Chibuto 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, municip ...

Gaza Province Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75,709 km2 and a population of 1,422,460 (2017 census), which is the least populous of all the provinces of Mozambique. Xai-Xai is the capital of the province. Inhambane Province is t ...

in south-western

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. Its principal town is

Chibuto Chibuto is a city located in the province of Gaza in Mozambique, about 200 km north of the capital, Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within ...

. The district is located at the south of the province, and borders with Chigubo District in the north, Panda District of

Inhambane Province Inhambane is a province of Mozambique located on the coast in the southern part of the country. It has an area of 68,615 km2 and a population of 1,488,676 (2017 census). The provincial capital is also called Inhambane. The climate is trop ...

in the east, Manjacaze District in the southeast,

Xai-Xai District Xai-Xai District is a Districts of Mozambique, district of Gaza Province in south-western Mozambique. The administrative center of the district is Chongoene. The district is located in the south of the province, and borders with Chibuto District in ...

in the south,

Chókwè District Chókwè District is a district of Gaza Province in south-western Mozambique. Its principal town is Chokwe. The district is located in the south of the province, and borders with Mabalane District in the north, Guijá District in the east, Chib ...

in the southwest, and

Guijá District Guijá District is a district of Gaza Province in south-western Mozambique. The administrative center of the district is Caniçado. The district is located at the south of the province, and borders with Chigubo District in the north, Chibuto Dis ...

in the west. The area of the district is . It has a population of 197,214 as of 2007.

Geography

The

Changane River The Changane River () is a river in Mozambique, a tributary to the Limpopo River which it joins near the coast, just past the town of Chibuto. It forms part of the eastern boundary of Gaza Province. The Changane is the easternmost tributary of ...

, a major left tributary of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River () rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mou ...

, makes a border of the district with Inhambane Province. The area of the district belongs to the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the Limpopo, though rivers in the interior are seasonal. The climate is tropical arid, with the annual rainfall varying between and .

Demographics

As of 2005, 43% of the population of the district was younger than 15 years. 37% of the population spoke Portuguese. The most common mothertongue among the population was

Tsonga Tsonga may refer to: * Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa * Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique and South Africa. * Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) ...

. 54% were analphabetic, mostly women.

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into six postos,

(two localities), Alto Changane (two localities), Godide (two localities), Malehice (six localities), Chaimite (three localities), and Changanine (two localities).

Economy

3% of the households in the district have access to electricity.

Agriculture

In the district, there are 33,000 farms which have on average of land. The main agricultural products are corn,

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

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 inpu ...

, peanut, sweet potato, and rice. Population of cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats was steadily growing prior to 2005.

Transportation

There is a road network in the district which includes a stretch of the national road EN1, connecting

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, 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 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

and

Inhambane Inhambane (also known as Terra de Boa Gente (''Land of Good People'')) is a city located in southern Mozambique, lying on Inhambane Bay, 470 km northeast of Maputo. It is the capital of the Inhambane Province and, according to the 2017 cen ...

, as well as of secondary roads, mainly connecting Chibuto with the rest of the district.

References

{{Coord, 24.683, S, 33.533, E, type:adm1st, display=title Districts in Gaza Province