Njombe Region

Njombe Region is one of the 31 administrative regions of Tanzania, in the Southern Highlands, and its regional capital is the municipality of Njombe. It covers a land area of 21,347 square kilometres, comparable to El Salvador, and is bordered by Iringa and Mbeya regions to the north, Morogoro Region to the east, Ruvuma Region to the south and Lake Nyasa to the west. The name comes from a tree species called Mdzombe that grew in the locality of Mdandu, where the Germans built their administrative and defence post. The region is among the five smallest in the country by total area. At the 2012 census it had 702,097 people. Ludewa District Council holds the largest share of its area, and Makete is second.