City Africa
Mwanza
Mwanza is a big city in Tanzania. It sits on the shore of Lake Victoria, a giant lake in Africa!
Mwanza is a city in Tanzania on the shore of Lake Victoria. Larousse calls it a commercial center linked by ship to Kenya and Uganda and by railway to Dar es Salaam. Tanzania's 2022 census counted 1,104,521 people in the city, the country's second-largest after Dar es Salaam.
Mwanza, a regional capital on Lake Victoria (Larousse), had 1,104,521 urban inhabitants (Mwanza including Ilemela) at Tanzania's census of 23 August 2022, second after Dar es Salaam (City Population, from the National Bureau of Statistics Tanzania); it had 110,553 at the 1978 census.
Photo: Jonathan Stonehouse, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Mwanza
Mwanza is a city in Tanzania, a country in East Africa.
It is on the edge of Lake Victoria, a huge lake.
Mwanza is a city in Tanzania, on the shore of Lake Victoria. The French encyclopedia Larousse calls it the main town of its region.
Tanzania's census of 23 August 2022 counted 1,104,521 people living in the city, counting Mwanza together with Ilemela. In the list of Tanzania's major cities, only Dar es Salaam had more people.
Larousse ('Mwanza'): a town of Tanzania, chef-lieu (main town) of a region, on Lake Victoria; population 252,000 (1985 estimate); a commercial center, linked by ships to the ports of Kenya and Uganda and by railway to Dar es Salaam; a power station; textiles. City Population (from the National Bureau of Statistics Tanzania), 'Mwanza (incl. Ilemela)', urban population at each census: 110,553 (1978), 172,287 (1988), 385,810 (2002), 706,453 (2012) and 1,104,521 (23 August 2022); in its major-cities table for 2022, Mwanza is second after Dar es Salaam (5,383,728). For cities, City Population reports the urban population.
- Country
- Tanzania, on Lake Victoria (Larousse)
- People in the city (census, 23 August 2022)
- 1,104,521 (Mwanza including Ilemela)
- Rank
- second in Tanzania's list of major cities, after Dar es Salaam (City Population, 2022 census)
- Role
- the main town of its region (Larousse)
A city of hills and rocks
Look at all the buildings on the green hills!
Big round rocks sit among the trees.
Jonathan Stonehouse took this photo on 28 May 2010; its title says it was taken from Capri Point. It shows a hillside covered with buildings and trees, a cluster of taller buildings in the middle, palm trees, and large rounded rocks among the trees at the front.
On Wikidata, Mwanza Central Train Station is about 0.7 kilometers south of the city's point, and Saanane Island National Park, a national park on an island in Lake Victoria, is about 3.3 kilometers south-southwest.
Commons: 'Mwanza from Capri Point, Tanzania', a Flickr photo by Jonathan Stonehouse (CC BY 2.0, verified by UploadWizard; uploaded by another Commons user in August 2015), dated 28 May 2010; camera point 2.5193° S, 32.8968° E, 0.45 km SW of the city's Wikidata point. The photo shows a hillside of low buildings and trees, a cluster of taller buildings in the middle, palm trees, large rounded boulders in the foreground and a red-and-white mast. A 2010 photo: it shows the city as it was then. Wikidata, from the city point (Q110218): Mwanza Central Train Station (Q131560872) 0.72 km S; Saanane Island National Park (Q15274198), inception 2013, 3.28 km SSW.
- In the photo
- Mwanza, 28 May 2010 (Jonathan Stonehouse); its title says it was taken from Capri Point
- Mwanza Central Train Station
- about 0.7 km south of the city's point (Wikidata)
- Saanane Island National Park
- a national park on an island in Lake Victoria, about 3.3 km south-southwest (Wikidata)
A city that grew ten times bigger
Long ago, far fewer people lived in Mwanza.
The 2022 count found more than one million people!
Tanzania held censuses in 1978, 1988, 2002, 2012 and 2022. City Population lists Mwanza's numbers from each one: 110,553 people in 1978, 172,287 in 1988, 385,810 in 2002, 706,453 in 2012 and 1,104,521 in 2022.
That means the 2022 census counted about ten times as many people as the 1978 census.
