The Northern Region is a

region 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 an ...

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 northeas ...

. It had a population of 2,289,780 in 2018, and covers an area of 26,931 km², making it the smallest region both by population and area. Its capital city is

Mzuzu Mzuzu is the capital of Malawi's Northern Region and is the third largest city by population in Malawi. The city has 221,272 residents and 20,000 commuters ( Mzuzu University students) with about 1.7 million people in its metropolitan area. It ...

. Starting in the north and going clockwise, the Northern Region borders on

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 ...

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 fr ...

, Malawi's Central Region, and

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

Geography

Of the 28 districts in Malawi, six are located within the Northern Region. *

Chitipa Chitipa is the capital of Chitipa District Chitipa District is the northernmost district in the Northern Region of Malawi. The capital is Chitipa (formerly known as Fort Hill). The district covers an area of 4,288 km.², and has a popula ...

Karonga Karonga is a township in the Karonga District in Northern Region of Malawi. Located on the western shore of Lake Nyasa, it was established as a slaving centre sometime before 1877. As of 2018 estimates, Karonga has a population of 61,609. Hi ...

* Likoma *

Mzimba Mzimba is a town in the Mzimba District of Malawi. The district is inhabited by descendants of Tumbuka and few Ngoni people. The district of Mzimba has a number of Traditional Authorities from the Ngoni people. The head of these Traditional ...

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 accord ...

Rumphi Rumphi is the capital of the Rumphi District (Rumphi Boma) in the Northern Region of Malawi. It is a lively town with a market which serves the widespread farming community. Rumphi is noted for the kindness of the people (it is even rude to p ...

In addition to mainland parts of Malawi, the Northern Region also includes the islands of

Chizumulu Chizumulu Island is the smaller of two islands in Lake Malawi, the larger being the nearby Likoma island, which together make up the Likoma District. Both these islands lie just a few kilometres from Mozambique and are entirely surrounded by Moza ...

and Likoma in

, which together make up Likoma District.

Communities

Major cities

Prominent townships and cities in the region include: * Ekwendeni City (

Mzimba District Mzimba is a district in the Northern Region of Malawi. The capital is Mzimba. The district covers an area of 10,430 km.² and has a population of 610,944. It is the largest district in Malawi. Geography The Viphya Mountains extend through ...

) *

City ( Karonga District) *

City (

) *

City (which is also the capital city of

and the region itself) *

City ( Rumphi District) *

City (

Nkhata Bay District Nkhata Bay is a district in the Northern Region of Malawi. The capital is Nkhata Bay. The district covers an area of 4,071 km.² and has a population of 164,761. Lake Malawi bounds the district on the east. The western portion of the distri ...

)

Towns

*Mtawali *Maganga

Demographics

At the time of the 2018 Census of Malawi, the distribution of the population of the Northern Region by ethnic group was as follows:2018 Malawi Population and Housing Census Main Report
/ref> * 68.4% Tumbuka * 10.6%

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 ...

* 6.9% Nkhonde * 4.0%

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 ...

* 4.2%

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 ...

* 3.9% Ngoni * 2.7% Sukwa * 1.3% Lomwe * 1.1% Yao * 0.2% Sena * 0.1%

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 ...

* 5.1% Others

References

Regions of Malawi {{Malawi-geo-stub