Saurimo, formerly known as Henrique de Carvalho, is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. It is the capital of

Lunda Sul Province :''Lunda Sul Province is not to be confused with Luanda Sul, a satellite city of Luanda, the capital of Angola.'' Lunda Sul ("South Lunda") is a province of Angola. It has an area of 77,637 km2 and a 2014 census population of 537,587. Sau ...

. As of 2014, Saurimo has a population of 393,000 people, which steadily grows as a result of migration.

History

The city was formerly known as Henrique de Carvalho, a Portuguese explorer, who visited the region in 1884 and first made contact with the local Lunda people. In 1956, Saurimo was raised to city status.

Geography

Saurimo is located in northeastern Angola at an elevation of above sea level. It is a

garrison town A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

and local market center.

Economy

The main economic activities in Saurimo include agriculture, farming, and diamonds. Other smaller industries include fishing and handicraft. The SMC (Sociedade Mineira de Catoca) is one of the world's largest mining areas, along with Endiama which helps distribute its diamonds worldwide.

Transportation

Saurimo is served by

Saurimo Airport Saurimo Airport (, ) is a public use airport serving the city of Saurimo in Lunda Sul Province, Angola. It was formerly known as Henrique de Carvalho Airport. The Saurimo VOR-DME (Ident: VSA) is located on the field. The Saurimo non-directiona ...

, which has scheduled service to the capital

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

. As of April 2023, there are announcements of a branch line from Luena on the

Benguela Railway The Benguela Railway () is a 3 ft 6 in gauge railways, Cape gauge railway line that runs through Angola from west to east, being the largest and most important railway line in the country. It also connects to Tenke, Democratic Republic of the C ...

to Saurimo.

Notable people

Yola Araújo Yola Catiana Moreira de Araújo (born 13 June 1978), also known as Yola Araújo, is an Angolan singer, most well known for her work in the kizomba and semba genres. Biography Araújo has worked with other prominent Angolan artists such as Yola ...

is an Angolan songwriter and musician;

References

{{Municipalities of Angola Provincial capitals in Angola Populated places in Lunda Sul Province