Beira () is the capital and largest

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Sofala Province Sofala is a Provinces of Mozambique, province of Mozambique. It has a population of 2,259,248 (2017 census). Beira, Mozambique, Beira is the capital of the province, named for the ruined port of Sofala which is to the south. History Portuguese ...

, in the central region of

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. Beira is where the

Pungwe River Pungwe River ( or ''Rio Púnguè'') is a long river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It rises below Mount Nyangani in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and then flows southeastwards through the Manica and Sofala provinces of Mozambique. The Pungwe e ...

meets the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. It is the fourth-largest city by population in Mozambique, after

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

Matola Matola is the largest suburb of the Mozambique capital, Maputo, adjacent to its westernmost side. It is the nation's most populated city. Matola is the capital of Maputo Province and has had its own elected municipal government since 1998. It ...

and

Nampula Nampula is the capital city of Nampula Province in Northern Mozambique. With a population of 743,125 (2017 census), it is the third-largest city in Mozambique after Maputo and Matola. The city is located in the interior of Nampula Province, appro ...

. Beira had a population of 397,368 in 1997, which grew to 530,604 in 2019. A coastal city, it holds the regionally significant

Port of Beira The Port of Beira is a Mozambican port located in the city of Beira, capital of the Sofala Province. It is located in Sofala Bay, which forms a huge complex with the mouth of the Pungoe River, known as the Beira estuary, facing the Mozambique C ...

, which acts as a gateway for both the central interior portion of the country as well as the land-locked nations of

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

. Originally called Chiveve after a local river, it was renamed Beira to honour the

Portuguese Crown This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the n ...

prince Dom Luís Filipe (titled

Prince of Beira Prince of Beira (, feminine: ''Princesa da Beira'') is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the King of Portugal, throne of Portugal. The title's original use that it be granted on the eldest daughter of the reigning monarch of P ...

, itself referring to the traditional Portuguese province of Beira), who had visited Mozambique in the early 20th century. It was first developed by the Portuguese

Mozambique Company The Mozambique Company (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Companhia de Moçambique'') was a royal company operating in Portuguese Mozambique that had the concession of the lands in the Portuguese colony, corresponding to the present provinces of M ...

in the 19th century, supplanting

Sofala Sofala , at present known as Nova Sofala , used to be the chief seaport of the Mwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. The first recorded use of this port town w ...

as the country's main port. It was then directly developed by the Portuguese colonial government from 1947 until Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal in 1975. Beira is the second largest seaport for international cargo transportation to Mozambique after

. In March 2019, the city was heavily damaged by

Cyclone Idai Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai () was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. The long-lived storm caused catastrophic damage, and a humanitarian crisis in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, le ...

, destroying up to 90% of the city.

Geography

Beira is located on the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...

, an

arm In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between ...

of the

located between

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and

. The city sits north of the mouth of the convergence of two major rivers of Mozambique: the Buzi River and the

. The Buzi crosses across Manica and

provinces to form a wide

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

. The Pungwe crosses from the

Eastern Highlands :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe ...

of Zimbabwe also through Manica and Sofala provinces to Beira.

History

The city was established in 1890 by the Portuguese and soon supplanted

as the main port in the Portuguese-administered territory. Originally called Chiveve, after a local river, it was renamed to honor the

prince Dom Luís Filipe who, in 1907, was the first member of the Portuguese royal family to visit Mozambique. Traditionally the Portuguese Crown prince carried the title of

, a historical province of

mainland Portugal Continental Portugal (, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the Iberian Peninsula and so in continental Europe, having approximately 95% of the total population and 96.6% of the country's l ...

. The Portuguese built the port and a railway to

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

, Portuguese families settled in the newly founded locality and started to develop commercial activities. With the growth of the village, in 1907 the Portuguese Crown elevated Beira to the status of city (''cidade''). Headquarters of the ''Companhia de Moçambique'' (

) from 1891, the city's administration passed from the trading company to the Portuguese government in 1942. In 1966, the construction of a new railway station was completed. Before Mozambique's independence from Portugal, as a city of

Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...

, Beira was noted for its well-equipped

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

, one of the major facilities of its kind in all

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

. The city prospered as a cosmopolitan port with different ethnic communities (Portuguese, Indian, Chinese, Bantus such as the

Sena Sena may refer to: Places * Sanandaj or Sena, city in northwestern Iran * Sena (state constituency), represented in the Perlis State Legislative Assembly * Sena, a Medieval Catalan exonym for Siena, Italy * Sena, Dashtestan, village in Bushehr P ...

and Ndau) employed in administration, commerce, and industry. A large English-speaking population was the result of being a favourite holiday destination for

white Rhodesians White Zimbabweans (formerly White Rhodesians) are a Southern African people of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, these people of European ethnic origin are mostly English-speaking descendants of British settlers ...

