Shinyanga, also known as Shinyanga Mji in the local Swahili language, is a city in northern

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 ...

. The city is the location of the regional headquarters of

Shinyanga Region __NOTOC__ Shinyanga Region (''Mkoa wa Shinyanga'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The regional capital is the municipality of Shinyanga. The region is bordered to the north by the Mwanza, Mara, and Kagera Regions ...

as well as the district headquarters of Shinyanga Urban District. The region and district are named after the town.

Location

Shinyanga is located in

Shinyanga District Shinyanga Urban District is one of the eight districts of the Shinyanga Region of Tanzania and includes the city of Shinyanga. It is bordered to the north by the Mwanza Region, to the south by the Shinyanga Rural District, to the east by the K ...

, in

, in northern

. The city is located approximately , by road, southeast of

Mwanza Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,182,000 in 2021, it is Tanzania's second largest cit ...

, the nearest large city. This location lies approximately , by road, northwest of Dodoma, the capital city of Tanzania. The coordinates of the city are: 3°39′43″S 33°25′23″E / 3.661945°S 33.423056°E / -3.661945; 33.423056.

Population

The 2002 national census estimated the population of Shinyanga at about 93,000. The 2012 national census listed the population of Shinyanga Municipal Council at 161,391. According to a 21 June 2022 news article i
Afrik21
the population now exceeds 200,000.

Landmarks

The current seven landmarks in the city of Shinyanga or near its borders, include the following: # The headquarters of Kahama Regional Administration # The headquarters of Shinyanga Urban District # The offices of Shinyanga City Council # Shinyanga Central Market # Shinyanga General Hospital # Shinyanga City Stadium - A public stadium administered by Shinyanga City Council #

River Mhumbu A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

- The chief source of water for the city, is located about , east of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the " cit ...

of Shinyanga. #

Williamson Diamond mine The Williamson Diamond Mine (also known as the Mwadui mine) is a diamond mine northeast of Shinyanga in Tanzania; it became well known as the first significant diamond mine outside of South Africa. The mine was established in 1940 by Dr. John Wi ...

Transport

Railway

Shinyanga is served by the Shinyanga Railway Station as a branch of the Central Railway of Tanzania.

Airport

Shinyanga Airport is located along Mwanza road in Ibadakuli Area.

Road

Shinyanga is served by the

Tabora Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226,9 ...

Highway. The highway passes conveniently through the center of Shinyanga.

Reforestation

The region has a

forest restoration Forest restoration is defined as “actions to re-instate ecological processes, which accelerate recovery of forest structure, ecological functioning and biodiversity levels towards those typical of climax forest” i.e. the end-stage of natural ...

program which is well documented by the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on ...

and the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration. The programme is featured in the film ''

Forests for the 21st Century ''Forests for the 21st Century'' is a short video promoting and explaining the benefits of forest landscape restoration. In the last few centuries people have removed more than half of the world's forest cover. Deforestation is currently respo ...

''.

References

{{Authority control Cities in the Great Rift Valley Populated places in Shinyanga Region Regional capitals in Tanzania