Mwanza City Rock City | |
|---|---|
  From top: Bismarck Rock, Mwanza city from Capri Point | |
 Flag | |
  Mwanza City Location of Mwanza | |
| Coordinates:2°31′S32°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 | |
| Government | |
| • Type | City Council |
| • Lord Mayor | Mr.James Bwire |
| • City Director | Mr.Kiomoni Kiburwa Kibamba |
| Elevation | 3,740 ft (1,140 m) |
| Population (2022 census)[1] | |
| • Urban | 1,104,521 |
| Time zone | GMT + 3 |
| Area code | 028 |
| Climate | Aw |
Mwanza City, also known asRock City to the residents,[2] is a port city and capital ofMwanza Region on the southern shore ofLake Victoria in north-westernTanzania. With an urban population of 1,104,521[1] and a population of 3,699,872 in the region (2022 census),[3] it is Tanzania's second largest city, afterDar es Salaam.[4][5] It is also the second largest city in the Lake Victoria basin afterKampala, Uganda and ahead ofKisumu, Kenya at least in population size. Within the East African community, Mwanza city is the fifth largest city afterDar es Salaam,Nairobi,Mombasa, andKampala. It is slightly ahead ofKigali,Kisumu, andBujumbura in the population of city proper limits. Mwanza city is also the capital city ofMwanza Region, and is administratively divided into two municipal districts within that Region -Ilemela andNyamagana.
TheSukuma constitute over 90 percent of the population of theMwanza Region. Other ethnic groups in the region, in much smaller proportions, include theZinza,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.[6]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 110,553 | — |
| 1988 | 172,287 | +55.8% |
| 2002 | 385,810 | +123.9% |
| 2012 | 706,453 | +83.1% |
| 2022 | 1,104,521 | +56.3% |
| source:[7] | ||
In 2011 the City Council announced plans to create a major commercial development in the Ilemela District.[8] 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.[9]
Tanzania Breweries Limited has a brewery in Mwanza.[10]
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.[11] TheNile perch were previously introduced to the lake, and are exported in large quantities.[12]
The consequences of the Nile perch industry are the subject of the Academy Award nominated documentaryDarwin's Nightmare (2004) by Hubert Sauper.[13]
Water supply coverage is at 75% and sewerage at 23.7%.[14] Projects to increase coverage including the UN Habitat Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation (LVWATSAN-Mwanza) project.[15]
Water is managed by the Mwanza Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (Mwauwasa), established in 1996 and wholly owned by the government of Tanzania.[14] The authority covers Mwanza City,Kisesa Township inMagu District,[14] Misungwi town and Nyahiti Village inMisungwi District,[16]Geita,Sengerema andNansio,[17] andLamadi inSimiyu Region.[16] Mwauwasa operates a wastewater treatment plant in Butuja Ilemela.[18]
Saanane Island National Park is located on a rocky island inLake Victoria, 500 meters from Capri Point in the centre of Mwanza.[19]
The westernmost gate (Ndabaka Gate) ofSerengeti 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.[20]
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.[21]
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 theSukuma tribe, from which the majority of the native population originates.[22]
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 south eastern shores of Lake Victoria. The University is a half-hour's drive from Mwanza by car or by bus.[23]
Among theplaces of worship, they are predominantlyChristian churches and temples : Africa Inland Church Tanzania,Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mwanza (Catholic Church),Anglican Church of Tanzania (Anglican Communion),Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (Lutheran World Federation),Baptist Convention of Tanzania (Baptist World Alliance),Assemblies of God.[24] There are alsoMuslim mosques. In the Temple Street, close to each other there are a largeHindu Temple built in the late 50's, one of the first such temples in Tanzania, aVaishnavaSanatana Mandir, and aBAPS (Swaminarayan) temple - all of them serving the Hindu community.
Mwanza features atropical savanna climate under theKöppen climate classification. 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 23.5 °C (74.3 °F) throughout the year. The city features a lengthywet season which runs from October through May and a short pronounceddry season that covers the remaining four months. Mwanza receives on average roughly 1,050 millimetres (41 in) of precipitation annually.
| Climate data for Mwanza (1991-2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 35.0 (95.0) | 35.0 (95.0) | 36.6 (97.9) | 34.0 (93.2) | 35.6 (96.1) | 35.0 (95.0) | 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) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27.8 (82.0) | 28.8 (83.8) | 28.7 (83.7) | 28.5 (83.3) | 28.5 (83.3) | 28.9 (84.0) | 28.9 (84.0) | 29.1 (84.4) | 29.3 (84.7) | 28.9 (84.0) | 27.9 (82.2) | 27.5 (81.5) | 28.6 (83.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 22.8 (73.0) | 23.3 (73.9) | 23.2 (73.8) | 23.1 (73.6) | 23.2 (73.8) | 22.7 (72.9) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.6 (72.7) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.4 (74.1) | 22.9 (73.2) | 22.8 (73.0) | 23.0 (73.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 18.1 (64.6) | 18.0 (64.4) | 18.2 (64.8) | 18.4 (65.1) | 18.1 (64.6) | 16.5 (61.7) | 15.6 (60.1) | 16.7 (62.1) | 17.7 (63.9) | 18.3 (64.9) | 18.4 (65.1) | 18.3 (64.9) | 17.7 (63.9) |
| 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) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 113.7 (4.48) | 82.0 (3.23) | 154.5 (6.08) | 173.0 (6.81) | 70.3 (2.77) | 25.7 (1.01) | 5.0 (0.20) | 23.7 (0.93) | 42.3 (1.67) | 120.6 (4.75) | 158.3 (6.23) | 146.0 (5.75) | 1,115.1 (43.91) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 9.9 | 6.7 | 10.7 | 13.0 | 7.3 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 8.8 | 13.4 | 11.9 | 90.4 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 71 | 71 | 69 | 74 | 70 | 66 | 58 | 58 | 59 | 61 | 71 | 73 | 67 |
| Mean monthlysunshine 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 dailysunshine 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:NOAA[25] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes, humidity, and sun),[26] Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1991–2020)[27] | |||||||||||||
Mwanza is served by theMwanza Airport, which is designated as a regional airport.[28]
Air Tanzania offers flights toDar es Salaam.[29]Precision Air has daily flights to Mwanza, including fromNairobi (via Kilimanjaro),[30] andAir Tanzania also flies to the city.[31]
The city is connected by rail withShinyanga on a branch of Tanzania'sCentral Railway.[32] Twice a week the train departs toDar es Salaam, viaDodoma,Tabora andKigoma.[33]
Nyegezi bus station is located in Nyamagana district. Buses going to the south and west leave from Nyegezi, as well as international services.[34]
Buzuruga bus station is located in Ilemela district. Buses going to the east, North and the Kenyan border depart from Buzuruga bus station.[34]
In December 2014 the regular ferry service between Mwanza,Bukoba andKampala was halted whilst the ferry boatMV Victoria underwent major maintenance.[35][needs update]
TheCCM Kirumba Stadium has hosted matches of theTanzania national football team.[36]
Mbao FC is a football team from Mwanza that was promoted to theTanzanian Premier League at the end of the 2015/2016 football season.[37]
Tampere, Finland: The relationship between Tampere and Mwanza is part of the North-South Local Government Co-operation Programme.[38]
Tifariti,Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic[39]
Würzburg, Germany[40]
Mwanza travel guide from Wikivoyage| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
