{"id":99,"date":"2026-08-01T00:13:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T00:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/tanzania\/rukwa-region\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T00:13:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T00:13:33","slug":"rukwa-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/tanzania\/rukwa-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Rukwa Region"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rukwa Region (Swahili: Mkoa wa Rukwa) lies in south-western Tanzania, between Lake Tanganyika and the Zambian border. The 2022 census recorded a population of 1,540,519 across four councils, and the regional capital is Sumbawanga. Kalambo Falls, on the Zambian border in the district of the same name, drops 221 metres in a single uninterrupted fall \u2014 the second-highest in Africa.<\/p>\n

Districts of Rukwa Region<\/h2>\n

Rukwa Region is divided into four councils: three district councils and one municipal council at Sumbawanga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
District<\/th>\nCouncil type<\/th>\nPopulation (2022 census)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Kalambo<\/td>\nDistrict council<\/td>\n316,783<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nkasi<\/td>\nDistrict council<\/td>\n425,420<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sumbawanga<\/td>\nMunicipal council<\/td>\n303,986<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sumbawanga (rural)<\/td>\nDistrict council<\/td>\n494,330<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total<\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,540,519<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Towns and Villages in Rukwa Region<\/h2>\n

The settlements below are grouped by council. Nkasi and Kalambo districts both front Lake Tanganyika, and their shore villages \u2014 Kipili, Kirando, Wampembe, Kasanga \u2014 are reached as much by boat as by road. Places whose district could not be established are listed last.<\/p>\n

