Niassa Province

Province of Mozambique

13°15′S 36°30′E / 13.250°S 36.500°E / -13.250; 36.500

Niassa [ˈnjasɐ] is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 129,056 km² and a population of 1,810,794 (2017).^[1] It is the most sparsely populated province in the country.^[2] Lichinga is the capital of the province. There are a minimum estimated 450,000 Yao people living in Mozambique. They largely occupy the eastern and northern part of the Niassa province and form about 40% of the population of Lichinga, the capital of this province.

Province in Mozambique

Niassa Jimbo la Niassa (Swahili)
Province

Niassa, Province of Mozambique
Country	Mozambique
Capital	Lichinga
Area
• Total	129,056 km² (49,829 sq mi)
Highest elevation	1,836 m (6,024 ft)
Population (2017 census)
• Total	1,810,794
• Density	14/km² (36/sq mi)
Postal code	33xx
Area code	(+258) 271
HDI (2019)	0.425^[3] low · 8th of 11
Website	www.niassa.gov.mz

The Ruvuma River forms much of the northern boundary of the province with Ruvuma Region, Tanzania while Lake Niassa forms the western border of the province, separating it from Malawi. 75% of the province remains untouched by development, and remains free of landmines.^[2] The province shares the Niassa National Reserve with neighboring Cabo Delgado Province.^[4]

Districts

Niassa Province is divided into the 15 districts of:

and the municipalities of:

Demographics

Languages

After the 2007 Census ^[5]it was found that native speakers of Makhuwa were 42%, of the Yao language 31%, of the Nyanja or Chewa language a 11%, and Portuguese 9%.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1980	514,100	—
1997	808,572	+2.70%
2007	1,213,398	+4.14%
2017	1,810,794	+4.08%
source:^[6]

Religion

The majority in Niassa province practice Islam. Monotheist religion adhesion was asked in the 2007 census (Protestant / Catholic / Muslim / Zion) leaving aside so traditional religion followers; answers provided a majority of protestants (74%) in the administrative post of Cobue, bordering lake Niassa and inhabited mostly by the Nyanja. The majority of the Yao are nominal Muslim ( a fact that can be recognized in a map:s administrative posts north of the river Messalo are over 75% muslims, being inhabited mainly by the Yao); south of the river the Makhuwas follow the Catholic or Islamic faith.

Religion in Niassa Province^[7]

Islam (59.03%)

Christianity (37.65%)

Irreligious (0.74%)

Other Religion (1.50%)

Unknown (1.08%)

Education

In 1998, a provincial college was built in Lichinga to train teachers. Partially financed by the Irish Embassy in Maputo, it graduates 60 teachers a year. Apart from training teachers for local schools, the college offers primary school education to the local Lichinga community and works towards reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS in Niassa province.^[8]

References

^ "Total Population By Provinces - 2006". Instituto Nacional de Estatística. Archived from the original on November 24, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
^ ^a ^b "Niassa". Archived from the original on 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
^ "The Lions of Niassa". Fauna and Flora International. 2009. Archived from the original on November 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
^ "2007 Census". Mozambique Data Portal. National Institute of Statistics.
^ Cameroon: Administrative Division population statistics
^ "QUADRO 11. POPULAÇÃO POR RELIGIÃO, SEGUNDO ÁREA DE RESIDÊNCIA, IDADE E SEXO. PROVINCIA DO NIASSA, 2017.xlsx — Instituto Nacional de Estatistica". www.ine.gov.mz (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2022-03-17.
^ "Teacher Training College Niassa". Archived from the original on 2008-04-11. Retrieved 2009-12-31.