Shinyanga Region in Tanzania: Shinyanga region is one of the regions in Tanzania which produces a variety of minerals. These include gold, diamonds, white wash, salt and several other minerals used in the construction industry. The region boasts of several mines like the famous Williamson Diamond mines ltd (WDL) which is located at mwadui and Kahama mining corporation limited (KMCL)otherwise known as Bulyahulu.
Popularity: Shinyanga Region is popular for cultivation of paddy, diamonds, gold and livestock keeping in Tanzania.
Geographical Location: The region is situated in the northern-western Tanzania south of Lake Victoria and covers 50,781 square kilometers out of which 18,300 square kilometers is covered by forests and game reserves, while 31,400 square kilometers is arable land suitable for agricultural activities and livestock keeping. The rest of the area which is 1,081 square kilometers is dominated by mountains and hills, rocks, stones and valleys.
Borders: The region borders Mwanza, Kagera and Mara on the Northen side, Arusha and Singida on the eastern, Kigoma on the western and Tabora on the southern side.
Shinyanga Region Districts
Present population: More than 2,805,580. The population of the region, according to the 2002 census was 2,805,580 out of whom 1,369,581 were males while 1,435,999 were females. The population in the region increases at a rate of 2.9 percent annually.
People: The Bantu speaking ethnic groups of Wasukuma and wasumbwa.
Climate: For most of the time of the year, shinyanga experiences dry spells. It has two rainy seasons, namely between October and January and between February and June.
A short dry spell normally surfaces between January and February while the dry spell dominates the period between June and October. The temperature changes between 20 degree centigrade’s and 31 degree centigrade’s at the highest and between 18 degree centigrade’s to 24 degree centigrade’s at the lowest. In normal years, Shinyanga region normally gets rainfall between 600 and 900mm annually.
Economic activities: The main economic activities of the region are farming and livestock keeping. Farmers grow both cash and subsistence crops. Shinyanga region is leading in the country for having the highest number of livestock.
It is estimated that the region has over 2,223,486 cattle, 1,221,327 goats, 698,010 sheep and 150,992 horses.
Main Ethnic Groups in Shinyanga Region
