Songwe Region (''Mkoa wa Songwe'' in
Swahili) is one of
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 and ...
's 31 administrative
regions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
. The region covers a land area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
. Songwe Region borders the countries of
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
and
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 ...
to the south:
Tunduma
Tunduma is a town in Songwe Region, Tanzania, on the border between Tanzania and Zambia. It has border posts for both the Tanzam Highway and the TAZARA railway (for which it has a station) linking the two countries. It is located 103 km southwest ...
is the main entry point into Zambia while
Isongole is the main entry point into Malawi. Songwe also borders the Tanzanian regions of
Rukwa
Rukwa Region (''Mkoa wa Rukwa'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions with a postcode number 55000. The regional capital is the municipality of Sumbawanga. According to the 2012 national census, the region had a population ...
and
Katavi in the west,
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. ...
in the north, and Mbeya in the east.
Lake Rukwa
Lake Rukwa is an endorheic lake located the Rukwa Valley of Rukwa Region, Songwe Region and Katavi Region in southwestern Tanzania. The lake is the third largest inland body of water in the country.
Geography
The alkaline Lake Rukwa lies midway ...
is a major body of water in the western part of the region. The region was created on 29 January 2016 from the western half of
Mbeya Region
Mbeya Region (''Mkoa wa Mbeya'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Guinea Bissau. Mbeya Region is bordere ...
.
The regional capital is
Vwawa.
According to the 2022 national census, the region had a population of 1,344,687.
Geography
The Songwe Region is situated in Tanzania's southern highlands, between latitudes 7° and 9° 36' south of the equator, and between longitudes 30° and 33° 41' east of the Greenwich meridian. The region is part of the
Southern Highlands of Tanzania.
Climate
The East African Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a series of contiguous geographic trenches, approximately in total length, that runs from Lebanon in Asia to Mozambique in Southeast Africa. While the name continues in some usages, it is rarely used in geology as it i ...
's northern and western arms extend from north of Lake Nyasa, creating the naturally tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
Songwe Region. From early September to late April, the region enjoys the hot season, and from May to late August, the cold season. In the lowlands of Lake Rukwa, Songwe, and Momba, the greatest temperatures reach 25°C, while in the mountains around Mbozi, Tunduma, and Ileje, they reach 16°C. The Songwe Region only experiences one lengthy rainy season, which typically lasts from November to mid-May of the following year and averages between 750 mm and 2000 mm annually.
Economy
Agriculture
Since agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
employs roughly 75% of households in the Songwe Region and forms the backbone of income for the local economy, it is the region's main economic activity. Due to the region's favorable weather for agriculture and the composition of the soil, the sector has better control. One of the top 7 agricultural producers in the country is the Songwe region.
The Songwe Region is well known for producing food crops and is one of the best regions for cultivating them. Several food crops, including maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
, paddy
Paddy may refer to:
People
*Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname
*An List of ethnic slurs#P, ethnic slur for an Irishman
Birds
*Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon
*Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird ...
, beans
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
, sorghum
''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...
, sweet potatoes
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young sho ...
, bananas
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
, and potatoes
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...
, are grown in the region. In the area, maize production has been higher than that of beans, paddy, and rice.
Additionally, the region is well-known for producing a number of cash crops, primarily coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
, pyrethrum
''Pyrethrum'' was a genus of several Old World plants now classified as ''Chrysanthemum'' or ''Tanacetum'' which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name for plants formerly inclu ...
, sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...
, sesame
Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...
, tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
, and peanut
The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...
. The crops provide the area's inhabitants with a significant source of income. Among the region's cash crops, coffee has the largest market share, followed by sesame and sunflower.
The Songwe Region's and its inhabitants' livelihoods are significantly influenced by the livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
sector. Numerous animals are kept by Songwe, including pigs (79,513), chickens (79,513), donkeys (4,739), goats (244,024), sheep (33,599), and 410,390 cattle (1,137,708). A popular activity in Songwe Region's Songwe and Momba District Councils along Lake Rukwa is fishing. People who live near the lake often earn a living by fishing.
Industry
The industrial economy in Songwe Region has drawn a number of investments. 57.24 percent of all small-scale investments were made in 2015 to support various industries and services, including maize milling. At the district level, Mbozi had the most small-scale businesses—1, 258 in all—followed by Tunduma (358), Ileje (330), Momba (222), and Songwe, which had the fewest—152. Milling machines (1,328) and carpentry (559), welding (158), garage (130), and oil processing were the top four small-scale enterprises, out of a total of 2,320.
