Niassa is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 129,056 km2 and a population of 1,027,037 (2006). It is the most sparsely populated province in the country. Lichinga is the capital of the province. There are a minimum estimated 450,000 Yao people living in Mozambique. They largely occupy the eastern and northern part of the Niassa province and form about 40% of the population of Lichinga, the capital of this province.