Shinyanga Region is one of Tanzania's 30 administrative regions. The regional capital is the municipality of Shinyanga. According to the 2012 national census, the region had a population of 1,534,808. For 2002-2012, the region's 2.1 percent average annual population growth rate was the twentieth highest in the country. It was also the tenth most densely populated region with 81 people per square kilometer.