Geo Countries
Sumbawanga, Rukwa, Tanzania – Tanzania Flag

Current Date And Time In Sumbawanga, Tanzania

Wednesday, 26 August 2026
15:43:02 EAT
State: Rukwa
Currency: Tanzanian Shilling (TZS)
Timezone: UTC +03:00 (EAT)
Population: 303,986
District: Sumbawanga Urban

📍 Cities Near To Sumbawanga


Find cities, states and countries closest to Sumbawanga in Rukwa, Tanzania with precise aerial distance in miles, kilometers and nautical miles, plus exact 16-point compass bearing and heading direction. This location intelligence data is used by logistics professionals, supply chain analysts, market researchers and field teams planning routes and coverage areas around Sumbawanga.

📍 Sumbawanga Geographic & Demographics Profile Summary

To assist regional market researchers, location intelligence professionals and logistics managers in strategic decision-making, we have compiled the key geographic and demographic attributes for Sumbawanga from our regional database:

State / RegionRukwa
DistrictSumbawanga Urban
Total Population303,986
Land Area
Population Density
Center Latitude-7.9667° N
Center Longitude31.6167° E
Elevation1,833 m (6,014 ft)
UTC Time Zone+03:00
Population Rank in Rukwa#1 of 7
FlagCityDistanceDirection
Miles (mi)Kilometers (km)Nautical Miles (nm)HeadingSymbol
National Flag Of Chala Chala36 57 31
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of Inyonga Inyonga92 148 80
North-northeast (NNE)
National Flag Of Itumba Itumba146 235 127
Southeast (SE)
National Flag Of Karema Karema113 182 98
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of Kirando Kirando79 128 69
West-northwest (WNW)
National Flag Of Kituku Kituku100 161 87
West-northwest (WNW)
National Flag Of Laela Laela51 82 44
Southeast (SE)
National Flag Of Makongolosi Makongolosi109 175 95
East-southeast (ESE)
National Flag Of Matai Matai24 39 21
South-southwest (SSW)
National Flag Of Mbala Mbala63 101 54
South-southwest (SSW)
National Flag Of Mlowo Mlowo118 189 102
Southeast (SE)
National Flag Of Mporokoso Mporokoso141 227 122
Southwest (SW)
National Flag Of Mpulungu Mpulungu65 104 56
South-southwest (SSW)
National Flag Of Nakonde Nakonde122 197 106
Southeast (SE)
National Flag Of Namanyere Namanyere50 80 43
Northwest (NW)

🏳️ States Near To Sumbawanga


States and regions closest to Rukwa (home state of Sumbawanga), with aerial distance and compass direction — useful for cross-state logistics routing, regional market-expansion research and strategic site selection.

FlagState/RegionDistanceDirection
Miles (mi)Kilometers (km)Nautical Miles (nm)HeadingSymbol
National Flag Of Haut-Katanga Haut-Katanga339 546 294
Southwest (SW)
National Flag Of Katavi Katavi114 184 99
North (N)
National Flag Of Kigoma Kigoma250 402 217
North-northwest (NNW)
National Flag Of Luapula Province Luapula Province295 475 256
South-southwest (SSW)
National Flag Of Makamba Makamba290 467 252
North-northwest (NNW)
National Flag Of Mbeya Mbeya151 243 131
East-southeast (ESE)
National Flag Of Muchinga Muchinga273 439 237
South (S)
National Flag Of Njombe Njombe248 399 215
East-southeast (ESE)
National Flag Of Northern Province Northern Province127 204 110
South-southwest (SSW)
National Flag Of Northern Region Northern Region275 443 239
Southeast (SE)

🌎 Countries Near To Sumbawanga


Countries bordering or closest to Tanzania, with aerial distance and compass direction from Sumbawanga's home country — a quick reference for cross-border trade, travel planning and regional supply chain routing.

