Katavi Region (Swahili: Mkoa wa Katavi) is in western Tanzania, between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa. The 2022 census recorded a population of 1,152,958 spread over 45,843 km², which makes it one of the emptiest regions in the country. The capital is Mpanda, and forest covers more than two-thirds of the land.
Districts of Katavi Region
Katavi Region has five councils. Mpanda Municipal covers the regional capital; Tanganyika, Nsimbo, Mpimbwe and Mlele cover the countryside. Tanganyika is the largest by population, Mlele the smallest.
| District | Council type | Population (2022 census) |
|---|---|---|
| Mlele | District council | 118,818 |
| Mpanda | Municipal council | 245,764 |
| Mpimbwe | District council | 215,438 |
| Nsimbo | District council | 201,102 |
| Tanganyika | District council | 371,836 |
| Total | 1,152,958 |
Towns and Villages in Katavi Region
The settlements below come from the GeoNames gazetteer of populated places. GeoNames still files rural Katavi under the two older district names, Mpanda and Mlele, which between them cover the ground now split among the Tanganyika, Nsimbo, Mpimbwe and Mlele councils, so the groups here follow those older units. The larger centres outside Mpanda are Usevia, Karema, Inyonga and Sitalike.
Mpanda Municipal
- Mpanda
Mpanda rural district area
- Busondo
- Busongola
- Busungwe
- Figulwe
- Gutondwa
- Ibombwe
- Igomo
- Ikola
- Ilama
- Iloba
- Itaga
- Italike
- Itetemia
- Itoba
- Itoto
- Jelemanga
- Kabogo
- Kabulela
- Kabungu
- Kafisia
- Kalambo
- Kaloma
- Kamalampaka
- Kamarapaka
- Kamsenga
- Kansanga
- Kapanga
- Kapula
- Karema
- Karungu
- Kasacasia
- Kasamia
- Kasese
- Katete
- Katuma
- Kibeli
- Komela
- Kwa Luvinsia
- Landamilumba
- Legezamwendo
- Lulangulu
- Lusangwe
- Lusinde
- Mahumwe
- Malambo
- Manga
- Mantema
- Manuna
- Manyo
- Masanga
- Matete
- Matimba
- Misange
- Mishamo
- Mlenga
- Mpanda Ndogo
- Mpandule
- Mpembe
- Mpolwe
- Msenga
- Msobwe
- Msunga
- Mtembwe
- Mugewo
- Mugombazi
- Muhambwe
- Mukangasi
- Mukobye
- Munsalya
- Nkamba
- Nkondwe
- Nkungwi
- Nsana
- Nyamansi
- Sabagusi
- Sagalisa
- Shongo
- Shukula
- Sibwesa
- Simbo
- Simondo
- Tambanagulu
- Upesa
- Wantindi
- Wikongwe
Mlele district area
- Chinganda
- Galamila
- Galukilo
- Ibindi
- Ikomogi
- Ikuba
- Ikuu
- Ilalansimba
- Ilunde
- Inyonga
- Isimbira
- Kakonje
- Kala
- Kalo
- Kalole
- Kamtimbo
- Kapapa
- Kasandalala
- Kasasinyata
- Kasehela
- Kasekera
- Kasense
- Kasima
- Katisunga
- Katunguru
- Kirogwe
- Koga
- Koswe
- Lukolini
- Luwale
- Mamba
- Manga Msaadya
- Mhuba
- Mihama
- Milagasya
- Milala
- Mivunda
- Mkutano
- Mlila
- Msesia
- Myuanga
- Rungwa
- Rungwa East
- Rungwa West
- Sala
- Sika
- Sikitiko
- Silongwe
- Sire
- Sitalike
- Siwe
- Sungawula
- Tabora
- Tumba
- Ufina
- Ugalla
- Uruwira
- Usevia
- Utendesia
Geography
Katavi covers 45,843 km². Kigoma Region lies to the north and west, Tabora to the east, and Rukwa and Songwe to the south. Lake Tanganyika forms the western edge, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the far shore.
The land is mostly gentle plains and plateau, broken by moderate hills and small peaks, with the Mwese highlands rising in the west. Lake Rukwa sits at the southern end of the region and the Ugalla and Rungwa rivers drain the east. Forest covers 3,140,639 hectares, or 68.51 per cent of the land area, one of the highest shares of any Tanzanian region.
Katavi National Park and the Rukwa Game Reserve take up a large part of that ground. The Katuma River feeds the seasonal floodplains at the centre of the park, which fill in the rains and dry back to grass and mud in the second half of the year.
Rainfall runs 700 mm to 1,300 mm a year and falls between November and April. Temperatures vary with altitude and drop to 13°C to 16°C in June and July, the coldest months. With 1,152,958 people on 45,843 km², Katavi averages about 25 people per square kilometre, a fraction of what the lake regions to the north carry.
Economy and Local Life
Agriculture accounts for about 96 per cent of economic activity in Katavi. Maize, rice, cassava and sunflower are the main crops, and the low population density means farms here are larger than in the crowded lake regions to the north.
Gold mining, honey production, forestry and tourism make up most of the rest. Known mineral deposits include moonstone, coal, mica and iron ore. Katavi National Park brings a small tourist trade to Sitalike and the Mpanda road, though visitor numbers stay low compared with the northern parks.
Mpanda itself grew around the railhead and the mines the branch line was built to reach. Away from the town, most of the region’s villages sit either along the Mpanda road or on the Lake Tanganyika shore, with long stretches of forest reserve and park in between.
Katavi is one of Tanzania’s newest regions, created in 2012 out of the northern half of Rukwa Region. Its population has grown fast since: the 2012 census counted 564,604 people here, and the 2022 census counted 1,152,958.
Getting There
A 210 km railway branch connects Mpanda to Kaliua in Tabora Region, where it meets the main line running west to Kigoma and east to Dar es Salaam. That branch is the region’s main freight link.
Mpanda Airport handles local flights. On the water, Karema on Lake Tanganyika is the region’s port and the point where lake traffic to and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo puts in. By road, Mpanda connects north to Uvinza and Kigoma and south to Sumbawanga in Rukwa Region.
FAQ
How many districts are in Katavi Region?
Five councils: Mpanda Municipal, Tanganyika, Nsimbo, Mpimbwe and Mlele.
What is the population of Katavi Region?
The 2022 census recorded a population of 1,152,958, up from 564,604 at the 2012 census.
What is the capital of Katavi Region?
Mpanda. Mpanda Municipal Council recorded a population of 245,764 at the 2022 census.
When was Katavi Region created?
In 2012, when it was split off from Rukwa Region. It borders Kigoma, Tabora, Rukwa and Songwe regions.
What villages are in Katavi Region?
The lists above name more than 140 towns and villages, from Karema and Sibwesa on the Lake Tanganyika shore to Inyonga and Rungwa in the east.