Nkhata Bay is a

district 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 Northern 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 ...

. The capital is

Nkhata Bay Nkhata Bay or just Nkhata is the capital of the Nkhata Bay District in Malawi. It is on the shore of Lake Malawi (formerly Lake Nyasa), east of Mzuzu, and is one of the main ports on Lake Malawi. The population of Nkhata Bay was 14,274 accordin ...

. The district covers an area of 4,071 km.² and has a population of 164,761.

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

bounds the district on the east. The western portion of the district lies in the

Viphya Mountains The Viphya Mountains, also known as the Viphya Plateau or Viphya Highlands, are a mountain range in Malawi's Northern Region. Geography The range runs north-northeast along the west shore of Lake Malawi. The range extends approximately 210 km ...

. Nkhata Bay District houses the charity grou
Ripple Africa
in Mwaya and the charity Temwa, in Usisya.

Government and administrative divisions

There are six

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 Nkhata Bay: * Nkhata Bay - Central * Nkhata Bay - North * Nkhata Bay - North West * Nkhata Bay - South * Nkhata Bay - South East * Nkhata Bay - West

Demographics

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 Nkhata Bay 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: * 66.2%

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 ...

* 9.7% Tumbuka * 6.6%

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 ...

* 1.3% Lomwe * 1.2% Nkhonde * 1.1% Ngoni * 0.9% Yao * 0.7% Sukwa * 0.7%

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 ...

* 0.2%

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. They speak a dialect of the Nyanja language, and are a branch of the Amaravi people. As of 1996 their popul ...

* 0.2%

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 ...

* 0.2% Sena * 1.2% Others

Culture

Nkhata Bay is populated by the Tonga. However some parts like Usisya have Tumbuka people. The predominant language is Chitonga. Other languages like Chitumbuka, Chichewa, Khobwe, English and kiyankhonde are also spoken. The people of Nkhata Bay have several dances that they play according to seasons. Some of the dominant cultural dances are Malipenga (men), Chilimika (women) and Honala. These dances are devoid of a religious attachment. They are danced for entertainment.

Economy

The majority of the people in the district are agriculturalists growing cassava, which is their staple food. Apart from cassava they also grow groundnuts, bananas, maize, pigeon peas and millet. The people along the lake earn their living through fishing. They catch usipa, batala, utaka, bombe among others. Very few of the populace are in wage employment at Chombe and Vizara where tea and rubber are cultivated. Most of the times, 80% of the male active population goes to work in other countries such as Tanzania and South Africa. Nkhata Bay much known by European tourists and regard it as Switzerland of Malawi due to its mild to moist weather and hilly terrain.

Notable residents

*Edgar Ching'oli Chirwa - Architect of

Malawi Congress Party The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is a politics of Malawi, political party in Malawi. It was formed as a successor party to the banned Nyasaland African Congress when the country, then known as Nyasaland, was under British rule. The MCP, under H ...

Kanyama Chiume Kanyama Chiume (22 November 1929 – 21 November 2007), born Murray William Kanyama Chiume, was a leading nationalist in the struggle for Malawi's independence in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also one of the leaders of the Nyasaland African Congress ...

- Minister of Education and made strides to improve the Malawi Education Curriculum *Yesaya Zelenji Mwase - father and founder of the Blackman's Church of African Presbytery now changed to Church of Africa Presbytery with Ching'oma as his church's headquarters. Great Angels Choir is a daughter of this church but is based in Lilongwe with Rev. Zonda as its current General Secretary. *Manowa Chirwa * Aleke Kadonaphani Banda-one of the district's most popular politicians. Was the district's most youngest person to go into journalism and is the brainchild of Blantyre Newspapers which came after Nyasaland Times. * Clements Kadalie, Trade Union leader in South Africa. *Wiseman Chijere Chirwa: professor *Wisdom Achimalemba Mawowa - another upcoming hero in Nkhata bay central. *Richard Banda SC is a Malawian barrister and former athlete. He is a judge who formerly served as Chief Justice of Malawi and Swaziland and as Minister of Justice in Malawi. He was president of the Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association and Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal. As a sportsman, Banda was a track and field athlete and soccer player. He is the spouse of the former President of Malawi, Joyce Banda and, as such, was the First Gentleman.History Section, Department of Antiquities, Malawi From Nkhata-bay we have seen football players make a cut in the national team and national Football league clubs as professionals, these are Richard Banda Mwanabola, Christopher Banda, Charles Phiri, John Banda, Spy Msisya, Zolo Msisya, Frank Banda, Ficher Kondowe, Micium Mhone without excluding famous players like Brain Malowe Ndau, Aaron Chulu, Charles Kheza, Joe Mkumbira Phiri, Abel Mkandawire who played in bigger clubs in the national Premier league of Malawi.

Gallery

References

{{Authority control Districts of Malawi Districts in Northern Region, Malawi