Mwanza

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Coordinates: 2°31′S 32°54′E / -2.517, 32.9
Mwanza
Picture of Mwanza via boat
Mwanza Location in Tanzania
Country	Tanzania
Admin. division	Mwanza Region
Government
- Mayor

Mwanza is a city in northwest Tanzania and a southern port of Lake Victoria. It is the capital of Mwanza Region. According to a 2002 census, the population was 378,327, and Mwanza is the second largest city in Tanzania, after Dar es Salaam. It is located at an altitude of 1,140 metres above sea level.

1 Overview
2 Twin town
3 External links
4 References

[edit] Overview

The city deals with much of the lake trade with neighbouring Uganda and Kenya. Industries include fishing, meatpacking, and manufacturing textiles and soap. Mwanza is connected by rail with Dar es Salaam and Dodoma. To the South, a dirt road connects Mwanza to Shinyanga and Singida and progress has been made to pave it. To the East, Mwanza is connected to the Western Gate of the Serengeti and Musoma via tarmac road.

Mwanza is the cultural centre of the Sukuma, the largest ethnic group in Tanzania. A famous landmark is the Bismarck Rock, a large outcrop of granite rocks.

In 1996, a national tragedy occurred off Mwanza's shores as the MV Bukoba sank in Lake Victoria, drowning hundreds of passengers.

Mwanza is the site of the controversial documentary film Darwin's Nightmare, which links the city's commercial fishing industry to the arms smuggling business that has destabilized the neighboring Great Lakes Region. The documentary was seen as a slap in the face by the Tanzanian government as well as many Tanzanians, whose country's political stability and history of peace has made it a haven for millions of refugees from neighboring Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Mwanza Medical Institute of Medical Research is an institution researching tropical diseases[1].

Many non-profit NGOs also exist in Mwanza including Kivulini Women's Rights Organization.