uMhlabuyalingana Local Municipality is one of the five municipalities in the jurisdiction of uMkhanyakude District Municipality, situated in the northeastern part of Kwazulu-Natal Province in South Africa. The municipality is one of the poorest municipalities in the country; it encompasses a World Heritage Site and several areas under environmental protection. uMhlabuyalingana was approximately 98% rural in 2001, with a population of 140 963, according to Statistics South Africa. Towns and major settlement nodes in the area include Emanguzi, Mbazwana, Kwangwanase, Maputa, Mbazwana, Mboza, Mseleni and Skhemelele.