Cities of East and Southern Africa

Lilongwe

Lilongwe is the capital and largest city of Malawi, on the Lilongwe River. A colonial boma from 1904, it replaced Zomba as capital in 1975; the 2018 census counted 989,318 residents, about three quarters in informal settlements.

Livingstone

Livingstone (Maramba), Zambia's tourist capital in Southern Province near Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya); founded 1905, Northern Rhodesia's capital 1911–1935, city status 1997; 177,393 residents (2022 census); economy dominated by adventure tourism.

Luanshya

Luanshya is a mining town and district in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, site of the Roan Antelope mine, Zambia's first commercial copper mine (operations from 1927). Population 212,864 (2022 census); economy based on copper mining and agriculture.

Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia, on the Central African Plateau at 1,280 m. Over 2 million district residents (2022); colonial Garden City planning legacy, 70% in unplanned settlements, cholera hotspot, sanitation reforms.

Mahajanga

Mahajanga (Majunga), port city in Boeny region, northwest Madagascar, on Bombetoka Bay at the Betsiboka mouth; former Sakalava Boina royal capital, 2018 population 246,022, small first-generation port with chronic water and electricity deficits.

Malanje

Malanje (Malange) is the capital of Malanje Province in north-central Angola, gateway to Kalandula Falls (105 m tall, 400 m wide, 77 km north), the Pungo Andongo black rocks, and Cangandala National Park, home of the giant sable antelope.

Maputo

Maputo, formerly Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique, a port on Delagoa Bay and the Indian Ocean, its economy centered on the harbor and links to Johannesburg.

Maseru

Maseru, capital and largest city of Lesotho (pop. about 220,000), founded March 1869 as a British police camp on the Caledon River; center of the country's textile industry and of urban planning efforts such as Maseru2050.

Matola

Matola (Cidade da Matola) is the capital of Maputo Province, Mozambique, and the country's second largest city, with 1,032,197 people at the 2017 census, an industrial economy, and the Matola bulk port terminal.

Oct 22, 2026

Mavinga

Mavinga is a town in southeastern Angola's Cuando Cubango province that served as UNITA's principal stronghold during the Angolan Civil War, targeted by government offensives in 1985, 1987, and 1989.

Mbabane

Mbabane, administrative capital of Eswatini in the Hhohho region at 1,243 m in the Mdzimba Mountains; named for Chief Mbabane Kunene, made colonial capital in 1902, city status 1992, population roughly 62,000 to 95,000.

Mbarara

Mbarara is a city in Uganda's Western Region, the main town of the former Ankole kingdom, founded as a colonial civil station in 1898, a township in 1957, municipality in 1974, and city in 2020.

Mbeya

Mbeya is a highland city in Southern Tanzania. It developed in the 1920s and is a key commercial gateway linking Dar es Salaam and Zambia.

Mek'ele

Mek'ele (መቐለ, also Mekelle), capital of Ethiopia's Tigray Regional State about 778 km from Addis Ababa; made capital by Yohannes IV (palace 1886), rapid urban growth, and center of the Tigray conflict retaken by federal forces in October 2026.

Merca

Merca (Marka, مركة) is an ancient port city and capital of Somalia's Lower Shebelle region, 90 km southwest of Mogadishu; founded by Arab or Persian traders in the 10th century, population roughly 230,000-300,000.

Middelburg, Mpumalanga

Middelburg, Mpumalanga: farming and industrial town in South Africa's Mpumalanga province, founded as Nazareth in 1864-1866 on the Sterkfontein farm, renamed 1872, home to Columbus Stainless and the Steve Tshwete municipality.

Mocuba

Mocuba, city and district in Zambézia Province, Mozambique, on the Licungo and Lugela rivers; about 124,650 city residents, tea-cotton-timber transit hub, EU-funded Milange road, planned Assembly of the Republic seat.

Mogadishu

Mogadishu (Muqdisho), capital and largest port of Somalia on the Indian Ocean; population estimates 1.7–2.9 million, main economic hub with Bakara market, Albayrak-managed seaport, and seat of the federal government.

Mombasa

Mombasa: coastal city and Kenya's second largest city, capital of Mombasa County (212.5 km², 939,370 people in 2009). Swahili port since the 8th century; Fort Jesus (1593–96) is a UNESCO site; its port handled 45.45 million tons in 2025.

Morogoro (city)

Morogoro is a city in east-central Tanzania, capital of Morogoro Region at the foot of the Uluguru Mountains. Sixth-largest Tanzanian city; the Central Railway reached it in 1908; about 360,000 residents (2016).

Moroni, Comoros

Moroni, capital and largest city of the Union of the Comoros on Grande Comore (Ngazidja) Island since 1958; Swahili medina, Old Friday Mosque, Karthala volcano, port economy, and a severe piped-water shortage.

Moshi, Tanzania

Moshi is a town on the southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, capital of the Kilimanjaro Region and the main base for Kilimanjaro climbs; founded as a German military camp in 1892, population about 222,000 (2022).

Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay (Mosselbaai) is a Garden Route harbour town in the Western Cape, South Africa, seat of a 2,007 km² municipality of 140,075 people (2022), where Dias landed in 1488 and Pinnacle Point caves hold 164,000-year-old shellfish evidence.

Mpanda, Katavi

Mpanda is the capital town of Katavi Region in western Tanzania, administered as Mpanda Town Council. Key facts: about 102,000 residents in 2012, Mpanda Airport (NPY), a 210 km rail link to Kaliua, and the gateway to Katavi National Park.

Mukono

Mukono is a district and town in Uganda's Central region, east of Kampala on the Jinja highway; a former Kyagwe county headquarters and East Mengo district seat since 1974, now a Greater Kampala commuter district with 929,224 people (2024 census).

Mutare

Mutare (Umtali until 1982) is Zimbabwe's third largest city and capital of Manicaland Province, population 224,802 (2022 census), founded 1891, moved three times, gateway to Beira port.

Mzuzu

Mzuzu is the third largest city in Malawi, capital of the Northern Region, on the Viphya Plateau. Founded as a 1940s tung oil estate, declared a city in 1985; 221,272 residents in 2018, governed by Mzuzu City Council.

Nacala

Nacala, Mozambique: city in Nampula Province (pop. ~240,000) and site of Africa's east coast's largest natural deep-water port, terminus of the 912 km Nacala Corridor railway serving Malawi, Zambia, and Moatize coal exports.

Nairobi

Nairobi, capital of Kenya and East Africa's most populous city (about 3.5 million), founded 1899 as Uganda railway headquarters; county of 696.1 km2 at 1,798 m altitude with 17 sub-counties, governed by a county assembly and governor.