FlagCountryDistanceDirection
Miles (mi)Kilometers (km)Nautical Miles (nm)HeadingSymbol
National Flag Of Burundi Burundi400 643 347
West-northwest (WNW)
National Flag Of Central African Republic Central African Republic1,315 2,116 1,142
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of Comoros Comoros682 1,097 592
East-southeast (ESE)
National Flag Of Democratic Republic Of The Congo Democratic Republic Of The Congo918 1,477 797
West (W)
National Flag Of Kenya Kenya485 781 421
North-northeast (NNE)
National Flag Of Madagascar Madagascar1,176 1,893 1,021
Southeast (SE)
National Flag Of Malawi Malawi477 768 415
South (S)
National Flag Of Mayotte Mayotte830 1,336 721
East-southeast (ESE)
National Flag Of Mozambique Mozambique851 1,369 739
South (S)
National Flag Of Rwanda Rwanda462 743 401
Northwest (NW)

📊 Nearby Cities – Population & Distance Comparison

Compare population and aerial distance of cities geographically closest to Sumbawanga. This regional snapshot supports market sizing, site selection, logistics zone planning and cross-city business analysis in Rukwa, Tanzania.

CityStatePopulationDistance (km)Direction
Sumbawanga (You)Rukwa303,986
MataiRukwa24,07038.7SSW
ChalaRukwa22,62457.5NW
NamanyereRukwa40,00080.0NW
LaelaRukwa19,18582.0SE
NkoveRukwa5,38984.4W
MbalaNorthern Province42,424101.0SSW
MpulunguNorthern Province55,405104.3SSW
UseviaKatavi17,742105.2NNW
KirandoRukwa33,111127.6WNW
InyongaKatavi11,790147.6NNE

🏆 Rukwa City Rankings

How does Sumbawanga rank within Rukwa? The top 10 cities by population, land area and density are listed below — useful for regional benchmarking, investment prioritization and market-entry decisions. Cities where Sumbawanga appears are highlighted with ⭐.

👥 Most Populous Cities

CityPopulation
Sumbawanga ⭐303,986
Namanyere40,000
Kirando33,111
Matai24,070
Chala22,624
Laela19,185
Nkove5,389

📏 Largest Cities by Area

CityArea (km²)

🏙 Most Densely Populated

CityDensity/km²
✈️ Nearest Airport
Songwe Airport
IATA: MBI
211 km (131 mi) from Sumbawanga
States By Alphabets
Compass Directions Rose
N (North)
0° or 360° - Directly facing the North Pole
NNE (North-Northeast)
22.5° - Direction midway between North and Northeast
NE (Northeast)
45° - Direction midway between North and East
ENE (East-Northeast)
67.5° - Direction midway between Northeast and East
E (East)
90° - Directly facing sunrise
ESE (East-Southeast)
112.5° - Direction midway between East and Southeast
SE (Southeast)
135° - Direction midway between East and South
SSE (South-Southeast)
157.5° - Direction midway between Southeast and South
S (South)
180° - Directly facing the South Pole
SSW (South-Southwest)
202.5° - Direction midway between South and Southwest
SW (Southwest)
225° - Direction midway between South and West
WSW (West-Southwest)
247.5° - Direction midway between Southwest and West
W (West)
270° - Directly facing sunset
WNW (West-Northwest)
292.5° - Direction midway between West and Northwest
NW (Northwest)
315° - Direction midway between West and North
NNW (North-Northwest)
337.5° - Direction midway between Northwest and North
📊 Compare Rukwa Cities
Sumbawanga ranks #1 of 7 by population
👥 Most Populous
📏 Largest By Area
⚡ Highest Density

🧭 How Close Is Everything to Sumbawanga? A Distance & Direction Primer

📍 Where Sumbawanga Sits on the Map

Sumbawanga sits inside Rukwa, Tanzania and ranks #1 of 7 cities in Rukwa by population. Every distance on this page is a straight-line Great Circle (haversine) measurement — the shortest path a plane or signal would take between two GPS points, not the longer road-and-turns route a driver would actually cover. View the nearby cities, nearby states or nearby countries tables above.

