Kigoma Region

Most of Kigoma Region showing the Malagarasi River.

Kigoma Region resides in the northwestern corner of Tanzania, on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. The region lies at about 5° south and 30° east of Greenwich. The region is bordered to the north by both Burundi and the Kagera Region. To the east, it is bordered by the Shinyanga and Tabora regions, to the south by the Rukwa Region, and to the west by Lake Tanganyika, which forms a border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[4]

The region's total area is 45,066 square kilometres (17,400 sq mi),[5] of which 37,037 square kilometres (14,300 sq mi) is land and 8,029 square kilometres (3,100 sq mi) is water.[4] The region's total area is just 161 square kilometres (62 sq mi) less than that of Estonia. As of 1998, approximately 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) was in forests and 12,000 square kilometres (4,600 sq mi) was suitable for grazing or farming.[4]

Kigoma Region is on a plateau that slopes from the northeast at about 1,750 metres (5,740 ft) down to 800 metres (2,600 ft) at the shore of lake Tanganyika.[6] The topography in the north and east is gently rolling hills that gradually become steeper as they get closer to the Albertine Rift margin.[6] The most important river is the Malagarasi, with the Luiche and the Ruchugi being the two other major rivers draining the region.[6]

Stanley meeting Livingstone

In precolonial Africa the region was a source of ivory and slaves.[7] Tabora and Ujiji were Arab staging areas for shipments to the coast.[8] It was visited by the early European explorers Richard Burton, John Speke, David Livingstone, and Henry Morton Stanley. In fact, Stanley met Livingstone in Ujiji on the shores of Lake Tanganyika on 27 October 1871.[9] In colonial times, the Kigoma area was known as the Western Region and the capital was Tabora.[7]

The region is administratively divided into eight districts:[2]

Districts of Kigoma Region
Map	District	Population (2012)
	Buhigwe District	254,342
	Kakonko District	167,555
	Kasulu Rural	425,794
	Kasulu Urban	208,244
	Kibondo District	261,331
	Kigoma Rural	211,566
	Kigoma Urban	215,458
	Uvinza District	383,640
	Total	2,127,930

Kigoma region has a total population of 2,127,930.[10]

Ha people are the largest ethnic group living here. Other major populations are those of Wamanyema, Watongwe and Wavinza, Sukuma and Haya. Approximately 150,000 refugees from Burundi and almost another 80,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo reside in three refugee camps in the Kigoma region, named Nyarugusu, Mtendeli and Nduta.