Rumphi 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 ...

in the Northern Region of

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

. The capital is

Rumphi Rumphi is the capital of the Rumphi District (Rumphi Boma) in the Northern Region of Malawi. It is a market town which serves the widespread farming community. Description Rumphi is on the way to Nyika National Park, Nyika Plateau, and Vwa ...

. The district covers an area of 4,769 km.² and has a population of 128,360.

Geography

Rumphi District extends from

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is ...

in the east to the

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

n border in the west. The northern end of the Mzimba Plain extends into the eastern portion of the district. Most of the district is drained by the

South Rukuru River

The South Rukuru River is a river of northern Malawi. The So ...

and its tributaries. The Viphya Mountains extend into the southeastern portion of the district, and much of central portion of the district lies on the

Nyika Plateau The Nyika Plateau lies in northern Malawi, with a small portion in north eastern Zambia. Most of it lies at elevations of between , the highest point being at Nganda Peak. It is roughly a diamond in shape, with a long north–south axis of abou ...

. Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve covers the western end of the district, and

Nyika National Park Nyika National Park is Malawi’s largest national park, with an area of 3200 km2 (1250 mile2). Location and road access The park covers practically the whole of the Nyika Plateau in northern Malawi, about 480 km north of Lilongwe and 60 km no ...

covers much of the center. Rumphi is the district capital. Other towns include Chilumba, Chitango, Chiweta, and Livingstonia.

Demographics

At the time of the

2018 Census of Malawi Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a 2 ...

, the distribution of the population of Rumphi District by

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

was as follows: * 96.2% Tumbuka * 2.0%

Chewa Chewa may refer to: *the Chewa people *the Chewa language Chewa ( ; also known as Nyanja ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in Malawi and a recognised minority in Zambia and Mozambique. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for lang ...

* 1.2% Ngoni * 0.8% Nkhonde * 0.8%

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

* 0.8% Lambya * 0.5% Lomwe * 0.9% Yao * 0.3% Sukwa * 0.1%

Mang'anja The Mang'anja are a Bantu people of Southern Malawi, particularly around Chikwawa in the Shire River valley of southern Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by ...

* 0.1% Sena * 0.1%

Nyanja Chewa ( ; also known as Nyanja ) is a Bantu language spoken in Malawi and a recognised minority in Zambia and Mozambique. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for languages, so the language is often called or Chinyanja. In Malawi, the name wa ...

* 0.5% Others

Government and administrative divisions

There are three

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 repr ...

constituencies in Rumphi: * Rumphi - East * Rumphi - North * Rumphi - West Since the 2009 election all of these constituencies have been held by members of an independent party.Parliament of Malawi - Members of Parliament - Rumphi District
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Notable people

Notable residents include: * Tamwa Chaŵinga was born here in 1998. She and her twin sister play for the Malawian national football team. * Edgar Chibaka, founder and managing editor of the ''

Nyasa Times ''Nyasa Times'' is an online newspaper providing Malawian news, founded by Edgar Chibaka in 2006. It began reporting in late 2006. According to its own website, it received "over 8 million hits per month" in 2010. The publication has on numerous ...

'', one of Malawi's top online and print newspapers *

Chakufwa Chihana Chakufwa Chihana (23 April 1939 – 12 June 2006) was a Malawian human rights activist, pro-democracy advocate, trade unionist and later, politician. He held the post of Second Vice President in Malawi, under President Bakili Muluzi. He is often ...

'the father of Malawian Democracy', founder of AFORD * Moses Chirambo, ophthalmologist, entrepreneur, and politician * Kamlepo Kalua, president of an opposition party * Mwiza Munthali, talk show host and activist * Dindi Gowa Nyasulu, Malawian engineer and former president of AFORD * Dennis Nkhwazi, former member of the cabinet * Kenneth Thindwa, pharmacist, entrepreneur and politician * Robert Ng'ambi, soccer player

References

Districts of Malawi Districts in Northern Region, Malawi {{Malawi-geo-stub