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
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...
in north-western
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
. With an urban population of 1,104,521
and a population of 3,699,872 in the region (2022 census), it is Tanzania's second largest city, after
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...
. It is also the second largest city in the Lake Victoria basin after
Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...
, Uganda and ahead of
Kisumu
Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The ...
, Kenya at least in population size. Within the East African community, Mwanza city is the fifth largest city after
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...
,
Nairobi
Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
,
Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
, and
Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...
. It is slightly ahead of
Kigali
Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...
,
Kisumu
Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The ...
, and
Bujumbura
Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's political capital. In la ...
in the population of city proper limits. Mwanza city is also the capital city of
Mwanza Region, and is administratively divided into two municipal districts within that Region -
Ilemela and
Nyamagana.
Demographics
The
Sukuma constitute over 90 percent of the population of the
Mwanza Region. Other ethnic groups in the region, in much smaller proportions, include the
Zinza,
Haya,
Sumbwa,
Nyamwezi,
Luo,
Kurya,
Jita, Shashi and Kerewe. They live mainly in the Mwanza city area. National policy, however, gives very little importance to ethnic groupings and reliable data is difficult to find.
Economy
The bridge of Furahisha in Mwanza represents transportation and safety of its people. This has a created safe space for the citizens and it stand as a remarkable symbol of Mwanza.
In 2011 the City Council announced plans to create a major commercial development in the Ilemela District. Construction works on Rock City Mall were finalized in early 2016. This mall is the first of its size in Mwanza and one of the biggest malls in the country.
Tanzania Breweries Limited has a brewery in Mwanza.
Fishing
One major occupation of the inhabitants along the shores of Lake Victoria in Mwanza region is fishing, and there are five fish processing plants in the area. The
Nile perch
The Nile perch (''Lates niloticus''), also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi, Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is wides ...
were previously introduced to the lake, and are exported in large quantities.
The consequences of the Nile perch industry are the subject of the Academy Award nominated documentary ''
Darwin's Nightmare
''Darwin's Nightmare'' is a 2004 Austrian-French-Belgian documentary film written and directed by Hubert Sauper, dealing with the environmental and social effects of the fishing industry around Lake Victoria in Tanzania. It premiered at the 2004 V ...
'' (2004) by Hubert Sauper.
Water supply and sanitation
Water supply coverage is at 75% and sewerage at 23.7%.
[ Projects to increase coverage including the UN Habitat Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation (LVWATSAN-Mwanza) project.
Water is managed by the Mwanza Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (Mwauwasa), established in 1996 and wholly owned by the government of Tanzania.] The authority covers Mwanza City, Kisesa Township in Magu District,[ Misungwi town and Nyahiti Village in Misungwi District,][ Geita, Sengerema and Nansio, and Lamadi in Simiyu Region.] Mwauwasa operates a wastewater treatment plant in Butuja Ilemela.
Tourism
National parks
Saanane Island National Park is located on a rocky island in Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...
, 500 meters from Capri Point in the centre of Mwanza.
The westernmost gate (Ndabaka Gate) of Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in northern Tanzania that stretches over . It is located in eastern Mara Region and northeastern Simiyu Region and contains over of virgin savanna. The park was established in 1940.
The Se ...
is located at around 150 kilometres by road from Mwanza town. Day trips to Serengeti National Park are organised by several tour operators in Mwanza.
Rubondo Island National Park can be reached by road and boat, or by a direct flight from Mwanza. It is located around 110 kilometres west of Mwanza town.
Culture
The Sukuma Museum is located in Bujora, just east of Mwanza near Kisesa. It gives an overview of the history, architecture, culture and language of the Sukuma tribe, from which the majority of the native population originates.
Education
St. Augustine University of Tanzania
St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) is a private university in Mwanza, Tanzania. It was founded by the Catholic Bishops of Tanzania in 1998 (accredited in 2002) as a secular, nonprofit, private institution. Before 1998, SAUT was called f ...
(SAUT) is the main university in Mwanza. The University extends over in the Nyegezi-Malimbe area 10 km south of Mwanza City. It lies 4 km off the main Mwanza- Shinyanga road on the south eastern shores of Lake Victoria. The University is a half-hour's drive from Mwanza by car or by bus.
Places of worship
Among the places of worship
A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...
, they are predominantly Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
churches and temples : Africa Inland Church Tanzania, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mwanza (Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
), Anglican Church of Tanzania
The Anglican Church of Tanzania (ACT; ) is a province of the Anglican Communion based in Dodoma. It consists of 28 dioceses (27 on the Tanzanian mainland, and 1 on Zanzibar) headed by their respective bishops. It seceded from the Province of Ea ...
(Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...
), Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT; ) is the federation of Lutheran churches in Tanzania and one of the largest Lutheran denominations in the world, with more than 6 million members, or 13% of the Tanzanian population. It is the se ...
