Mwanza

Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,311,000 in 2023, it is Tanzania's second largest city, after Dar es Salaam. It is also the second largest city in the Lake Victoria basin after Kampala, Uganda and ahead of Kisumu, Kenya at least in population size. Within the East African community, Mwanza city is the fifth largest city after Dar, Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kampala. It is slightly ahead of Kigali, Kisumu, and Bujumbura in the population of city proper limits. Mwanza city is also the capital city of Mwanza Region, and is administratively divided into two municipal districts within that Region - Ilemela and Nyamagana.

Demographics
The Sukuma constitute over 90 percent of the population of the Mwanza Region. Other ethnic groups in the region, in much smaller proportions, include the Zinza, 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.

Economy
In 2011 the City Council announced plans to create a major commercial development in the Ilemela District. 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.

Tanzania Breweries Limited has a brewery in Mwanza.

Fishing
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. The Nile perch were previously introduced to the lake, and are exported in large quantities.

The consequences of the Nile perch industry are the subject of the Academy Award nominated documentary Darwin's Nightmare (2004) by Hubert Sauper.

Water supply and sanitation
Water supply coverage is at 75% and sewerage at 23.7%. Projects to increase coverage including the UN Habitat Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation (LVWATSAN-Mwanza) project.

Water is managed by the Mwanza Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (Mwauwasa), established in 1996 and wholly owned by the government of Tanzania. The authority covers Mwanza City, Kisesa Township in Magu District, Misungwi town and Nyahiti Village in Misungwi District, Geita, Sengerema and Nansio, and Lamadi in Simiyu Region. Mwauwasa operates a wastewater treatment plant in Butuja Ilemela.

National parks
Saanane Island National Park is located on a rocky island in Lake Victoria, 500 meters from Capri Point in the centre of Mwanza.

The westernmost gate (Ndabaka Gate) of Serengeti 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.

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.

Culture
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 the Sukuma tribe, from which the majority of the native population originates.

Education
St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) is the main university in Mwanza. The University extends over 600 acres 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.

Places of worship
Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Christian 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. There are also Muslim mosques. In the Temple Street, close to each other there are a large Hindu Temple built in the late 50's, one of the first such temples in Tanzania, a Vaishnava Sanatana Mandir, and a BAPS (Swaminarayan) temple - all of them serving the Hindu community.

Climate
Mwanza features a tropical savanna climate under the Köppen 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 is roughly 23.5 C throughout the year. The city features a lengthy wet season which runs from October through May and a short pronounced dry season that covers the remaining four months. Mwanza receives on average roughly 1050 mm of precipitation annually.

Airport
Mwanza is served by the Mwanza Airport, which is designated as a regional airport.

Air Tanzania offers flights to Dar es Salaam. Precision Air has daily flights to Mwanza, including from Nairobi (via Kilimanjaro), and Air Tanzania also flies to the city.

Railway
The city is connected by rail with Shinyanga on a branch of Tanzania's Central Railway. Twice a week the train departs to Dar es Salaam, via Dodoma, Tabora and Kigoma.

Buses
Nyegezi bus station is located in Nyamagana district. Buses going to the south and west leave from Nyegezi, as well as international services.

Buzuruga bus station is located in Ilemela district. Buses going to the east, North and the Kenyan border depart from Buzuruga bus station.

Ferry
In December 2014 the regular ferry service between Mwanza, Bukoba and Kampala was halted whilst the ferry boat MV Victoria underwent major maintenance.

Sports
The CCM Kirumba Stadium has hosted matches of the Tanzania national football team.

Mbao FC is a football team from Mwanza that was promoted to the Tanzanian Premier League at the end of the 2015/2016 football season.

Cooperation with cities outside Tanzania

 * 🇫🇮 Tampere, Finland: The relationship between Tampere and Mwanza is part of the North-South Local Government Co-operation Programme.
 * 🇪🇭 Tifariti, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
 * 🇩🇪 Würzburg, Germany