Mwanza

For other uses, see Mwanza (disambiguation).
Mwanza, Tanzania
Nyanza
City

View from Capri Point
Nickname(s): Rock City
Mwanza, Tanzania

Location in Tanzania

Coordinates: 2°31′S 32°54′E / 2.517°S 32.900°E / -2.517; 32.900
Country Tanzania
Admin. division Mwanza Region
First Settled 1892
Incorporated Town 1978
Incorporated City 2000
Districts
List
Government
 • Type City Council
 • Lord Mayor Josephat Kanyonyi Manyerere
 • City Director Wilson Kabwe
Elevation 3,740 ft (1,140 m)
Population (2012)[1]
 • Urban 706,543
Time zone GMT + 3
Climate Aw

Mwanza is a mid-sized port city on the southern shores of Lake Victoria in northwestern Tanzania. With a population of over 700,000, it is Tanzania's second largest city, following Dar es Salaam. Mwanza is the capital of the surrounding Mwanza Region.

Ethnicity

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.[2]

Economy

In 2011 the city council announced plans to create a major commercial development in the Ilemela District.[3] 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.[4]

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. Nile perch were previously introduced to the lake, and are exported in large quantities.[5]

The consequences of the nile perch industry are the subject of the Academy Award nominated documentary Darwin's Nightmare (2004) by Hubert Sauper.

On the lake around Mwanza, a lot of sardine fishing (locally known as 'dagaa') takes place.

Tourism

National Parks

Several Tanzanian National Parks are located in the close vicinity of Mwanza town.

Saanane Island National Park can be reached by boat from the centre of Mwanza in around 10 minutes.

The western most gate (Ndabaka Gate) of Serengeti National Park 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.[6]

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.[7]

Culture

The Sukuma Museum is located in Bujora, just east of Mwanza. It gives an overview of the history, architecture, culture and language of the Sukuma tribe, which is the main tribe in the area.[8]

Climate

Climate data for Mwanza
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 35.0
(95)		 35.0
(95)		 36.6
(97.9)		 34.0
(93.2)		 35.6
(96.1)		 35.0
(95)		 34.0
(93.2)		 34.2
(93.6)		 34.5
(94.1)		 36.0
(96.8)		 35.6
(96.1)		 34.2
(93.6)		 36.6
(97.9)
Average high °C (°F) 27.6
(81.7)		 27.9
(82.2)		 28.5
(83.3)		 27.8
(82)		 28.1
(82.6)		 28.4
(83.1)		 28.3
(82.9)		 28.7
(83.7)		 29.0
(84.2)		 28.5
(83.3)		 27.5
(81.5)		 27.3
(81.1)		 28.1
(82.6)
Average low °C (°F) 17.7
(63.9)		 17.8
(64)		 18.0
(64.4)		 18.2
(64.8)		 17.7
(63.9)		 16.2
(61.2)		 15.4
(59.7)		 16.4
(61.5)		 17.3
(63.1)		 18.1
(64.6)		 18.1
(64.6)		 17.9
(64.2)		 17.4
(63.3)
Record low °C (°F) 10.8
(51.4)		 11.0
(51.8)		 14.0
(57.2)		 14.0
(57.2)		 13.0
(55.4)		 12.0
(53.6)		 11.0
(51.8)		 11.0
(51.8)		 13.0
(55.4)		 13.0
(55.4)		 10.8
(51.4)		 12.0
(53.6)		 10.8
(51.4)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 103.69
(4.0823)		 108.04
(4.2535)		 139.82
(5.5047)		 168.19
(6.6217)		 72.86
(2.8685)		 21.12
(0.8315)		 11.88
(0.4677)		 20.55
(0.8091)		 22.87
(0.9004)		 85.64
(3.3717)		 157.15
(6.187)		 138.92
(5.4693)		 1,050.73
(41.3673)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) 10 8 11 14 8 2 1 2 3 8 13 12 92
Average relative humidity (%) 71 71 69 74 70 66 58 58 59 61 71 73 67
Mean monthly sunshine hours 229.4 211.9 235.6 231.0 254.2 282.0 285.2 266.6 252.0 241.8 210.0 223.2 2,922.9
Mean daily sunshine hours 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 8.2 9.4 9.2 8.6 8.4 7.8 7.0 7.2 8.0
Source #1: World Meteorological Organization[9]
Source #2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes, humidity, and sun)[10]

Transport

Mwanza Airport
Mwanza train station
Two dala dalas (minibuses) in Mwanza
Two ferries from Kamanga arriving at the port of Mwanza.