(Lutheran World Federation
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; ) is a global Communion (religion), communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish city of L ...
), Baptist Convention of Tanzania
The Baptists' Church of Tanzania is an denomination of Baptists, affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, in Tanzania. The headquarters is in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
History
The Baptists' Church of Tanzania formally Baptist Convention of T ...
(Baptist World Alliance
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...
), Assemblies of God
The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
. There are also Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
mosques. In the Temple Street, close to each other there are a large Hindu Temple
A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...
built in the late 50's, one of the first such temples in Tanzania, a Vaishnava
Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, '' Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along wit ...
Sanatana Mandir, and a BAPS (Swaminarayan) temple - all of them serving the Hindu community.
Climate
Mwanza features a tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
under the Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
. Temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the course of the year, tempered by the city's altitude. Thus, the climate is not quite as hot as one might expect, given the city's location near the equator. Average temperatures in Mwanza are roughly throughout the year. The city features a lengthy wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...
which runs from October through May and a short pronounced dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
that covers the remaining four months. Mwanza receives on average roughly of precipitation annually.
Transport
Airport
Mwanza is served by the Mwanza Airport, which is designated as a regional airport.
Air Tanzania offers flights to Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...
. Precision Air
Precision Air Services Plc (operating as Precision Air; Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, DSE:PAL) is a List of airlines of Tanzania, Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam. The airline operates scheduled pa ...
has daily flights to Mwanza, including from Nairobi
Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
(via Kilimanjaro), and Air Tanzania also flies to the city.
Railway
The city is connected by rail with Shinyanga on a branch of Tanzania's Central Railway. Twice a week the train departs to Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...
, via Dodoma
Dodoma ( in Gogo), officially Dodoma City (''Jiji Kuu la Dodoma'', in Swahili), is the capital city of Tanzania. With a population of 765,179,
it is also the administrative capital of both Dodoma Municipal Council and the entire Dodoma R ...
, Tabora and Kigoma
Kigoma is a city and lake port in Kigoma-Ujiji District in Tanzania, on the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma ...
.
Buses
Nyegezi bus station is located in Nyamagana district. Buses going to the south and west leave from Nyegezi, as well as international services.
Buzuruga bus station is located in Ilemela district. Buses going to the east, North and the Kenyan border depart from Buzuruga bus station.
Ferry
In December 2014 the regular ferry service between Mwanza, Bukoba
Bukoba is a city with a population of 144,938 (2022 census), situated in the northwest of Tanzania on the south-western shores of Lake Victoria. It is the capital of the Kagera region, and the administrative seat for Bukoba Urban District.
The ...
and Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...
was halted whilst the ferry boat MV Victoria underwent major maintenance.
Sports
The CCM Kirumba Stadium has hosted matches of the Tanzania national football team
The Tanzania national football team () represents Tanzania in men's international association football, football and is controlled by the Tanzania Football Federation, the governing body for football in Tanzania, Tanzania's home ground is Benj ...
.
Mbao FC is a football team from Mwanza that was promoted to the Tanzanian Premier League
The Tanzania Mainland Premier League () is a top-level Tanzania, Tanzanian professional association football, football league, governed by the Tanzania Premier league Board, TPLB under Tanzania Football Federation.
History
The league was first or ...
at the end of the 2015/2016 football season.
Cooperation with cities outside Tanzania
* Tampere
Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...
, Finland: The relationship between Tampere and Mwanza is part of the North-South Local Government Co-operation Programme.
* Tifariti
Tifariti () is an oasis town and the temporary capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, located in north-eastern Western Sahara, east of the Moroccan Berm, from Smara and north of the border with Mauritania. It is part of what Polisario ...
, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), also known as the Sahrawi Republic and Western Sahara, is a partially recognized state in the western Maghreb, which claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, but controls only ...
* Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
, Germany"HIV: New Problems for Africa", University of Würzburg
/ref>
Gallery
Mwanza Jamatkhana.jpg, The Jamatkhana Mosque.
Nyakahoja Catholic Church.JPG, The Nyakahoja Catholic Church.
A street sight of Mwanza downtown.JPG, A street sight of Mwanza downtown.
Mwanza is a city among the rocks.JPG, Mwanza a city among the rocks.
Nyerere road Mwanza.jpg, Nyerere road, Mwanza
Mwanza city-5.jpg, The Mwanza city centre.
Mwanza Tanzania we call this place Rock City, Beautful place indeed.jpg, Bismark rock in Rock city.
See also
* Community Development and Relief Agency
* Peter Le Jacq, Maryknoll medical missionary
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Tanzania
Lake Victoria
Regional capitals in Tanzania
Populated places in Mwanza Region
Populated places on Lake Victoria
Port cities and towns in Tanzania
Cities in the Great Rift Valley