City Population, 'Mwanza (incl. Ilemela)', urban population: 110,553 (census 26 August 1978), 172,287 (28 August 1988), 385,810 (1 August 2002), 706,453 (26 August 2012), 1,104,521 (23 August 2022); 1,104,521 ÷ 110,553 ≈ 10.0. Larousse gives 252,000 as a 1985 estimate.
- 1978 census
- 110,553 people (City Population)
- 2002 census
- 385,810 people (City Population)
- 2022 census
- 1,104,521 people (City Population)
By lake, rail and air
Boats cross the big lake from Mwanza.
A railway runs all the way to Dar es Salaam!
Larousse describes Mwanza as a commercial center, linked by ships to the ports of Kenya and Uganda across Lake Victoria, and by railway to Dar es Salaam.
On Wikidata, Mwanza Airport is about 8.8 kilometers north-northeast of the city's point, and the Mwanza Gulf, a bay of the lake, about 9.3 kilometers southwest.
Larousse: a commercial center, linked by ships to the ports of Kenya and Uganda and by railway to Dar es Salaam (an encyclopedia entry with a 1985 population estimate). Wikidata from the city point: Mwanza Central Train Station 0.72 km S; Mwanza Airport (Q392790) 8.81 km NNE; Mwanza Gulf (Q49385976), a bay, 9.26 km SW. Universalis ('Grands lacs africains'): the waters of Lake Victoria flow by the Bahr el Djebel to the Nile and the Mediterranean.
- Ships
- to the ports of Kenya and Uganda across Lake Victoria (Larousse)
- Railway
- to Dar es Salaam (Larousse)
- Airport
- Mwanza Airport, about 8.8 km north-northeast of the city's point (Wikidata)
Warm all year, with a drier middle of the year
Mwanza is warm all year.
June to September are the driest months, and April is the wettest.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for Mwanza, for 1971 to 2000, show daytime highs between 27.3 °C and 29.0 °C in every month, and average lows between 15.4 °C and 18.2 °C.
About 1,051 millimeters of rain fall in a year. In the table, most of the rain falls from October to May, with April the wettest month at 168.2 millimeters. June to September are much drier: July gets only 11.9 millimeters.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Mwanza (Tanzania Meteorological Agency; period 1971-2000 as given in the data; rain days at least 1 mm; the WMO point is 5.6 km NNE of the city point): mean daily maximum 27.3 °C (Dec) to 29.0 °C (Sep); mean daily minimum 15.4 °C (Jul) to 18.2 °C (Apr). Rainfall 103.7, 108.0, 139.8, 168.2, 72.9, 21.1, 11.9, 20.6, 22.9, 85.6, 157.2, 138.9 mm (Jan-Dec); sum 1,050.7 mm on 92 rain days.
- September, average daily high and low (WMO, Mwanza, 1971–2000)
- 29.0 °C and 17.3 °C
- Wettest and driest months (same table)
- April, 168.2 mm; July, 11.9 mm
- Rain in a year (twelve months added up)
- about 1,051 mm, on about 92 days
Work in a lake city
People in Mwanza buy and sell many things.
Some make cloth, called textiles.
Larousse describes Mwanza as a commercial center, a place of trade, with a power station and a textile industry, which makes cloth.
The lake beside the city is part of a giant river system. The encyclopedia Universalis explains that the water of Lake Victoria flows out to the Nile, which carries it all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.
Larousse: commercial center; power station; textiles (its line on gold and diamonds concerns the surrounding region, not the city, and is not used). Universalis ('Grands lacs africains', Pierre Carrière): by the Bahr el Djebel, the waters of Lakes Victoria, Albert and Edward go to the Nile and the Mediterranean. Wikidata: Saanane Island National Park (Q15274198), 'a Tanzanian national park on an island in Lake Victoria', inception 2013.
- Trade
- a commercial center (Larousse)
- Industry
- a power station and textiles (Larousse)
- Lake water
- Lake Victoria's waters flow to the Nile (Universalis)
Mwanza on the map
Find Africa on the globe, then the giant Lake Victoria. Mwanza is on its shore, just south of the equator.