Airport

Mwanza is served by Mwanza Airport, which is located at 10 km to the north of the city centre in Ilemela District.

The airport has flights to Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, and other destinations around Tanzania.

Railway

Mwanza's railway station is located in the centre of town, in Nyamagana District.

The city is connected by rail with Shinyanga.[11] Twice a week the train departs to Dar es Salaam, via Dodoma, Tabora and Kigoma.[12]

Buses

Two bus stations connect Mwanza to the rest of Tanzania and neighbouring countries by road: Nyegezi and Buzuruga bus station.

Nyegezi bus station is located in Nyamagana district. Buses going to the south and west leave from Nyegezi, as well as international services.[13]

Buzuruga bus station is located in Ilemela district. Buses going to the east, North and the Kenyan border depart from Buzuruga bus station.[13]

Ferry

In December 2014 the regular ferry service between Mwanza, Bukoba and Kampala was halted whilst the ferry boat (Mv Victoria) underwent major maintenance.[14]

Sports

CCM Kirumba Stadium

Toto African and Mbao FC are the main football clubs in Mwanza. The teams participate in the 2016/2017 Tanzanian Premier League.[15] Home games are played at CCM Kirumba Stadium.

Education

St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) is the main university in Mwanza. The University extends over 600 acres (243 ha) in the Nyegezi-Malimbe area 10 km south of Mwanza City. It lies 4 km off the main Mwanza- Shinyanga road on the shores of Lake Victoria. The University is a half-hour’s drive from Mwanza by car or by bus.[16]

Cooperation with cities outside Tanzania

References

  1. ↑ "Tanzania". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  2. ↑ Section 1.2, "Mwanza Region Socio-Economic Profile", joint publication by the Planning Commission Dar es Salaam and the Regional Commissioner's Office Mwanza, October 1997, page 4
  3. ↑ Moses Matthew (30 December 2011). "Mwanza city on a major shopping project". Daily News. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  4. ↑ "Rock City Mall".
  5. ↑ George Ramadhani (2 November 2006). "MPs tell Mwanza fisheries to clear Darwin's Nightmare". Kafoi. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Serengeti". Serengeti - The National Park's Official Website. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Rubondo". Tanzania Parks.
  8. ↑ Tanzania travel guide (6 ed.). Lonely Planet. June 2015. p. 229. ISBN 978-1742207797.
  9. ↑ "World Weather Information Service – Mwanza". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  10. ↑ "Klimatafel von Mwanza (Muansa) / Victoria-See / Tansania" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "United Republic of Tanzania (map)" (PDF). Department of Peacekeeping Operations. UN. January 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "Train travel in Tanzania and Zambia". Seat61.com. January 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  13. 1 2 Tanzania travel guide (6 ed.). Lonely Planet. June 2015. p. 228. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "Victoria ferry suspends work". East African Business Week. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Top guns kick off new season on high tempo". The Citizen.
  16. ↑ "St. Augustine University of Tanzania".
  17. ↑ "Tampere-Mwanza Local Governance Cooperation project", The City of Tampere
  18. ↑ "Tifariti commune signs cooperation, twinning agreements with several African cities", Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse, published on the website of The Free Library, 21 December 2009
  19. ↑ "HIV: New Problems for Africa", University of Würzburg
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Coordinates: 2°31′S 32°54′E / 2.517°S 32.900°E / -2.517; 32.900

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