Mtwara's 2026 population is now estimated at 161,038. In 1978, the population of Mtwara was 48,491. Mtwara has grown by 5,319 in the last year, which represents a 3.42% annual change. These population values and projections come from Tanzania city census 1978 via CityPopulation attribution, Tanzania city census 1988 via CityPopulation attribution, Tanzania city census 2002 via CityPopulation attribution, Tanzania city census 2012 via CityPopulation attribution, Tanzania city census 2022 via CityPopulation attribution and World Population Review Internal Projections .