Zambezia Province


Zambezia is the second most-populous province of Mozambique, located in the central coastal region south-west of Nampula Province and north-east of Sofala Province. It has a population of 5,11 million. The provincial capital is Quelimane on the Bons Sinais River.
Zambezia has a total area of 103,478 km²; much of it drained by the Zambezi River. Much of the coast consists of mangrove swamps, and there is considerable forest inland.
Agricultural products include rice, maize, cassava, cashews, sugarcane, soybeans, coconuts, citrus, cotton, and tea. The country's largest tea estates are at Gurúè, while Lioma is a centre of soybean production. Fishing is especially productive of shrimp, and gemstones are mined at several sites.
Vasco da Gama landed at the site of Quelimane in 1498. Shortly after, the Portuguese established a permanent presence, and many moved up the Zambezi into the interior, for many years the farthest inland European presence.

Districts

Zambezia Province is divided into the 16 districts of:
In addition, there is one municipality - the city of
Quelimane - with an area of 117 km² and 192,876 population.
The above district populations are from the provisional results of the September 2007 Census.

Demographics