Matola is the largest suburb of the
Mozambique capital,
Maputo, and adjacent to it to the west. It is the nation's second most populated place. Matola is the capital of
Maputo Province and has had its own elected municipal government since 1998. It has a port and also the biggest industrial area in Mozambique. The population of Matola is, according to the 2007 census, 675,422 inhabitants, having increased to a 2014 projected population (Instituto Nacional de Estatistica Moçambique) of 893,000.