. One reminder of this is the Grande Hotel, built by the Portuguese, near the shore of the

. By 1970, the city of Beira had 113,770 inhabitants.

Independence

After independence from Portugal in 1975, many white ethnic Portuguese left the city. Mozambique was ravaged by a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

from 1977 to 1992, opposing

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

FRELIMO FRELIMO (; from , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It has governed the country since its independence from Portugal in 1975. Founded in 1962, FRELIMO began as a nationalist movement fighting for the self-determination ...

, which controlled the government, to the rebels of

RENAMO RENAMO (from the Portuguese , ) is a Mozambican political party and militant group. The party was founded with the active sponsorship of the Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) in May 1977 from anti-communist dissidents oppos ...

, descending to near total chaos in a couple of years. The famine, disease and poverty-stricken country collapsed. In Beira, the famous Grande Hotel was occupied by around 1,000 homeless Beirans, and by the end of the civil war it was in near-ruins. The

2000 Mozambique flood The 2000 Mozambique flood was a natural disaster that occurred in February and March 2000. The catastrophic flooding was caused by heavy rainfall caused by Cyclone Leon-Eline that lasted for four weeks and made many homeless. Approximately 800 pe ...

devastated Beira and the surrounding region, leaving millions homeless and severely damaging the local economy. During the campaign for the local elections in 2013, which culminated in the victory of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) in the municipality, the Munhava district was the scene of violent clashes between police and supporters of the MDM. In 2019,

caused extreme devastation in Beira. It struck the city on March 14, 2019, with winds of up to 177 km/h (106 mph), and caused flooding up to six meters deep across Mozambique.

Climate

Beira features a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(Köppen Aw). Average temperature in January is and in July (the coldest month) it's . The rainy season runs roughly from November to April.

Water and sanitation

Access to drinking water and sanitation in Mozambique was historically a major problem, alike many of the sub-Saharan African nations. It has been estimated that in developing countries, around 80% of all disease arises as a direct result of inadequate sanitation, poor hygiene, and contaminated water. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, each day around six thousand people die from diseases caused by poor sanitation, while another 300 million Africans have no access to clean water. For Mozambique in 1992, around a fifth of the country's households had access to potable water and the situation for wastewater provision was even worse. This was a serious public health issue in an area where cholera, dysentery and other water-borne diseases are endemic. With the inauguration of the new water treatment plant at Mutua in May 2007, an important milestone was passed in Mozambique's ambitious drive towards improving its provision of potable water and sanitation. Doubling the supply of water to the cities of Beira and Dondo, the plant was opened by the country's President Armando Emílio Guebuza the day after he formally launched the next stage of the project to deal with Beira's sewage. Construction of the Beira treatment plant was carried out during a period of 30 months and was completed in June 2012. This latest part of the scheme consists of rehabilitating the existing sanitation network, together with the construction of a number of new system elements to extend and upgrade the sewers, wastewater treatment facilities and a drainage system. The new water plant cost €5.6m, while the Beira sanitation system cost €62.65m, with the EU providing €52.95m, and the remaining €9.7m provided by the Mozambique Government.

Demographics

Transportation

Beira has long been a major trade point for exports coming in and out of Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and other Southern African nations. Because of this, the

port of Beira The Port of Beira is a Mozambican port located in the city of Beira, capital of the Sofala Province. It is located in Sofala Bay, which forms a huge complex with the mouth of the Pungoe River, known as the Beira estuary, facing the Mozambique C ...

is the second largest in Mozambique. The importance of the port was shown during the Mozambique Civil War, when Zimbabwean troops protected the

Beira–Bulawayo railway Beira-Bulawayo railway, also called Machipanda railway, Beira-Harare-Bulawayo railway and Beira railway, is a railway that connects the city of Beira, Mozambique, Beira, Mozambique, to the city of Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe. It is 850 km long, in a 3 ...

and Beira to Mutare highway in order to continue trade. The railway to Zimbabwe was originally in 1890, but was converted to in 1900. In 2008, the Mozambique transportation minister,

Paulo Zucula Paulo Zucula (born 1955) is a Mozambique, Mozambican politician and Mozambique's Minister of Transportation and Communication since March 2008. Biography Early life Born in 1955, Zucula studied agronomy at the Eduardo Mondlane University in Mapu ...

, stated that the government is planning on modernizing the Beira and more northern Nacala ports for an estimated cost of $900m; $500m and 400m respectively. The government has also stated that it plans on modernizing surrounding railway and highway infrastructure so that the port is better connected to the nation's mines. There is also a ferry service in Beira, linking the city to neighboring cities, including Nova Sofala and other coastal towns. Beira is served by an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

to the northeast of the city, with both domestic and international flights.

