City Africa
Moshi
Moshi is a city in Tanzania. Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, rises to its north!
Moshi is a town in Tanzania, south of Mount Kilimanjaro. The encyclopedia Larousse calls it the main town of its region and a commercial center for coffee. Tanzania's 2022 census counted 221,733 people in the city.
Moshi, chief town of the Kilimanjaro Region, south of Kilimanjaro (Larousse; City Population), had 221,733 urban inhabitants at Tanzania's census of 23 August 2022 (City Population, from the National Bureau of Statistics Tanzania), up from 52,046 in 1978; Larousse describes a commercial center (coffee) with tanneries.
Photo: Stig Nygaard from Copenhagen, Denmark, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Moshi
Moshi is a city in Tanzania, a country in East Africa.
A giant mountain, Kilimanjaro, stands to its north.
Moshi is a town in Tanzania, to the south of Mount Kilimanjaro. The French encyclopedia Larousse calls it the main town of its region, and City Population names that region: Kilimanjaro.
Tanzania's census of 23 August 2022 counted 221,733 people living in Moshi. That is more than four times the 52,046 people counted in 1978.
Larousse ('Moshi'): a town of Tanzania, chef-lieu (main town) of a region, south of Kilimanjaro; population 184,292 (2012 census); a commercial center (coffee); tanneries. City Population (from the National Bureau of Statistics Tanzania): the Kilimanjaro Region, capital Moshi, had 1,861,934 people at the 2022 census; 'Moshi' (urban population) 52,046 (census 26 August 1978), 96,838 (28 August 1988), 143,799 (1 August 2002), 184,292 (26 August 2012) and 221,733 (23 August 2022); for cities, municipalities and towns City Population reports the urban population. 221,733 ÷ 52,046 ≈ 4.26.
- Country
- Tanzania, south of Kilimanjaro (Larousse)
- People in the city (census, 23 August 2022)
- 221,733
- Role
- the main town of its region, the Kilimanjaro Region (Larousse; City Population)
- Trade
- a commercial center for coffee (Larousse)
A street below a snowy peak
Look at the wide street, the cars and the trees!
High above the clouds, a mountain top is white with snow.
Stig Nygaard took this photo on 3 November 2007. He describes it as the view from the roof of his hotel towards Kilimanjaro. It shows a wide street with cars, two- and three-story buildings, trees with purple flowers, and far away a dark mountain slope with a white peak above the clouds.
UNESCO says Kilimanjaro, at 5,895 meters, is the highest point in Africa, with a snowy peak above the plains. On Wikidata, the mountain's point is about 30 kilometers north of the city's point.
Commons: 'Kilimanjaro Moshi', a Flickr photo by Stig Nygaard from Copenhagen (CC BY 2.0, reviewed by File Upload Bot in July 2010), dated 3 November 2007 at 18:16; his description: 'View from the roof of our hotel towards Kilimanjaro.', and the keywords he saved in the file include Moshi. The photo shows a wide street with parked and moving cars, low buildings, trees, a tall mast in the distance and a white-topped peak above a band of cloud. A 2007 photo: it shows the town as it was then. UNESCO ('Kilimanjaro National Park', 403): at 5,895 m, the highest point in Africa; a volcanic massif standing in isolation above the plains, its snowy peak looming over the savannah, encircled by mountain forest. Wikidata: Mount Kilimanjaro (Q7296) 29.90 km N of the city point (Q271733); Moshi Co-operative University (Q15256455), a public university, 0.30 km SW.
- In the photo
- Moshi, 3 November 2007 (Stig Nygaard): his view from a hotel roof towards Kilimanjaro
- Mount Kilimanjaro
- 5,895 m, the highest point in Africa (UNESCO); its Wikidata point is about 30 km north of the city's point
- Moshi Co-operative University
- a public university about 0.3 km southwest of the city's point (Wikidata)
A town that grew four times bigger
Long ago, far fewer people lived in Moshi.
The 2022 count found more than 200,000 people!
Tanzania held censuses in 1978, 1988, 2002, 2012 and 2022. City Population lists Moshi's numbers from each one: 52,046 people in 1978, 96,838 in 1988, 143,799 in 2002, 184,292 in 2012 and 221,733 in 2022.
