Rukwa Region (''Mkoa wa Rukwa'' in

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa * Swahili culture Swahili culture is the culture of ...

) is one of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

's 31 administrative

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

with a

postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal ...

number 55000. The regional capital is the municipality of

Sumbawanga Sumbawanga is a city located in western Tanzania. It is the capital of Rukwa Region and the municipal seat of Sumbawanga Urban District with postcode number 55100 . The district had a population of approximately 150,000 based on the 2002 census. S ...

. According to the 2012 national census, the region had a population of 1,004,539. For 2002–2012, the region's 3.2 percent average annual population growth rate was tied for the third highest in the country. It was also the twentieth most densely populated region with 44 people per square kilometer. The region is bordered to the north by the

Katavi Region Katavi Region (''Mkoa wa Katavi'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Estonia. Kagera Region is bordered to ...

, to the east by the

Mbeya Region Mbeya Region (''Mkoa wa Mbeya'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of G ...

, to the south by

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

, and to the west by

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. T ...

, which forms a border between Tanzania and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

History

The region's name comes from

Lake Rukwa Lake Rukwa is an endorheic lake located the Rukwa Valley of Rukwa Region, Songwe Region and Katavi Region in southwestern Tanzania. The lake is the third largest inland body of water in the country. Geography The alkaline Lake Rukwa lies mid ...

, which harbours the largest population of crocodiles in the nation. It is the region of the

Fipa people The Fipa (or Wafipa) are a Bantu ethno-linguistic group based in the Sumbawanga Rural and Nkasi districts of Rukwa Region in southwestern Tanzania speaking the Fipa and Mambwe languages. In 1992, the Fipa population was estimated to number 20 ...

, who maintain themselves by

subsistence agriculture 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 s ...

and livestock keeping. The Rukwa Region was established in 1975 by President

Julius Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, politician, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as president from 1962 to 1964, a ...

by taking

Mpanda District Mpanda District is one of the five districts of the Katavi Region of Tanzania. Its administrative seat is the city of Mpanda. The district is bordered to the northwest by the Kigoma Region, to the northeast by the Tabora Region, to the east ...

from the Tabora Region and the former unified Sumbawanga District from the Mbeya Region. Nkasi District was established in 1984. In 2012, the region was reorganized with the Mpanda District going to the new

Administrative divisions

Districts

Rukwa Region is divided into one city and three

districts 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, municipa ...

, each administered by a council (i.e. Sumbawanga Municipal Council (MC); Sumbawanga District Council; Kalambo District Council; and Nkasi District Council). Furthermore, Rukwa has two townships (i.e. Laela and Namanyere located in Sumbawanga and Nkasi Districts respectively). Rukwa has 16 divisions, 97 wards, 339 villages, 1817 sub-villages/hamlets and 165 streets.

Economy

Agriculture

Rukwa remains one of the biggest food producer in Tanzania. Its arable land suits the production of paddy, corn (maize), wheat, beans, and banana.

Mining

While there are extensive mineral resources in the Rukwa Region, there are no active large mines. Gem stones, including

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

, moonstone, aquamarine,

amethyst Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that ...

ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapp ...

, and

topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can ma ...

, have been recovered from a number of locations. There are coal seams in the Muze, Namwele, and Mkomolo areas, and some mining has occurred there.

References

External links

* Regions of Tanzania {{Tanzania-geo-stub