The settlement due to its location close to the mouth of the Limpopo River, had a tremendous impact on the area.

Xai-Xai was renamed Vila João Belo; the original name was returned after the independence.

[1] In the district, there are 10,000 farms which have on average 1.1 hectares (0.0042 sq mi) of land.

The main agricultural products are corn, cassava, cowpea, peanut, sweet potato, and rice.

Population of cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats was steadily growing prior to 2005.