📏 Reading the Distance Figures

  • Miles (mi): the everyday unit in the US, UK and most aviation cockpits
  • Kilometers (km): the metric standard used almost everywhere else, including most freight and shipping paperwork
  • Nautical Miles (nm): the unit ships and aircraft actually navigate by
  • Compass Bearing: the 16-point heading from Sumbawanga to each place listed — see the distance tables above

🚚 Putting This Data to Work

  • Route Planning: Build delivery loops or sales-visit circuits starting from Sumbawanga outward to the closest towns first
  • New-Market Scouting: Spot the nearest untapped urban centers before committing to a regional expansion
  • Freight Estimating: Get a fast first read on road, rail or air distances before requesting an actual freight quote
  • Warehouse Placement: Weigh a few candidate hub locations by how close each sits to Sumbawanga and its neighbors
  • Side-by-Side Comparison: Stack Sumbawanga against nearby cities on population and land area — see population & area comparison and Rukwa city rankings

🌎 Beyond Sumbawanga: States & Countries Nearby

Scroll down and this page also ranks the states closest to Sumbawanga and the countries closest to Sumbawanga by the same straight-line measurement. For the complete national picture, see every country bordering or near Tanzania. Handy for cross-border import/export planning, scouting a new travel corridor or lining up emergency logistics across Africa.

🧭 Making Sense of the Compass Bearing

Next to every distance sits a compass heading from Sumbawanga, plotted on the 16-point rose (N, NNE, NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S, SSW, SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW, NNW). The rotating arrow marks the bearing angle (0°–360°, where 0°/360° is due north) — see it in action in the cities, states and countries tables above. It's the same reference pilots, sailors and long-haul truckers use to picture the layout around Sumbawanga at a glance.

🎯 For Travelers Passing Through Sumbawanga

If you're stringing together stops in Rukwa, the neighboring cities table above doubles as a rough day-trip planner from Sumbawanga — shortest hops first. Pair it with the population and area data to gauge which nearby stop is worth the detour.

🔎 Related City & Country Tools

🗺 Sumbawanga MapView the Sumbawanga map with GPS coordinates for precise location planning.
✈️ Sumbawanga Travel GuideCheck the travel standards guide before you head toward any of the places listed above.
🏳️ Rukwa OverviewExplore the Rukwa state profile and its full list of cities for regional market analysis.
🏳️ Tanzania Country DataGet complete Tanzania data including population, area, currency and timezone.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions – Distances From Sumbawanga

Which cities are closest to Sumbawanga?

See the Cities Near To Sumbawanga table above, ranked nearest first with distance in miles, kilometers and nautical miles plus a compass bearing for each. Want the bigger picture? The nearest states and nearest countries tables sit further down this page, or compare every city in Rukwa by population and density.

How is the distance from Sumbawanga to nearby places calculated?

Every figure on this page is a Great Circle (haversine) distance — a straight aerial line between the GPS center of Sumbawanga and the GPS center of the other place, not a driving distance. It's the same math airlines use to estimate flight paths. View the Sumbawanga map for the exact coordinates behind these numbers.

Is the distance shown a straight line or an actual driving distance?

It's a straight line — the shortest possible path between two points on Earth's surface, ignoring roads, terrain and detours. Actual driving distance from Sumbawanga will almost always run longer, sometimes significantly, depending on the road network. Treat the figures here as a quick planning benchmark, not a substitute for a live route from a mapping or navigation app.

What does the compass direction next to each city mean?

It's the bearing from Sumbawanga to that place, plotted on a 16-point compass rose. The rotating arrow marks the degree bearing (0°–360°), where 0°/360° is due north, 90° east, 180° south and 270° west. See it applied in the cities, states and countries tables above.

How do businesses use this proximity data around Sumbawanga?

Distribution planners use it to pick warehouse or hub sites within easy reach of Sumbawanga. Sales and field teams use it to sequence visits by drive distance instead of guessing. Market researchers use it to scope out the next-closest town before greenlighting an expansion. See the population & area comparison and Rukwa city rankings above to size up each candidate.

How does Sumbawanga compare in size to the cities near it?

Sumbawanga ranks #1 of 7 cities in Rukwa by recorded population. See the population & area comparison table above to weigh it directly against each neighboring city on this page.

✈️ What is the nearest airport to Sumbawanga?

The nearest airport with scheduled service to Sumbawanga is Songwe Airport (MBI), about 211 km (131 mi) away. See the Nearest Airport card for more.