Larousse gives the same 2012 figure, 184,292. Between 1978 and 1988 alone, the number of people almost doubled, from 52,046 to 96,838.
City Population, 'Moshi', urban population: 52,046 (census 26 August 1978), 96,838 (28 August 1988), 143,799 (1 August 2002), 184,292 (26 August 2012), 221,733 (23 August 2022). Larousse: 184,292 (2012 census).
- 1978 census
- 52,046 people (City Population)
- 2012 census
- 184,292 people (City Population; Larousse gives the same figure)
- 2022 census
- 221,733 people (City Population)
Airport, river and campus
Moshi has a small airport and a university.
A river flows nearby.
On Wikidata, Moshi Co-operative University, a public university, is about 0.3 kilometers southwest of the city's point, and Moshi Airport about 3.5 kilometers south-southwest. The Karanga River, which Wikidata describes as a river in Kilimanjaro, has its point about 3.4 kilometers east-southeast.
In the photo, a wide street with cars runs straight away from the camera, between buildings and trees.
Wikidata from the city point (Q271733): Moshi Co-operative University (Q15256455), a public university, 0.30 km SW; Karanga River (Q30066035), 'river in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania', 3.38 km ESE; Moshi Airport (Q6916212), an airport in the Kilimanjaro Region, 3.51 km SSW (first of its two points).
- Airport
- Moshi Airport, about 3.5 km south-southwest of the city's point (Wikidata)
- River
- the Karanga River, a river in Kilimanjaro; its point is about 3.4 km east-southeast of the city's point (Wikidata)
- University
- Moshi Co-operative University, about 0.3 km southwest (Wikidata)
Below a snowy mountain
Moshi is close to the equator, but snow sits on Kilimanjaro's top!
Moshi lies at about 3.33° south, just south of the equator. Yet UNESCO describes Kilimanjaro, rising to the north, as a mountain with a snowy peak above the savannah, and a ring of mountain forest around it.
The World Meteorological Organization's city list has no table of monthly averages for Moshi.
No climate table: Moshi is not in the World Meteorological Organization's city list, and the Japan Meteorological Agency normals page for station 63790 loads with no table. UNESCO ('Kilimanjaro National Park'): a snowy peak looming over the savannah; the mountain is encircled by mountain forest. Wikidata point of Moshi: 3.335° S, 37.340° E.
- Kilimanjaro's peak
- snowy, above the savannah (UNESCO)
- Around the mountain
- a ring of mountain forest (UNESCO)
- Latitude
- about 3.33° south, just south of the equator (Wikidata)
Coffee and leather
People in Moshi buy and sell coffee.
Some workshops turn animal skins into leather.
Larousse describes Moshi as a commercial center for coffee, and names its tanneries, the workshops where animal hides are made into leather.
Moshi is the main town of the Kilimanjaro Region, where the 2022 census counted 1,861,934 people. That means about one person in eight in the region was counted in the town of Moshi itself.
Larousse: centre commercial (café); tanneries. City Population: Kilimanjaro Region (capital Moshi), 13,250 km² (as listed), 902,437 (1978) to 1,861,934 (2022).
- Trade
- a commercial center, for coffee (Larousse)
- Industry
- tanneries, where animal hides are made into leather (Larousse)
- Region
- Kilimanjaro Region: 1,861,934 people at the 2022 census (City Population)
Moshi on the map
Find Tanzania on the globe, then the giant mountain Kilimanjaro. Moshi is just to its south.
Moshi lies at about 3.33° south and 37.34° east, just south of the equator. Larousse places it south of Kilimanjaro, and on Wikidata the mountain's point is about 30 kilometers north of the city's point.
Moshi Airport is about 3.5 kilometers south-southwest of the city's point.
Moshi lies at about 3.33° S, 37.34° E (Wikidata point of Moshi, Q271733; the sheet point is 0.53 km S of it). Wikidata from the city point: Moshi Co-operative University 0.30 km SW; Karanga River 3.38 km ESE; Moshi Airport 3.51 km SSW; Mount Kilimanjaro 29.90 km N.
- Latitude
- about 3.33° south
- Longitude
- about 37.34° east
- Mountain
- south of Kilimanjaro (Larousse)
Amazing facts
-
A photo from a Moshi rooftop shows snow on Kilimanjaro's top, even though Moshi is close to the equator!
