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Njombe Region
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Njombe Region (
Mkoa wa Njombe in
Swahili) is one of
Tanzania's 31 administrative
regions. The region covers a land area of 21,347 km2 (8,242 sq mi).
[4] The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of
El Salvador.
[5] Njombe Region is bordered to the north by the
Iringa Region and
Mbeya Region, to the east by
Morogoro Region, to the south by the
Ruvuma Region and to the west by
Lake Nyasa. The regional capital is the municipality of
Njombe. According to the 2012 national census, the region had a population of 702,097.
[6]
Ethnic groups
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Population
(2022)[1] | |
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Area
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Government
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Njombe Region
Mkoa wa Njombe (Swahili) | |
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| Region | |
From top to bottom:
Kipengere Range in western Njombe, Avocados in Ludewa District and scene at Kitulo National Park | |
Nickname(s):
The coolest part of Tanzania; The avocado region | |
Location in Tanzania | |
| Coordinates: 9°31′5.16″S 34°41′8.52″E | |
| Country |
Tanzania |
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| Zone | Southern |
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| Region | 2012 |
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| Capital | Njombe |
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| Districts | List
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| • Regional Commissioner | Anthony Mtaka (CCM) |
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| • Total | 21,347 km2 (8,242 sq mi) |
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| • Rank | 6th of 31 |
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Highest elevation
(Mtorwi) | 2,729 m (8,953 ft) |
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| • Total | 889,946 |
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| • Rank | 27th of 31 |
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| • Density | 42/km2 (110/sq mi) |
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| Demonym | Njombean |
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| • Settler | Swahili, Hehe & Nyakyusa |
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| • Native | Bena, Pangwa, Kinga, Wanji, Mahanji, Poroto, Kisi, Mwelya, Sandia & Manda |
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| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
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| Postcode | 59xxx |
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| Area code | 026 |
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| ISO 3166 code | TZ-29[2] |
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| HDI (2018) | 0.554[3]
medium · 7th of 25 |
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| Website | Official website |
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| Symbols of Tanzania | |
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| Bird |
churring cisticola |
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| Butterfly |
Precis octavia |
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| Fish |
Oreochromis variabilis |
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| Mammal |
Reedbuck |
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| Tree |
Polyscias fulva |
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| Mineral |
Iron |
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Etymology
Geography
The
agricultural industry dominates the local economy of Njombe Region. Agriculture made up 42.3 percent of the economy in 2016, 48.4 percent in 2017, 47.4 percent in 2018, and 45.2 percent in 2019. The second-largest contributor to
GDP, the services sector, generated 33.6 percent of it in 2016, 30 percent in 2017, 29.6 percent in 2018, and 32.6 percent in 2019. In each of the four years, the
industry and
construction sectors made up a smaller portion of the GDP. There is
subsistance farming as well as commercial farming. The majority of the region's cash income in 2019 comes from the agriculture industry, primarily from the production of
tea,
beans, maize, groundnuts,
potatoes,
paddy, and sunflowers. Additionally, it contributes roughly 45.2% of the region's GDP.
[7]
Service sectorEdit
After agriculture, services are the second-most significant economic sector, accounting for around 32.6% of the region's GDP in 2019. The third largest economic contributor to the region's GDP is the industry and
construction sector. In 2019, the sectors are predicted to contribute roughly 22.1% of the GDP. Of this more than half (73.5 percent) of all service jobs in the Njombe Region were in the
education sector between 2016 and 2018. Agriculture and
livestock are second with 4.3 percent of employment, followed by the
health industry with 22 percent. With only 0.3% of the region's total employees working in the
government, the
natural resources sector had the lowest percentage of employees.
[7]
Makambako TC (26.6%) contributed the most to the region's GDP in 2016, followed by Njombe TC (24.8%) and Wanging'ombe DC (2.4%). (13.9 percent). The two districts that contributed the least to the region's GDP were Njombe (10.4%) and Makete (10.6 percent). From 2017 to 2019, the economic performance trend shifted, with Njombe TC having a large percentage of the region's GDP (27.7 percent in 2017, 26.6 percent in 2018, and 27.4 percent in 2019), followed by Makambako TC (24.4% in 2017, 24.8 percent in 2018, and 24.6 percent in 2019). On the other hand, Njombe DC's part of the GDP was extremely low during the course of the three years, while Makete DC's share was the lowest in 2019.
[7]
Wealth DistributionEdit
The district with the greatest poverty rate was
Ludewa DC, with 29.5 percent of its residents living below the
poverty line for basic requirements, according to the 2012 Region and District Poverty Estimates for Tanzania Report. In the councils of Wanging'ombe DC and Njombe DC, respectively, 28.7 and 26.4 percent of the populace were living in poverty.
