Idjwi, or Ijwi, is an inland island in Lake Kivu which forms part of

South Kivu Province South Kivu (''Jimbo la Kivu Kusini'' in Swahili language, Swahili), (french: Sud-Kivu) is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital city, capital is Bukavu. History South Kivu Province was created from Sud-Kivu ...

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At in length and with an area of , it is the second-largest lake island in Africa and the tenth largest in the world. Idjwi is roughly equidistant between the Congo and

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, with separating its western shore from the DRC mainland and a similar distance between its eastern shore and the coastline of Rwanda. The island's southern tip, however, lies only from a promontory of the Rwandan coast.

History

Historically a clan-based Bahavu society, Idjwi island became a kingdom in the late 18th century (roughly between 1780 and 1840).

Demographics

In 2013, the island was estimated to have a population of 252,000, mostly Havus, with a small Pygmy minority. This is a massive increase from the estimated population of 50,000 in 1983. Malnutrition is common, especially among children, and almost all of the population is dependent on

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

References

Citations

Islands of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Lake Kivu Populated places on Lake Kivu Lake islands of Africa Populated places in South Kivu Geography of Rwanda {{DRCongo-geo-stub