Mwanza lies at about 2.52° south and 32.90° east, just south of the equator, on the shore of Lake Victoria. Larousse says ships link it to the ports of Kenya and Uganda, and a railway to Dar es Salaam.
On Wikidata, Saanane Island National Park is about 3.3 kilometers south-southwest of the city's point, and the Mwanza Gulf about 9.3 kilometers southwest.
Mwanza lies at about 2.52° S, 32.90° E (Wikidata point of Mwanza, Q110218; the sheet point is 3.35 km E of it). Wikidata from the city point: Saanane Island National Park 3.28 km SSW; Mwanza Airport 8.81 km NNE; Mwanza Gulf 9.26 km SW. Larousse places the town on Lake Victoria.
- Latitude
- about 2.52° south
- Longitude
- about 32.90° east
- Lake
- Lake Victoria (Larousse)
Amazing facts
-
The water in Lake Victoria flows all the way to the Nile!
The encyclopedia Universalis explains that water from Lake Victoria flows out to the Nile and on to the Mediterranean Sea.
Universalis: by the Bahr el Djebel, the waters of Lakes Victoria, Albert and Edward go to the Nile and the Mediterranean.
-
Mwanza has a national park on an island in the lake!
On Wikidata, Saanane Island National Park sits on an island in Lake Victoria, about 3.3 kilometers south-southwest of Mwanza's point.
Wikidata: Saanane Island National Park (Q15274198), a national park on an island in Lake Victoria, inception 2013, 3.28 km SSW of the city point.
-
In 1978, Mwanza had about ten times fewer people than in 2022!
Tanzania's 1978 census counted 110,553 people in Mwanza; the 2022 census counted 1,104,521, about ten times as many.
City Population: 110,553 (1978) and 1,104,521 (2022), a ratio of about 10.0.
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
- textiles
- cloth, and the things made from it
- gulf
- a large part of a sea or lake that reaches into the land
- national park
- a large area protected for nature and visitors
- equator
- the imaginary line around the middle of the Earth
Discovery challenge
-
Mwanza is on the shore of which big lake?
Mwanza lies on the shore of which African lake?
On which lake does Larousse place the Tanzanian town of Mwanza?
- Lake Victoria
- Lake Baikal
- Lake Titicaca
Show the answer
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria!
Lake Victoria.
Lake Victoria.
-
Which city in Tanzania has more people than Mwanza?
In the 2022 census, which Tanzanian city had more people than Mwanza?
Which city is first, ahead of Mwanza, in City Population's 2022 list of Tanzania's major cities?
- Dar es Salaam
- Cairo
- Lima
Show the answer
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam!
Dar es Salaam, with 5,383,728 people.
Dar es Salaam (5,383,728).
-
Where does Lake Victoria's water flow to?
Lake Victoria's water flows out to which great river?
According to Universalis, the waters of Lake Victoria go to which river?
- The Nile
- The Amazon
- The Danube
Show the answer
The Nile
The Nile!
The Nile, which carries it to the Mediterranean Sea.
The Nile (by the Bahr el Djebel).
-
Which month brings the most rain to Mwanza?
In the 1971–2000 averages, which is Mwanza's wettest month?
Which month has the highest mean rainfall in the WMO 1971–2000 normals for Mwanza?
- April
- July
- September
Show the answer
April
April!
April, with 168.2 millimeters.
April, 168.2 mm.
Nearby places
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Watch
Natural wonder
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa, and Britannica says only Lake Superior, in North America, is a bigger freshwater lake. It is shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The lake is wide but shallow, its only outlet is the Nile, and it is home to hundreds of kinds of colorful fish called cichlids.
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Natural wonder
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania protects 14,763 square kilometers of grassy plains and woodlands. Each year more than a million wildebeest, with zebras and gazelles, travel a great loop across the Serengeti and into Kenya in search of grass and water, followed by lions and other predators.
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Natural wonder
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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City
Kampala
Kampala is the capital of Uganda, near the shores of Lake Victoria. It grew from the royal capital of the Buganda kingdom, built on hills separated by marshy valleys. Uganda's 2024 census counted 1,797,722 people in Kampala City, by far the largest city in the country.
