Zomba District is one of twelve
districts
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 ...
in the
Southern Region of
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 northeast ...
, surrounded by the districts of
Chiradzulu Chiradzulu is a town in Malawi, and the administrative capital of the Chiradzulu District.
It is famous because it is where the home and church of John Chilembwe is located. It was the site of European farming settlement.
Notable people
*John Chi ...
,
Blantyre
Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...
,
Mulanje
Mulanje, formerly called Mlanje, is a town in the Southern Region of Malawi, close to the border with Mozambique, to the east. It is near the Mulanje Massif.
Location
The town of Mulanje lies along the M-2 highway from Thyolo to the west to t ...
,
Phalombe
Phalombe is a town in Malawi. It is the district capital of Phalombe District.
Location
Phalombe is located about , by road, north-east of Mulanje, along the T408 Road. This is approximately , by road, east of Blantyre, the financial capital ...
,
Machinga,
Balaka and the
Republic of 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, Malawi ...
to the east. The total land area is 2,363 km
2, representing three percent of the total land area of Malawi. The capital is
Zomba.
Geography
Zomba District is bounded on the north by
Machinga District
Machinga is a district in the Southern Region of Malawi. The capital is Machinga. The district covers an area of 3,771 km.² and has a population of 369,614.
Demographics
At the time of the 2018 Census of Malawi, the distribution of the ...
, on the east by
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, Malawi ...
, and on the south by Phalombe, Mulanje, and Chiradzulu districts, on the southwest by Blantyre district, and on the northeast by Balaka District.
The
Shire River
The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Malo ...
forms the northwestern boundary of the district, and the northwestern portion of the district lies in the Shire River Valley, a portion of the
East African Rift
The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of a ...
. The
Shire Highlands
The Shire Highlands are a plateau in southern Malawi, located east of the Shire River. It is a major agricultural area and the most densely populated part of the country.
Geography
The highlands cover an area of roughly 7250 square kilometers. t ...
run from north to south through the district, including the
Zomba Plateau. The highlands form the divide between the Shire River basin and the basin of
Lake Chilwa
Lake Chilwa is the second-largest lake in Malawi after Lake Malawi. It is in eastern Zomba District, near the border with Mozambique. Approximately 60 km long and 40 km wide, the lake is surrounded by extensive wetlands. There is an isla ...
. The Phalombe Plain lies east of the highlands and west and south of Lake Chilwa. The central and eastern portions of the district lie in the closed basin of Lake Chilwa, and several small rivers drain from the surrounding highlands into the lake. The Domasi River forms part of the northern boundary of the district. The Phalombe River and its tributary the Namadzi form the southern boundary of the district, separating it from Phalombe, Mulanje, and Chiradzulu districts. The
Likangala River and its tributary the Thondwe River drain the central portion of the district eastwards into lake Chilwa. Lake Chilwa's extent varies with rainfall and evaporation, and the lake is surrounded by broad seasonal wetlands.
Demographics
The district has a total population of 746,724 (2018) resulting in a population density of 316 persons per km
2, more than half (52.6%) of whom are 18 years or younger. The annual population growth rate over the last decade was two percent.
Chinyanja
Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zambia. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for l ...
is the native language spoken by most of the inhabitants, although other languages like
Chiyao
Yao is a Bantu language in Africa with approximately two million speakers in Malawi, and half a million each in Tanzania and Mozambique. There are also some speakers in Zambia. In Malawi, the main dialect is Mangochi, mostly spoken around Lak ...
and
Chilomwe are also spoken. The two dominant religions are
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
(78%) and
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
(20%).
Ethnic groups
At the time of the
2018 Census of Malawi
The 2018 Malawi census was the sixth national census in Malawi, which took place on 3-23 September 2018. The population of Malawi was counted as 17,563,749 – an increase of 4,534,251 (34.8%) over the 2008 census.
Preliminary results from the ...
, the distribution of the population of Zomba District by
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
was as follows:
* 42.1%
Lomwe
* 23.3%
Yao
* 21.7%
Nyanja
Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zambia. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for l ...
* 5.8%
Chewa
Chewa may refer to:
*the Chewa people
*the Chewa language
Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambiq ...
* 3.6%
Mang'anja
The Mang'anja are a Bantu people of central and southern Africa, particularly around Chikwawa in the Shire River valley of southern Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked co ...
* 2.1%
Ngoni
* 0.6%
Sena
* 0.3%
Tumbuka
* 0.1%
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
* 0.0%
Nkhonde
* 0.0%
Lambya
The Lambya, also known as the Nkoya, are an ethnic and linguistic group based along the border of northwestern Malawi and in Mbeya Region, Tanzania. A minority also exists in Zambia. In 2001 the Lambya population was estimated to number 85,000, i ...