GDP
The Songwe Region had a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.656 and a GDP per capita of TZS 2,301,974 according to the 2017 Tanzania Human Development Report (THDR)1. The study found that the average lifespan in the area was 58.3 years.
Transport
Both the Tanzam Highway
The Tanzam Highway leads from Lusaka in Zambia to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The highway was built from 1968 to 1973 in several stages and was intended to provide seaport access for Zambia and to expand the transport options for Zambia, Malawi ...
and the TAZARA Railway
The Tazara Railway, also called the Uhuru Railway or the Tanzam Railway, is a railway in East Africa linking the port of Dar es Salaam in east Tanzania with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia's Central Province. The single-track railway is ...
run through Vwawa and Tunduma in the southern part of the Songwe Region. Tanzam refers to the Tanzania -Zambia Highway, while TAZARA refers to the Tanzania and Zambia Railway Authority that was completed in 1975 to facilitate transportation of heavy goods and people between the two countries with the help of the Chinese government.
Tourism
Natural and cultural attractions can be found in Songwe Region. Historic locations including Nyayo za Watu wa Kale, Galula Catholic Church Mti wa Mapumziko-Wakoloni, Kisima cha Wakoloni, Jiwe la, Michoro ya Kale, Unyayo Kwenye Mwamba, Mwenetontela and Makaburi ya Wakoloni.
Sceneic mountains found in Songwe Region include; Kwimba Mountain, Kipala Mountain, Linzitwa Cave, Mount Ilomwa, Kisumbuzi Mountain Kasitu Mountain, Chingambo Mountain, Mount Mwenekawenga, Mount Pungwe, Mount Chingambo, Mount Mlomba,Mount Ng'ongo, Mount Malinga.
Forest reserves in Songwe Region are Kaisumbe Forest, Tiru Forest, Msawe Forest, Mengo Forest, Nonda Chambo Forest, Champande Forest And Chingambo Forest. Rivers include Momba River and Songwe River.
Population
The first communities in the region are the Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
*Black Association for National ...
peoples. The native communities in the region are the Nyiha The Nyiha are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group based in Mbeya Region, Tanzania and northeastern Zambia. In 1993 the Nyiha population was estimated to number 626,000, of which 306,000 were in Tanzania and 320,000 were in Zambia.
The Nyiha are scattere ...
, Nyamwanga
Mwanga, or Namwanga (Nyamwanga), is a Bantu language spoken by the Mwanga people in the Northern Province of Zambia (mainly in the districts of Isoka and Nakonde) and in Mbeya Region, Tanzania. The 2010 Zambian census found 140,000 speakers. The ...
, Ndali, Manda
Manda may refer to:
Places
* Kafr Manda, Arab town in the Lower Galilee
* Manda Upazila, an upazila in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh
* Manda, Kale, a village in Burma
* Manda, Guinea, a town in the Labé Region
* Manda, Jammu, India, a vil ...
, Bungu and 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 ...
. The Nyiha are the majority and the indigenous ethnic group living in Mbozi District, Ndali and Lambya in Ileje, Bungu and Manda in Songwe, while Nyamwanga is known to be the indigenous of Momba District. Nyihas are the largest ethnic group in the region with an estimated population of 450,000 by 2017.
Demographics
The local government areas now comprising Songwe Region reported a combined population of 998,862 in the 2012 census, 46 percent of whom were under 15 years old. The same areas reported a population of 723,480 in the 2002 Tanzanian census, yielding an annual population growth rate of 3.2 percent between 2002 and 2012.[ In 2017 the population of the region was projected at 1,173,667 inhabitants.]
Administrative divisions
Districts
Songwe Region is divided into the town of Tunduma and the 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 ...
of Ileje, Mbozi, Momba and Songwe.[ Tunduma is subdivided into 15 wards and 71 ''mitaa'' (streets),][ while the four districts are subdivided into 11 divisions, 79 wards, 307 villages and 1493 hamlets.][
The commissioner of Songwe Region is Omary Tebweta Mgumba, who was appointed on 15 May 2021.]
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Regions of Tanzania
States and territories established in 2016
2016 establishments in Tanzania