Moshi lies just south of the equator, yet UNESCO describes Kilimanjaro, to its north, as having a snowy peak, and a 2007 photo from a Moshi rooftop shows its white top above the clouds.
Wikidata: Moshi at 3.335° S; UNESCO 403: Kilimanjaro's 'snowy peak looming over the savannah'; Commons, Stig Nygaard, 3 November 2007: view from a Moshi hotel roof towards Kilimanjaro.
-
Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa!
UNESCO says Kilimanjaro, at 5,895 meters, is the highest point in Africa.
UNESCO ('Kilimanjaro National Park', 403): 'At 5,895 m, Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa.'
-
Moshi grew more than four times bigger between 1978 and 2022!
Tanzania's 1978 census counted 52,046 people in Moshi; the 2022 census counted 221,733, more than four times as many.
City Population: 52,046 (1978) and 221,733 (2022), a ratio of about 4.26.
Words to know
- census
- an official count of all the people living in a place
- commercial center
- a place where a lot of buying and selling happens
- tannery
- a workshop where animal hides are made into leather
- massif
- a large mountain or group of mountains standing together
- savannah
- a wide grassland with scattered trees
- equator
- the imaginary line around the middle of the Earth
Discovery challenge
-
Which giant mountain is north of Moshi?
Larousse places Moshi south of which mountain?
According to Larousse, Moshi lies south of which massif?
- Kilimanjaro
- Mount Everest
- Mont Blanc
Show the answer
Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro!
Kilimanjaro.
Kilimanjaro (Kilimandjaro).
-
Which drink is traded in Moshi?
Larousse calls Moshi a commercial center for which crop?
Which product does Larousse name for Moshi's trade?
- Coffee
- Cocoa
- Tea
Show the answer
Coffee
Coffee!
Coffee.
Coffee (café).
-
How tall is Kilimanjaro?
How high is Kilimanjaro, according to UNESCO?
What height does UNESCO give for Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest point?
- 5,895 meters
- 895 meters
- 8,895 meters
Show the answer
5,895 meters
5,895 meters!
5,895 meters, the highest point in Africa.
5,895 m.
-
How many people did the 2022 count find in Moshi?
How many people did Tanzania's 2022 census count in Moshi?
What urban population does City Population give for Moshi at the 2022 census?
- 221,733
- 22,173
- 2,217,330
Show the answer
221,733
221,733!
221,733 people.
221,733.
Nearby places
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Natural wonder
Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro, in northeastern Tanzania, is what UNESCO calls the highest mountain in Africa: its top is 5,895 meters high. It is a huge volcanic mountain standing alone above the plains, and as you climb it you pass through farms, forest, moorland and high alpine desert to its icy top.
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Ngorongoro Conservation Area
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania holds the Ngorongoro Crater, a giant bowl about 16 to 20 kilometers across, left when an ancient volcano collapsed about 2.5 million years ago. Around 25,000 large animals live in and around the crater. The area also protects Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli, where scientists have found important evidence of how humans evolved.
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Serengeti National Park
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Mount Kilimanjaro
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Moshi in northern Tanzania, south of Mount Kilimanjaro.
- Read census numbers to see how a town grew between 1978 and 2022.
- Describe Kilimanjaro as UNESCO does: a snowy peak above the savannah, ringed by mountain forest.
- Describe what a commercial center and a tannery are.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- How might living below a giant mountain shape a town?
- Why might a town become a market for a crop like coffee?
- What changes in a town when its number of people grows four times?
Try at home or in class
- Height compare: Kilimanjaro is 5,895 meters high. Find out how tall your home or school is and work out how many would stack up to the peak.
- Growth chart: draw bars for Moshi's five census counts from 1978 to 2022.
- Mountain picture: draw Kilimanjaro as UNESCO describes it, with mountain forest around its lower slopes, a snowy peak, and Moshi about 30 kilometers to the south.
Key vocabulary: census, commercial center, tannery, massif, savannah, equator
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Moshi , Larousse encyclopédie
- Tanzania: Regions and Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the National Bureau of Statistics Tanzania
- Kilimanjaro National Park , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Kilimanjaro Moshi , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.