Ruvuma Region

Ruvuma Region is one of the 31 administrative regions of Tanzania, in the Southern Highlands of the south-west, and its regional capital is the municipality of Songea. It covers a land area of 63,669 square kilometres, comparable to Latvia. It is bordered by Morogoro Region to the north, Lindi Region to the north-east, Mtwara Region to the east and Njombe Region to the north-west, by Lake Nyasa and Malawi to the west, and by the Niassa province of Mozambique to the south, where the Ruvuma River forms most of the boundary and gives the region its name. The land climbs from lower plains along the river to the Matengo and Lukumburu mountains, which reach about 2,000 metres. The 2012 census counted 1,376,891 people.