Mzimba 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 counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in the Northern Region of

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

. The capital is

Mzimba Mzimba is a town in the Mzimba District of Malawi. The district is inhabited by descendants of Tumbuka and few Ngoni people. The district of Mzimba has a number of Traditional Authorities from the Ngoni people. The head of these Traditional A ...

. The district covers an area of 10,430 km.² and has a population of 610,944. It is the largest district in Malawi.

Geography

The

Viphya Mountains The Viphya Mountains, also known as the Viphya Plateau or Viphya Highlands, are a mountain range in Malawi's Northern Region. Geography The range runs north-northeast along the west shore of Lake Malawi. The range extends approximately 210 km ...

extend through the southern and eastern portion of the district. The Mzimba Plain occupies the central portion of the district, drained by the

South Rukuru River The South Rukuru River is a river of northern Malawi. The South Rukuru rises in southern Mzimba District, and flows roughly north-northeast to empty into Lake Malawi. Its watershed mostly lies in the Mzimba Plain. Its tributaries drain the weste ...

and its tributaries. The western boundary of the district lies along the Malawi-

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

border, where a low divide separates the basin of the South Rukuru from Zambia's

Luangwa River The Luangwa River is one of the major tributaries of the Zambezi River, and one of the four biggest rivers of Zambia. The river generally floods in the rainy season (December to March) and then falls considerably in the dry season. It is one of ...

basin. File:Mzimba Boma.jpg, Mzimba Boma File:Reserve Bank of Malawi Mzuzu.jpg, Reserve Bank of Malawi Mzuzu Branch File:Mzimba Bus Depot.jpg, Mzimba Bus Depot

Government

There are twelve

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

constituencies in Mzimba: * Mzimba - Central * Mzimba - East * Mzimba - Hora * Mzimba - Luwelezi * Mzimba - Mzuzu City * Mzimba - North * Mzimba - North East * Mzimba - Solora * Mzimba - South * Mzimba - South East * Mzimba - South West * Mzimba - West Since 2009.

Cities in Mzimba District

(capital) *

Mzuzu Mzuzu is the capital of Malawi's Northern Region and is the third largest city by population in Malawi. The city has 221,272 residents and 20,000 commuters (Mzuzu University students) with about 1.7 million people in its metropolitan area. It i ...

* Ekwendeni

Economy

The most common occupations are

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

of maize and beans supplemented by cattle herding, in addition

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

is grown as a cash crop. There are currently 98 active educational committees in Mzimba.

Demographics

At the time of the

2018 Census of Malawi The 2018 Malawi census was the sixth national census in Malawi, which took place on 3-23 September 2018. The population of Malawi was counted as 17,563,749 – an increase of 4,534,251 (34.8%) over the 2008 census. Preliminary results from the ...

, the distribution of the population of Mzimba District by

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

was as follows: * 78.3% Tumbuka * 9.1%

Chewa Chewa may refer to: *the Chewa people *the Chewa language Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambiq ...

* 6.3% Ngoni * 1.4% Lomwe * 1.1% Yao * 1.0%

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

* 0.9% Sukwa * 0.4%

Lambya The Lambya, also known as the Nkoya, are an ethnic and linguistic group based along the border of northwestern Malawi and in Mbeya Region, Tanzania. A minority also exists in Zambia. In 2001 the Lambya population was estimated to number 85,000, i ...

* 0.3% Nkhonde * 0.1% Sena * 0.1%

Mang'anja The Mang'anja are a Bantu people of central and southern Africa, particularly around Chikwawa in the Shire River valley of southern Malawi. They speak a dialect of the Nyanja language, and are a branch of the Amaravi people. As of 1996 their popul ...

* 0.1%

Nyanja Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zambia. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for l ...

* 0.8% Others

Culture

The district consists of people of Tumbuka with their Cultural Dance ( VIMBUZA)origin. and also descendants of

Ngoni people The Ngoni people are an ethnic group living in the present-day Southern African countries of Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The Ngoni trace their origins to the Nguni and Zulu people of kwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The di ...

from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

with their Cultural Dance (Ingoma) However the main language spoken is

chiTumbuka The Tumbuka language is a Bantu language which is spoken in the Northern Region of Malawi and Zambia in the districts of Lundazi, Lumezi, and Chasefu.Mzuzu Mzuzu is the capital of Malawi's Northern Region and is the third largest city by population in Malawi. The city has 221,272 residents and 20,000 commuters (Mzuzu University students) with about 1.7 million people in its metropolitan area. It i ...

, which is also the administrative headquarters of the

Northern Region of Malawi The Northern Region is a region of Malawi. 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 cl ...

. It is also the centre of

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

in Malawi, Malawi's most successful sport. Most of the players in the national team, including international star

Mwayi Kumwenda Mwai Kumwenda ' (born 27 September 1989) is a Malawi netball international player. She represented Malawi at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games and at the 2011 and 2015 Netball World Cups. Kumwenda was the top goal scorer at three s ...

were born and grew up in Mzimba.

History

History states that the Zwangendaba Ngonis were warriors who settled in northern Malawi. However, once Zwangendaba head of the family died, his sons resettled to what is now the Mzimba District and seven of his descendants still rule. Mzimba, which means human body, was riddled by calls to split the district into three in early 2016. Citizens and some officials wanted the province to be split, while the head ruler was not in favor of it.

Famous People

(1989- ), a

player for the Malawi national team.

References

USAID - Aid from the American People
{{Coord, 11, 30, S, 33, 30, E, region:MW_type:adm1st, display=title Districts of Malawi Districts in Northern Region, Malawi