* 0.0%
Sukwa
* 0.3% Others
Government and administrative divisions
There are ten
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
constituencies in Zomba:
* Zomba - Central
* Zomba - Changalume
* Zomba - Chingale
* Zomba - Chisi
* Zomba - Likangala
* Zomba - Lisanjala
* Zomba - Msondole
* Zomba - Mtonya
* Zomba - Nsondole
* Zomba - Thondwe
Since the
2009 election all of these constituencies have been held by members of the
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
.
Parliament of Malawi - Members of Parliament - Zomba District
/ref>
* Zomba City (administrative capital)
Economics
The economy of Zomba District is dominated by agriculture, where individual maize production accounts for the main activity, while tobacco is cultivated as the main cash crop. Other crops produced include rice, cassava, sweet potato, groundnuts, beans and pigeon peas. Husbandry is still underdeveloped; nevertheless cattle, poultry, goats, sheep, pigs and rabbits are raised for meat production in Zomba, with poultry being the most common. Zomba on the other hand is one of the few districts with well-spread pond-fishing. There are around 2,600 farmers engaged in aquaculture, operating more than 5,000 ponds and producing as much as 757 tonnes of fish annually. In addition, Lake Chilwa continues to be the main source of fish in the district, with an annual catchment of more than 5,000 tonnes.
Small and medium-scale businesses dominate the district's non agro-based economy, with general retail accounting for the gross of sales. Employment has increased to almost 97% of the total adult (15+) population, resulting in historically low unemployment. Services, general labour, and professional and technical groups are the dominant occupation groups.
Ecology
The district extends across four ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
s. The Zambezian and mopane woodlands
The Zambezian and mopane woodlands is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion of southeastern Africa.
The ecoregion is characterized by the mopane tree ''(Colophospermum mopane)'', and extends across portions ...
occupy the warm, dry valley of the Shire River in the northeast of the district. The South Malawi montane forest-grassland mosaic covers the cooler and moister Shire Highlands. Zambezian and mopane woodlands and Eastern miombo woodlands
The Eastern miombo woodlands (AT0706) are an ecoregion of grassland and woodland in northern Mozambique, southern Tanzania, and southeastern Malawi.
Setting
These species-rich savanna ecosystems cover wide areas of gentle hills and low valleys co ...
extend across the Phalombe Plain. Zambezian flooded grasslands
The Zambezian flooded grasslands is an ecoregion of southern and eastern Africa that is rich in wildlife.
Setting
The Zambezian flooded grasslands can be found on seasonally- or permanently-flooded lowlands in the basin of the Zambezi and neighb ...
surround Lake Chilwa.
Most of the district's native forests have been cleared for agriculture or plantations of introduced pines (''Pinus patula
''Pinus patula'', commonly known as patula pine, spreading-leaved pine, or Mexican weeping pine, and in Spanish as ''pino patula'' or ''pino llorón'', (''patula'' Latin = “spreading”) is a tree native to the highlands of Mexico. It grows f ...
'') and eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...
.
Tourism
Tourism plays an increasing role in the district's economy. Attractions include the Zomba Plateau and Lake Chilwa
Lake Chilwa is the second-largest lake in Malawi after Lake Malawi. It is in eastern Zomba District, near the border with Mozambique. Approximately 60 km long and 40 km wide, the lake is surrounded by extensive wetlands. There is an isla ...
, historical relics and the natural environment of the district.
Health
Health services are provided mainly at health posts, clinics, health centres and hospitals. In addition, many people get medical treatment from traditional practitioners and traditional birth attendants. The crude birth rate for the district is estimated at 48.1 births per 1,000 Inhabitants. The total fertility rate stands at 5.3 children per woman. The infant mortality rate is 84 deaths per 1,000 live births and child mortality (14.4%) is among the highest in the country.
Infrastructure
Almost four-fifths of all households (79.6%) have access to safe drinking water, while access to sanitation facilities is still at 59%. Methods of refuse disposal include burning, dust bins, rubbish pits, random littering and, mainly for organic waste, integrating into garden and composite pits.
Education
Education in Zomba District is offered from pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary levels to adult literacy classes and vocational training. The services are provided by the government, religious institutions and private individuals. The district has experienced a sharp increase in school enrolment. Primary school net enrolment is currently at 87.2% against the country rate of 80.0%. However, the education sector in Zomba at all levels continues to face a number of challenges, including teacher qualification, shortages in the total number of teacher and student accommodations, lack of or dilapidated classrooms and lack of teaching materials.
Transportation
Zomba District is comparatively well connected. The main road passing through the district is the M3 road (Blantyre
Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...
- Zomba-Lilongwe
Lilongwe (, , ) is the capital and most populated city of the African country of Malawi. It has a population of 989,318 as of the 2018 Census, up from a population of 674,448 in 2008. In 2020 that figure was 1,122,000. The city is located in th ...
). The Zomba Phalombe road is under construction. Earth roads comprise many of the other types of roads connecting different places within the district. Bicycles and matola (hitch-hiking) are the most common means of transport, followed by regular buses and minibuses.
References
{{Authority control
Districts of Malawi
Districts in Southern Region, Malawi