Kalambo District<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Chipwa<\/li>\n
  • Chisya<\/li>\n
  • Igalula<\/li>\n
  • Kalambo<\/li>\n
  • Kalasi<\/li>\n
  • Kalumbo<\/li>\n
  • Kamyela<\/li>\n
  • Kankokwa<\/li>\n
  • Kasanga<\/li>\n
  • Kasote<\/li>\n
  • Katali<\/li>\n
  • Katande<\/li>\n
  • Katete<\/li>\n
  • Katuka<\/li>\n
  • Kawambwe<\/li>\n
  • Kipanga<\/li>\n
  • Kirusi<\/li>\n
  • Kitanga<\/li>\n
  • Kitete<\/li>\n
  • Kitungulu<\/li>\n
  • Laela<\/li>\n
  • Mambwe<\/li>\n
  • Manza<\/li>\n
  • Mao<\/li>\n
  • Matai<\/li>\n
  • Mbwiro<\/li>\n
  • Mizumbi<\/li>\n
  • Mkowe<\/li>\n
  • Msanzi<\/li>\n
  • Muzi<\/li>\n
  • Mwaya<\/li>\n
  • Mwazye<\/li>\n
  • Mwela<\/li>\n
  • Mwera<\/li>\n
  • Mwima<\/li>\n
  • Mwimbi<\/li>\n
  • Narwara<\/li>\n
  • Nitakuja<\/li>\n
  • Nsato<\/li>\n
  • Samvya<\/li>\n
  • Santa Maria<\/li>\n
  • Saza<\/li>\n
  • Sintali<\/li>\n
  • Solesia<\/li>\n
  • Sopa<\/li>\n
  • Tatanda<\/li>\n
  • Tekesya<\/li>\n
  • Ulumi<\/li>\n
  • Uwa<\/li>\n
  • Wamikonko<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Nkasi District<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Chala<\/li>\n
    • Chalatila<\/li>\n
    • Chamzumbe<\/li>\n
    • Chapota<\/li>\n
    • Igalula<\/li>\n
    • Ipolomelo<\/li>\n
    • Itinde<\/li>\n
    • Izyomba<\/li>\n
    • Kacheche<\/li>\n
    • Kakoma<\/li>\n
    • Kala<\/li>\n
    • Kamwanga<\/li>\n
    • Kandali<\/li>\n
    • Karia<\/li>\n
    • Kasangwa<\/li>\n
    • Kasanzo<\/li>\n
    • Kasapa<\/li>\n
    • Kashenke<\/li>\n
    • Kasimbo<\/li>\n
    • Kasisiwa<\/li>\n
    • Kasu<\/li>\n
    • Kate<\/li>\n
    • Katoba<\/li>\n
    • Kilangala<\/li>\n
    • Kipili<\/li>\n
    • Kirambo<\/li>\n
    • Kirando<\/li>\n
    • Kisensegere<\/li>\n
    • Kisi<\/li>\n
    • Kisua<\/li>\n
    • Kitete<\/li>\n
    • Kitongwa<\/li>\n
    • Kizumbi<\/li>\n
    • Legeza<\/li>\n
    • Lusembwa<\/li>\n
    • Lyele<\/li>\n
    • Malesa<\/li>\n
    • Malongwe<\/li>\n
    • Mambilo<\/li>\n
    • Masoro<\/li>\n
    • Mfili<\/li>\n
    • Mileshie<\/li>\n
    • Milumbule<\/li>\n
    • Milundikwa<\/li>\n
    • Mkasama<\/li>\n
    • Mkole<\/li>\n
    • Mkombe<\/li>\n
    • Mtakuja<\/li>\n
    • Mtosi<\/li>\n
    • Mulu<\/li>\n
    • Mwai<\/li>\n
    • Namala<\/li>\n
    • Namanyere<\/li>\n
    • Ninde<\/li>\n
    • Nkana<\/li>\n
    • Nkasi<\/li>\n
    • Nkove<\/li>\n
    • Nkundi<\/li>\n
    • Sopa<\/li>\n
    • Swaila<\/li>\n
    • Takasa<\/li>\n
    • Tambaruku<\/li>\n
    • Ukolo<\/li>\n
    • Usensula<\/li>\n
    • Utinta<\/li>\n
    • Wampembe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Sumbawanga District (Rural)<\/h3>\n
        \n
      • Finga<\/li>\n
      • Ichese<\/li>\n
      • Ihozya<\/li>\n
      • Ilambo<\/li>\n
      • Isangwa<\/li>\n
      • Kaengesa<\/li>\n
      • Kafukola<\/li>\n
      • Kalumbaleza<\/li>\n
      • Kamsamba<\/li>\n
      • Kapenta<\/li>\n
      • Kifinga<\/li>\n
      • Kinambo<\/li>\n
      • Kindu<\/li>\n
      • Kipeta<\/li>\n
      • Kipolo<\/li>\n
      • Kisa<\/li>\n
      • Laela<\/li>\n
      • Loleshya<\/li>\n
      • Lwangi<\/li>\n
      • Mhana<\/li>\n
      • Milepa<\/li>\n
      • Misansa<\/li>\n
      • Mpeta<\/li>\n
      • Mpui<\/li>\n
      • Msanda<\/li>\n
      • Msia<\/li>\n
      • Muango<\/li>\n
      • Muse<\/li>\n
      • Mwela<\/li>\n
      • Nangoi<\/li>\n
      • Nanzovu<\/li>\n
      • Ngongo<\/li>\n
      • Nkwilo<\/li>\n
      • Ntumba<\/li>\n
      • Panda<\/li>\n
      • Pande<\/li>\n
      • Pando<\/li>\n
      • Sakalilo<\/li>\n
      • Sali<\/li>\n
      • Sangama<\/li>\n
      • Sinda<\/li>\n
      • Soda<\/li>\n
      • Sonji<\/li>\n
      • Takasangwa<\/li>\n
      • Ukia<\/li>\n
      • Usia<\/li>\n
      • Zimba<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Sumbawanga Municipal<\/h3>\n
          \n
        • Ilambila<\/li>\n
        • Kasunga<\/li>\n
        • Kinani<\/li>\n
        • Kisumba<\/li>\n
        • Kiswite<\/li>\n
        • Luwa<\/li>\n
        • Matanga<\/li>\n
        • Mbizi<\/li>\n
        • Nambogo<\/li>\n
        • Namwele<\/li>\n
        • Nzeka<\/li>\n
        • Pito<\/li>\n
        • Pwela<\/li>\n
        • Sumbawanga<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Other localities<\/h3>\n
            \n
          • Ilalangulu<\/li>\n
          • Itimba<\/li>\n
          • Izinga<\/li>\n
          • Kabwa<\/li>\n
          • Kakuni<\/li>\n
          • Kapalamasenga<\/li>\n
          • Katwa Makondo<\/li>\n
          • Korongwe<\/li>\n
          • Mbedi<\/li>\n
          • Milumba<\/li>\n
          • Nziga<\/li>\n
          • Sangu<\/li>\n
          • Tumba<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Geography<\/h2>\n

