The Northern Region is a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), 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 ...

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

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

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

, Malawi's Central Region, and

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 ...

. The part of the Malawi-Tanzania border on Lake Malawi is a

disputed territory A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of territories (land, water or airspace) between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial disputes are often related to the ...

. Malawi claims that the border lies on the Tanzanian shoreline, but Tanzania claims that it lies in the middle of the lake. This dispute dates back to the 1890 Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty.

Geography

Of the 28

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 ...

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

Chitipa Chitipa is the capital of Chitipa District, Malawi and the birthplace of Malawian lawyer, politician, and philanthropist James Nyondo. It is also known as Fort Hill. It is very near Malawi's tri-point border with Zambia and Tanzania Tanza ...

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. Th ...

* Likoma * Mzimba * Nkhata Bay * Rumphi In addition to mainland parts of Malawi, the Northern Region also includes the islands of Chizumulu and Likoma in

, which together make up

Likoma District Likoma District is the least populous district of Malawi, which consists of two separate exclaves of Malawi situated within Mozambican waters in Lake Malawi (also known in Tanzania as Lake Nyasa and in surrounding Mozambique as Lago Niassa). It ...

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 and the biggest town is Mzuzu, which is also the administrative headquarters of the Northern Region. The district covers an area of 10,473 km2 and has a populatio ...

) *

City (

Karonga District Karonga is a district in the Northern Region of Malawi. The district covers an area of 3,355 km.² and has a population of 365,028. It is a border district between Malawi and Tanzania's Mbeya Region's Kyela District. Chitumbuka is the maj ...

) * Mzimba City (

) * Mzuzu City (

and the region's capital) * Rumphi City ( Rumphi District) * Nkhata Bay City ( Nkhata Bay District)

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 An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

was as follows:2018 Malawi Population and Housing Census Main Report
/ref> * 68.4% Tumbuka * 10.6%

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

* 6.9% Nkhonde * 4.0% Chewa * 4.2% Lambya * 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 Southern Malawi, particularly around Chikwawa in the Shire River valley of southern Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by ...

* 5.1% Others

References

Regions of Malawi {{Malawi-geo-stub