Education

The city has three public university campuses, namely the Zambeze University (with headquarters and rectory in the city), the Licungo University and the Higher Institute of Health Sciences. One of the major universities here is the

Catholic University of Mozambique The Catholic University of Mozambique (, UCM) is a university in Mozambique. UCM was founded on August 10, 1996, by the Mozambican conference of Bishops to make higher education available to central and northern Mozambique. Before UCM's creati ...

which was established in 1996 by the

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and affiliated with the

International Federation of Catholic Universities The International Federation of Catholic Universities () is an organisation of 226 Catholic universities throughout the world. The secretariat is at the Institut Catholique de Paris. History The federation has its origins in collaboration in 192 ...

(IFCU). This private university is locally known as Universidade Catolica de Mocambique (UCM) and has been officially recognized by Mozambique's Ministry of Education and Culture (or Ministério da Educação e Cultura) which oversees the overall education system. A second major university is the Jean Piaget University of Mozambique, locally termed da Universidade Jean Piaget de Moçambique(UNIPIAGET). This

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

based University was founded in 2004 by

Instituto Piaget Instituto Piaget is a Portuguese private institution of higher education. It provides both university and polytechnic higher education in a number of fields. Instituto Piaget was named after the Swiss philosopher and developmental psychologist Je ...

, a non-profit cooperative, and is just one of seven campuses established across the globe. There is a Portuguese international school, Escola Portuguesa da Beira.

Places of worship

Among the

places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...

, they are predominantly

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

churches and temples:

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Beira The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Beira () is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Beira in Mozambique. History * 4 September 1940: Established as Diocese of Beira from the Territorial Prelature of Mozambique * 6 October 1 ...

(

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

), Reformed Church in Mozambique, Igreja Presbiteriana de Moçambique (both

World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...

), Convenção Baptista de Moçambique (

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...

Universal Church of the Kingdom of God The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG; ; , IURD) is an international Evangelical Neo-charismatic movement, Neo-charismatic Christian denomination with its headquarters at the Temple of Solomon (UCKG), Temple of Solomon in São Paulo, B ...

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

Zion Christian Church 300px, Zion City Moria beside the R71 route, Limpopo The Zion Christian Church (ZCC) is one of the largest African-initiated churches operating across Southern Africa, and is part of the African Zionism movement. The church's headquarters ...

, and

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

. There are also

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

mosques.

Sports

The city is home to

Clube Ferroviário da Beira (basketball) Clube Ferroviário da Beira (in English: Railway Club Beira) is a basketball club from Beira, Mozambique. The team plays in the national Mozambican Division I Basketball League, Mozambican Basketball League (LMB) and has won the national championsh ...

International relations

Beira has been twinned with Bristol, UK, since 1990 and the Bristol-Beira Link manages a range of projects in education, culture, commerce, and disability.

Twin towns – sister cities

Beira is twinned with: *

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, United Kingdom (since 1990) *

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, Portugal *

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, United States (since 1990) *

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, Italy *

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

, Portugal (since 1997) * Bender, Moldova *

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

, Angola *

Gqeberha Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipa ...

, South Africa (since 2008)

Notable people

Mia Couto António Emílio Leite Couto, better known as Mia Couto (born 5 July 1955), is a Mozambican writer. He won the Camões Prize in 2013, the most important literary award in the Portuguese language, and the Neustadt International Prize for Litera ...

(born 1955), writer * Pedro Boese (born 1972), artist *

Carlos Cardoso Carlos Cardoso may refer to: * Carlos Cardoso (journalist) Carlos Alberto Lopes Cardoso (10 August 1951 – 22 November 2000) was a Portuguese-Mozambican investigative journalist. His assassination in 2000 followed his newspaper's investigation ...

(1951-2000), journalist *

Tasha de Vasconcelos Tasha Sandra Mota e Cunha de Vasconcelos (born 15 August 1966) is a Mozambican-born Portuguese-Canadian model, actress and humanitarian ambassador. She is also the ambassador for the Institut Pasteur. She has just been appointed as a UN Women G ...

(born 1966), actress, top model *

Reinildo Mandava Reinildo Isnard Mandava (born 21 January 1994), also known mononymously as Reinildo, is a Mozambican professional footballer who plays as a left back the Mozambique national team. Club career Born in Beira, Mandava began his football career w ...

(born 1994), association football player

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Municipio da Beira
an official site of the Municipality of Beira, with news and recent pictures
Cidade da Beira
a Portuguese language site with some old and new pictures {{Authority control Populated places in Sofala Province Provincial capitals in Mozambique Populated coastal places in Mozambique Mozambique Channel Populated places established in 1890