Zambezia Province

Zambezia (Portuguese: Zambézia) is the second most-populous province of Mozambique. It is located in the central coastal region, and it borders the provinces of Niassa to the north, Nampula to the northeast, Sofala to the southwest, Tete to the west and the country of Malawi to the northwest. It has a population of 5.11 million, according to the 2017 census. The provincial capital is Quelimane.

Zambezia has a total area of 103,478 km. The 2,574 kilometre Zambezi River runs through Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and the Tete, Manica and Sofala provinces of Mozambique before emptying into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Zambezia, constituting its western border. Mangroves are predominant along the coast and considerable forests can be found inland, with a scattering of estuaries and rivers.

Zambezia's islands lie in the Primeiras e SegundasEnvironmental Protection Area. These islands split into the Primeiras Islands and Segundas Islands (First Islands and Second Islands in Portuguese) and are largely uninhabited, aside from providing a stop-off for artisanal fishers. At present, only Ilha do Fogo, one of the Primeiras Islands, has infrastructure. It runs solely on clean energy, using solar power, and offers ecotourism retreats.

Agricultural products include rice, maize, cassava, cashews, sugarcane, soybeans, coconuts, citrus, cotton, and tea. The country's largest tea estates are at Gurúè, while Lioma is a centre of soybean production. Fishing is especially productive of shrimp, and gemstones are mined at several sites.

Vasco da Gama landed at the site of Quelimane in 1498. Shortly after, the Portuguese established a permanent presence, and many moved up the Zambezi into the interior, for numerous years the furthest inland European presence (although over time there was much intermarrying, and few residents were of purely Portuguese descent).