Matola

For other uses, see Matola (disambiguation).

Matola
Matola
Coordinates: 25°58′2.42″S 32°27′24.09″E / 25.9673389°S 32.4566917°E / -25.9673389; 32.4566917
Country	Mozambique
Provinces	Maputo Province
District
Population (2007)
- Total	675 422

Matola is a city in southern Mozambique, which lies 12 kilometers to the west of the country's capital, Maputo. Matola is the capital of Maputo Province and has had its own elected municipal government since 1998. It has a port and also the biggest industrial area in Mozambique. The population of Matola is, according to the 2007 census, 675,422 inhabitants,^[1] with one 2010 calculation putting its current population at 757,753^{[citation needed]}.

Etymology

Matola, which is also a common family name, comes from Matsolo a Ronga kingdom that existed in this region when the colonists arrived.

Industry

Matola is an industrial centre with an important port for mineral (chromium and iron) and other exports from Swaziland and South Africa. It has petroleum refineries (presently inactive) and diverse industries, which manufacture products like soap, cement and agricultural materials. The most important of these is an aluminium smelter, installed in 2002, that more than doubled Mozambique's GDP.

Transport

Matola is served by a station on the southern network of Mozambique Ports and Railways. Coal is exported from here.

Geography

Matola is also the name of a small river (some 30 km long), that makes the northern border of the Matola municipality, and flows into Maputo Bay.

Demographics

Year	Population[2]
1997	440 927
2007	675 422

Town twinning

• Loures, Portugal (since 1996)

See also

• Transport in Mozambique

References

1. ^ "População por sexo e idade, segundo distrito Província de Maputo. 2007" (in Portuguese). http://www.ine.gov.mz/censo2007/rdcenso09/mp10/mcpop/q4. Retrieved 2010-11-13. 
2. ^ "Mozambique: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&des=wg&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&geo=-153. Retrieved 2008-06-18. 

Coordinates: 25°58′S 32°28′E / 25.967°S 32.467°E / -25.967; 32.467