            Rukwa Region covers 27,765 km\u00b2. Katavi Region lies to the north and Songwe Region to the east. Zambia forms the southern border, and Lake Tanganyika the western one, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the far shore.<\/p>\n

            The region sits between two rift lakes. Lake Tanganyika, at 773 metres, is the lowest point in Rukwa; the Ufipa plateau rises behind it to Malonje at 2,350 metres, the highest. Lake Rukwa, shallow and salty, occupies the eastern trough along the Songwe boundary. Miombo woodland covers most of the plateau and carries commercially useful timber. The Kalambo River drops over the Kalambo Falls into the Lake Tanganyika rift at the Zambian border, and the site above the falls has produced some of the longest archaeological sequences in Africa.<\/p>\n

            Daytime highs average about 27 \u00b0C from October to December and lows reach 13 \u00b0C in June and July. Rain falls from November to May, between 800 mm and 1,300 mm a year.<\/p>\n

            Economy and Local Life<\/h2>\n

            About 80 per cent of household income in Rukwa comes from farming. Maize is the dominant crop and the region is one of Tanzania’s reliable grain surplus areas, sending stock north and east in good years. Beans, cassava and sunflower follow, with sunflower pressed locally for cooking oil.<\/p>\n

            Fishing is the second economy. Lake Tanganyika supports the dagaa and Nile perch fisheries worked from Kipili, Kirando, Wampembe and Kasanga, and Lake Rukwa is fished from the eastern villages. Mining is small in scale: emerald, moonstone, amethyst and ruby occur in the region, as do kaolin, quartz, tin and copper, but no large operation works them. Sumbawanga is the regional market and trading centre; Laela, Matai and Namanyere are the main rural market towns.<\/p>\n

            The plateau and the lake shore run on different rhythms. Ufipa plateau villages in Sumbawanga rural and Kalambo districts farm maize and beans and keep cattle. Down the escarpment in Nkasi District, the shore settlements face the lake, and their goods move by boat to Kigoma or across to Congolese and Zambian landings rather than up the hill by road. Miombo timber and charcoal are cut in both.<\/p>\n

            Getting There<\/h2>\n

            Rukwa is one of the harder regions to reach by road. It has 2,512 km of road in total, of which only about 107 km is paved, so most travel is on gravel that deteriorates in the rains. The main road enters from Mbeya through Tunduma and Laela to Sumbawanga, and continues north through Namanyere to Katavi Region.<\/p>\n

            Lake Tanganyika is the alternative. The ferries MV Liemba and MV Mwongozo call at the lake ports, with Kasanga at the southern end of the lake the main landing in Rukwa. Sumbawanga has the region’s one public airport, and four private airstrips operate elsewhere.<\/p>\n

            FAQ<\/h2>\n

            How many districts are in Rukwa Region?<\/h3>\n

            Four councils: Kalambo, Nkasi and Sumbawanga rural district councils, plus Sumbawanga Municipal Council.<\/p>\n

            What is the population of Rukwa Region?<\/h3>\n

            The 2022 census recorded a population of 1,540,519, up from 1,004,539 in 2012.<\/p>\n

            What is the capital of Rukwa Region?<\/h3>\n

            Sumbawanga. Sumbawanga Municipal Council had 303,986 people at the 2022 census.<\/p>\n

            When was Rukwa Region created?<\/h3>\n

            In 1975, by joining Mpanda District from Tabora Region with Sumbawanga District from Mbeya Region. Mpanda later became part of Katavi Region.<\/p>\n

            What towns and villages are in Rukwa Region?<\/h3>\n

            Sumbawanga is the largest town, followed by Namanyere, Matai, Chala, Kirando and Laela. The lists above name the villages recorded in each of the four councils, including the Lake Tanganyika shore settlements in Nkasi and Kalambo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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