RUKWA REGIONAL OFFICE

RUKWA REGIONAL PROFILE

Rukwa Region lies in the extreme south western part of Tanzania. The region has an area of 27,765 sqkm comprising three (3) Administrative Districts with four (4) Local Government Authorities (LGAs).The administrative districts include Sumbawanga, Nkasi and Kalambo. According to the 2012 Population Census the region has 1,004,539 people.
Rukwa is located about 1200 km by road from commercial and administrative centres of Dar es Salaam and Dodoma respectively. Large part of the road infrastructure has significantly affected development of the region.

Boundaries and Location
The Region borders with Zambia to the Southwest, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the West across Lake Tanganyika, Katavi Region in the North and Mbeya to the Southeast. The highest point of the region is at Malonje in the Ufipa plateau at 2,461 meters above level and the lowest point is Lake Tanganyika at 773 meters above sea level.

Population
The population of the region according to the census of 2012, the Region had a population of 1,004,539 people out of which 487,311 were males and 517,228 were females. The forecast for 2014 is 1,076,087 people according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as per growth rate of 3.5%
The major languages spoken in this region include Swahili, Fipa, Mambwe, Lungu and Nyamwanga. English is also spoken but by limited number of people. With exception of English and Swahili, the other spoken languages are vernacular (specific to a particular ethnic group).

Investment opportunities

Agriculture:                  Maize, paddy, beans, groundnuts, sunflower, finger millet, sorghum,wheat, cassava, potatoes, sugarcane.

Forest products:         Logs, timber, honey and beeswax, building materials.

Livestock:                    Cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys, chicken and pigs

Fishing:                       Mainly in Lakes Tanganyika and Rukwa and a few big rivers and small lakes and swamps.Fish species include       mainly sardines, nile perch, English fish, tilapia and harvesting of excess crocodiles especially in Lake Rukwa

Industry:                      Oil seed processing, grain milling,beekeeping for honey and wax fishery and lumbering

Rukwa Region lies  in the extreme south western part of Tanzania.The Region has an area of 27,765 sqkm comprising three(3)Administrative Districts with four(4)Local Government Authorities(LGAs).The administrative districts include Sumbawanga,Nkasi and Kalambo..The capital town in the Region is Sumbawanga