Cabo Delgado Province
Cabo Delgado is the northernmost province of Mozambique. It has an area of 82,625 km² and a population of 2,320,261 (2017).[2] As well as bordering the neighboring country of Tanzania, it borders the provinces of Nampula and Niassa. The region is an ethnic stronghold of the Makonde tribe, with the Makua and Mwani as leading ethnic minorities. Geographically isolated, the province is the least-developed in Mozambique.
Cabo Delgado | |
|---|---|
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 Cabo Delgado, Province of Mozambique | |
| Country | Mozambique |
| Capital | Pemba |
| Area | |
| • Total | 82,625 km2 (31,902 sq mi) |
| Population (2017) | |
| • Total | 2,320,261 |
| • Density | 28/km2 (73/sq mi) |
| Postal code | 32xxx |
| Area code(s) | (+258) 278 |
| HDI (2017) | 0.374[1] low · 11th of 11 |
| Website | www |
Pemba is the capital of the province; other important cities include Montepuez and Mocimboa da Praia.
History
On 25 September 1964, Frelimo guerrillas arrived from Tanzania and, with help from some individuals of the surrounding population, attacked a Portuguese administrative post in the province. This raid marked the beginning of the Portuguese Colonial War, the armed struggle between the Portuguese colonial authorities in the then-Portuguese Overseas Province of Mozambique and the independence movement. This province was the focus of Operation Gordian Knot, where the Portuguese colonials attempted to wipe out the guerrilla bases in the province.
Since 2017, the province has seen fighting between the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces and Islamist militants as part of the Insurgency in Cabo Delgado, with many civilians displaced by the fighting.[3] In September 2020, ISIL insurgents captured Vamizi Island in the Indian Ocean.[4]
The province is named after Cape Delgado (Portuguese: Cabo Delgado), a coastal headland on the border between Mozambique and Tanzania, which forms the northernmost point in Mozambique.
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 940,000 | — |
| 1997 | 1,380,202 | +2.29% |
| 2007 | 1,634,162 | +1.70% |
| 2017 | 2,320,261 | +3.57% |
| source:[5] | ||
Religion
Religion is shaping a civil war in Cabo Delgado. Mozambique is a majority-Christian country however two northern provinces have an Islamic majority - Niassa (61%) and Cabo Delgado (54%). In Cabo Delgado, only three districts have a Catholic majority - Muidumbe (67%) and Mueda (54%) in the north and Namuno (61%) in the south. Two other districts have significant catholic populations - Nangade (42% Catholic, 36% Muslim) in the north and Chiure (44% Muslim, 42% Catholic) in the South. And 12 have Muslim majorities, including Pemba; four are more than 90% Muslim. Coastal administrative posts are all over 75% Muslim.[7]
Over fifty people were beheaded by islamic terrorists in Cabo Delgado Province on November 9, 2020.[8]
Districts
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Cabo Delgado Province is divided into the 16 districts of:
- Ancuabe District – covering 4,606 km² with 109,792 inhabitants,
- Balama District – covering 5,619 km² with 126,116 inhabitants,
- Chiúre District – covering 4,210 km² with 230,044 inhabitants,
- Ibo District – covering just 48 km² with 9,509 inhabitants,
- Macomia District – covering 4,049 km² with 81,208 inhabitants,
- Mecúfi District – covering 1,192 km² with 43,573 inhabitants,
- Meluco District – covering 5,799 km² with 25,184 inhabitants,
- Mocímboa da Praia District – covering 3,548 km² with 94,197 inhabitants,
- Montepuez District – covering 15,871 km² with 185,635 inhabitants,
- Mueda District – covering 14,150 km² with 120,067 inhabitants,
- Muidumbe District – covering 1,987 km² with 73,457 inhabitants,
- Namuno District – covering 6,915 km² with 179,992 inhabitants,
- Nangade District – covering 3,031 km² with 63,739 inhabitants,
- Palma District – covering 3,493 km² with 48,423 inhabitants,
- Pemba-Metuge District – covering 1,094 km² with 65,365 inhabitants (excluding the city of Pemba),
- Quissanga District – covering 2,061 km² with 35,192 inhabitants;
and the municipalities of:
- Mocimboa da Praia
- Montepuez
- Pemba – covering 194 km² with 141,316 inhabitants.
References
- "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
- "Mozambique at GeoHive". Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
- "'Jihadists behead' Mozambique villagers". BBC News. 2018-05-29. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018.
- "ISIS take over luxury islands popular among A-list celebrities". News.com.au. 18 September 2020.
- Cameroon: Administrative Division population statistics
- "QUADRO 13. POPULAÇÃO POR TIPO SOMÁTICOORIGEM, SEGUNDO ÁREA DE RESIDÊNCIA, RELIGIÃO E SEXO. PROVINCIA DE CABO DELGADO, 2017.xlsx" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-11-12.
- http://www.open.ac.uk/technology/mozambique/sites/www.open.ac.uk.technology.mozambique/files/files/Mozambique_484-30Apr2020_Supplement-religion-vote.pdf
- "Militant Islamists 'behead more than 50' in Mozambique". Yahoo. 2018-08-26. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
External links
- (in Portuguese) Cabo Delgado Province official site