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Landmark
Kasubi Tombs
The Kasubi Tombs stand on Kasubi hill in Kampala, Uganda. The main building, a huge round house with a domed roof of thatch, was built in 1882 as a palace for the Kabaka, the king of Buganda, and became the burial place of four kings. After a fire in 2010 it was rebuilt, and the work was finished in 2023.
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City
Kigali
Kigali is the capital of Rwanda, a country of many hills in the middle of Africa. Rwanda's 2022 census counted 1,745,555 people in the City of Kigali. When Rwanda became independent in 1962, Kigali was a small town of about 6,000 people.
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Natural wonder
Mount Nyiragongo
Mount Nyiragongo is a steep volcano in the Virunga Mountains of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the border with Rwanda and just north of Lake Kivu. It is 3,470 meters high, and its deep summit crater often holds a lake of bubbling lava. Its lava is very runny, and eruptions in 1977, 2002 and 2021 sent lava flowing down its sides toward the city of Goma.
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Natural wonder
Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was founded in 1925; the park describes itself as Africa's first national park. It stretches from active volcanoes in the south to the snowy Rwenzori Mountains in the north. About one third of the world's mountain gorillas live in its forests, along with elephants, hippos, chimpanzees and hundreds of kinds of birds.
Explore next
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Country
Tanzania
Tanzania is a country in East Africa, just south of the Equator, on the Indian Ocean. It has Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, deep lakes in the East African Rift, and the Serengeti, where huge herds of wildebeest travel each year.
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Natural wonder
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa, and Britannica says only Lake Superior, in North America, is a bigger freshwater lake. It is shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The lake is wide but shallow, its only outlet is the Nile, and it is home to hundreds of kinds of colorful fish called cichlids.
-
Watch
Natural wonder
Nile
The Nile flows north through northeastern Africa to the Mediterranean Sea, and its basin is shared by 11 countries. Its length is usually given as about 6,650 kilometers. Two great branches, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, meet at Khartoum in Sudan, and the green strip of farmland along its banks made it the lifeline of ancient Egypt.
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City
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam is the largest city of Tanzania, on the coast of the Indian Ocean in East Africa. It was founded in 1862 beside a harbor that was good for ships. In the 2022 census, 5,383,728 people were counted there.
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City
Kampala
Kampala is the capital of Uganda, near the shores of Lake Victoria. It grew from the royal capital of the Buganda kingdom, built on hills separated by marshy valleys. Uganda's 2024 census counted 1,797,722 people in Kampala City, by far the largest city in the country.
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Watch
City
Zanzibar City
Zanzibar City is the main town of Zanzibar island, off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean. Its old quarter, Stone Town, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a Swahili trading town shaped by Africa, the Arab region, India and Europe. Tanzania's 2022 census counted 709,809 people in the city.
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City
Moshi
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.
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Watch
City
Abidjan
Abidjan is the largest city of Côte d'Ivoire, with 5,616,633 people at the 2021 census. Spread around the Ébrié Lagoon, it grew from a colonial port: a canal finished in 1950 opened the lagoon to ships, and its Plateau district is a cluster of office towers, banks and government buildings.
For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Mwanza on Lake Victoria, just south of the equator.
- Read census numbers to see how a city grew between 1978 and 2022.
- Explain how a lake city is linked to other places by ship, rail and air.
- Read a climate table with wet and dry months.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might a city on a big lake become a place of trade?
- What changes in a city when its number of people grows ten times?
- How would your week change if June to September had almost no rain?
Try at home or in class
- Growth chart: draw bars for Mwanza's five census counts from 1978 to 2022.
- Rain jar: compare Mwanza's 168 millimeters of rain in April with 12 millimeters in July using two marked jars.
- Water trip: on a map, trace Lake Victoria's water to the Nile and on to the Mediterranean Sea.
Key vocabulary: census, commercial center, textiles, gulf, national park, equator
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Mwanza , Larousse encyclopédie
- Tanzania: Regions and Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the National Bureau of Statistics Tanzania
- Grands lacs africains , Encyclopædia Universalis
- Mwanza: climatological information (1971–2000) , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- Mwanza from Capri Point, Tanzania , 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.