Njombe TC, which had 16.1% of its population below the poverty line for basic requirements, and Makambako TC, which had 23.5 percent, were the two districts with the lowest percentages of people living poverty. The worst district in the Njombe region in terms of the rate of
poverty gap was Ludewa, with 6.9 percent, followed by Wanging'ombe DC and Njombe DC, with 6.4 and 5.8 percent, respectively. Makete DC, which was leading in the Njombe region's unequal wealth distribution with 30.7 percent, was closely followed by Njombe TC, which had 30.2 percent, and Ludewa DC, which had 29.3 percent.
[7]
Wildlife, Tourism and ReservesEdit
The overall
forest area in the Njombe region is 332,086.6 ha, or 13.3 percent of the region's total land area of 2,499,400 ha. With 132,129.5 ha, Wanging'ombe DC has the most forest cover, followed by Njombe DC (40,530.6 ha), and Makete DC (58,155 ha). Njombe region is home to the
Kitulo National Park. Nyumba Nitu forest, meaning a Black house, consists of natural
caves and a natural forest located at Mlevela village in Mdandu ward, approximately 15 kilometers away from Njombe Township. The forest has its root from Nyumba Nitu caves, since the caves are very dark for one to see and they are associated by the myth of black cows which lived in the cave.
[8] Inside the caves, local Wabena people hid or took refugee during tribal wars between rival
Wahehe fighters during Chief
Mkwawa conquests in Iringa Region, back in last quarter of 19th century. The caves also provided safe hideout from
German forces during the Maji Maji uprising.
“Lwivala Stone”, or Glittering stone, the slab-rock has a feature similar to a map of Africa. It is located in Lwivala natural forest which local communities perform rituals and traditional ceremonies. The7.5-acre rock is grown with short grass with glittering outgrows during rainy season. There are some unreadable inscriptions which, according to local legend, appeared naturally. It is located in Igodiva village, about three kilometres from Nyumba Nitu forest. Luhuji waterfall in Njombe town is a tourist attraction, used for filming and picnics.
[9]
Old colonial buildings including a Catholic Cathedral and a Lutheran church are located in Njombe town. A memorial monument to honour Tanzanians who fought the
Second World War is found in Njombe. This bears inscriptions of the veterans who fought under the command of King’s African Rifles (KAR) of the
British Army. An early German built Primary Magistrate’s Court and a German administrative block are historical sites found in Njombe Township. A
mass grave of the local Wabena warriors killed during the
Maji Maji war in 1906 is found in Utengule village. The mass grave bears hundreds of remains of the fallen warriors who were slaughtered by German colonial forces.
[7]
InfrastructureEdit
The region of Njombe has a total of 6,403.49 kilometers of roads. Trunk roads made up 6.1 percent of the regional network, regional roads 12.45 percent, and district roads made up a total of 81.45 percent of the network (Paved roads 0.52, Gravel 19.93 and Earth 60.8). Wanging'ombe (1,305.07 kilometers), Ludewa DC (1,369.35 kilometers), Njombe TC (1,359.19 kilometers), Makete DC (946.9 kilometers), Njombe DC (724.07 kilometers), and Makambako TC make up the region's total 6,403.49 kilometers of highways (698.91 kilometers).In the Njombe region, 3.29.43 kilometers, or 5.14 percent of the entire regional road network, are made of
tarmac (Figure 4.1). 2,180.93 kilometers, or 34.06 percent, of the network are made up of gravel roads, while 3,893.13 kilometers, or 60.8 percent, are made up of the Earth Road Network.
[7]
Since there is a strong correlation between road worthiness and tarmac/gravel surface, it can be said that 39.2 percent of the region's road network is usable throughout the year, especially during the rainy season. Tarmac and gravel roads made up 39.20 percent of the network. The length of the tarmac and gravel road network is 606.63 kilometers in Makete DC, followed by 563.8 kilometers in Ludewa DC, 463.41 kilometers in Wanging'ombe DC, 425.07 kilometers in Njombe TC, 328.01 kilometers in Njombe DC, and 123.44 kilometers in Makambako TC.
[7]
The
TAZARA railway line, which runs through Makambako Station in Makambako Ward and Utiga in Wanging'ombe Ward, serves the Njombe region and travels to Mbeya and
New Kapiri Mposhi . These two railroad stations act as a hub for transporting large commodities and services to the area.
[10] There are just two aerodromes in the area that cater to air passengers. The two small
airports are at Njombe TC and Wanging'ombe DC, respectively, but due to the lack of regular flights, there is no information on passengers boarding and disembarking at either location. Their earth-surfaced airstrips can only accommodate tiny aircraft or charter flights.
[7]
The Njombe region has 349 landline
telephone services, no TV stations, 8 radio stations, 7 internet cafés, 6 mobile phone providers, four post offices, and three sub-post offices, according to information received from the six District Councils.
[7]
A total of 293 villages/mitaas out of 463 have been connected to electricity services through
TANESCO, which is equivalent to 63.3 percent of the region's villages/mitaas. The least connected council in the region is Makete, with only 31.2 percent of its villages having power. Makambako TC is leading in the region with roughly 85.3 percent of its villages/mitaa connected.
[7]
Population
Administrative divisions
Health and Education
References
External links
Last edited 3 months ago by Tumbuka Arch
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