Namaacha District 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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
of
Maputo Province
Maputo Province is a province of Mozambique; the province excludes the city of Maputo (which comprises a separate province). The province has an area of and a population of 1,968,906 (2017 census). Its capital is the city of Matola.
Geography
...
in southern
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
. The principal town is
Namaacha
Namaacha or Naamacha is a town in southern Mozambique, lying 80 kilometers west of Maputo on the border with Eswatini. It is located in the Lebombos area. It is known for its colonial church and for its waterfall.
The town of Namaacha lies in ...
. The district is located in the southwest of the province, and borders with
Moamba District in the north,
Boane District in the east,
Matutuíne District in the south, and with
Eswatini and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
in the west. The area of the district is .
It has a population of 41,914 as of 2007.
Geography
The principal rivers in the district are the
Movene River, the
Mabenga River, the
Calichane River, the
Impaputo River, and the
Umbelúzi River.
The eastern part of
Lebombo Mountains
The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains ( pt, Montes Libombos), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in ...
is in the district.
The climate is tropical humid, varying with altitude, with the average annual rainfall being .
History
The name Namaacha originates from the king
Lomahacha, who was active in the area before the Portuguese colonization. In 1869, the
Treaty of Pretoria gave the area to Portugal.
Demographics
As of 2005, 40% of the population of the district was younger than 15 years. 63% of the population spoke Portuguese. The most common mothertongue among the population was
Xichangana
Tsonga () or Xitsonga ( ''Xitsonga'') as an endonym, is a Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people of southern Africa. It is mutually intelligible with Tswa and Ronga and the name "Tsonga" is often used as a cover term for all three, ...
. 44% were analphabetic, mostly women.
Administrative divisions
The district is divided into two
postos,
Namaacha
Namaacha or Naamacha is a town in southern Mozambique, lying 80 kilometers west of Maputo on the border with Eswatini. It is located in the Lebombos area. It is known for its colonial church and for its waterfall.
The town of Namaacha lies in ...
(six localities) and
Changalane (four localities).
Economy
6% of the households in the district have access to electricity.
Agriculture
In the district, there are 15,000 farms which have on average of land. The main agricultural products are corn,
cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...
,
cowpea
The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, ...
, peanut, and sweet potato.
Transportation
There is a road network in the district long, which includes a stretches of national roads EN2, connecting
Maputo
Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the 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 1,0 ...
and Eswatini.
References
{{Coord, 25, 58, S, 32, 02, E, region:MZ_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title
Districts in Maputo Province