country of Tanzania, it borders the provinces of Nampula and Niassa. The re ...

Districts

Niassa Province is divided into the 15 districts of: *

Cuamba District Cuamba District is a district of Niassa Province in north-western Mozambique. The principal town is Cuamba. Further readingDistrict profile(PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe ...

* Lago District * Lichinga District * Majune District *

Mandimba District Mandimba District is a district of Niassa Province in north-western Mozambique. The principal town is Mandimba Mandimba is the principal town of Mandimba District in Niassa Province in north-western Mozambique Mozambique (), officially t ...

* Marrupa District * Maúa District * Mavago District * Mecanhelas District * Mecula District *

Metarica District Metarica District is a district of Niassa Province in north-western Mozambique. The principal town is Metarica. Further readingDistrict profile(PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe ...

* Muembe District * N'gauma District * Nipepe District * Sanga District and the municipalities of: *

Cuamba Cuamba is a city and district of Niassa Province in Mozambique, lying north west of Mount Namuli. Before independence the town was known as ''Nova Freixo'' (New Ash). It lies on the EN8 road, which connects it to the city of Nampula in the ea ...

* Lichinga * Metangula

Demographics

Religion

Education

In 1998, a provincial college was built in Lichinga to train teachers. Partially financed by the Irish Embassy in Maputo, it graduates 60 teachers a year. Apart from training teachers for local schools, the college offers primary school education to the local Lichinga community and works towards reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS in Niassa province.

References

External links

Niassa Province landmine assessment

External links

*
Province of Niassa official site
*
including information about districts
{{Authority control Provinces of Mozambique