Southern Province ( rw, Intara y'Amajyepfo; french: Province du Sud; nl, Zuidelijke Provincie) is one of
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 ...
's five
provinces
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 ou ...
. It was created in early January 2006 as part of a government decentralization program that re-organized the country's local government structures.
Southern Province comprises the former provinces of
Gikongoro
Gikongoro is a city in Nyamagabe district, Southern Province, Rwanda.
It was previously part of Gikongoro Province, which has been disestablished. Gikongoro province was founded by the newly independent Rwandan state shortly after it gained fre ...
,
Gitarama, and
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 establish ...
, and is divided into the districts of
Huye,
Ruhango
Ruhango is a town and capital of the Ruhango District in Southern Province, 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 Grea ...
,
Nyamagabe,
Gisagara,
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, approxi ...
,
Kamonyi,
Nyanza, and
Nyaruguru.
The capital city of Southern Province is
Nyanza.
Notes and references
External links
Southern Province official website
{{Coord, 2, 37, 19, S, 29, 36, 29, E, type:adm1st_region:RW_source:nlwiki, display=title
Provinces of Rwanda
States and territories established in 2006