Unguja (also referred to as "Zanzibar Island" or simply "Zanzibar", in grc, Μενουθιάς, Menuthias – as mentioned in The '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'') is the largest and most populated island of the Zanzibar archipelago, in Tanzania.

History

Geography

Unguja is a hilly island, about long (north-south) and wide (east-west) at its widest, with an overall area of about . It is located in the northern half of the Zanzibar Archipelago, in the Indian Ocean, about south of the second largest island of the archipelago, Pemba. Unguja and mainland Tanzania are separated by the Zanzibar Channel. Unguja is surrounded by a number of smaller islands and islets, with only two of them, Tumbatu and Uzi, being inhabited. Other minor islands around Unguja include Bawe, Chapwani, Changuu, Chumbe, Kizingo,

Kwale Kwale is a small town in and the capital of Kwale County, Kenya. It is located at around ; 30 km southwest of Mombasa and 15 km inland. The town has an urban population of 10,063 (2019 census). It is next to the Shimba Hills National ...

, Latham, Mautani, Miwi,

Mnemba Mnemba Island is a single small island located about 3 km off the northeast coast of Unguja, the largest island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania, opposite Muyuni Beach. It is roughly triangular in shape, about in diameter and about in c ...

Mwana wa Mwana Mwana may refer to *Mwana (name) *Mwana Mwinga, a settlement in Kenya *Mwana Africa F.C., a Zimbabwean football club *Aie a Mwana "Aie a Mwana" is a song originally written by the French-Belgian writing and production team of Daniel Vangarde and J ...

, Nianembe, Popo, Pungume, and Ukanga.

Politics

Unguja and the surrounding islands are divided into three regions:

Zanzibar Central/South Unguja South Region, Zanzibar South Region or South Zanzibar Region (''Mkoa wa Unguja Kusini'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of the 31 regions of Tanzania. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined lan ...

(capital:

Koani Koani is a city located on the Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; ...

Zanzibar North Unguja North Region, Zanzibar North Region or North Zanzibar Region (''Mkoa wa Unguja Kaskazini'' in Swahili) is one of the 31 regions of Tanzania. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of th ...

(capital:

Mkokotoni Mkokotoni is a city located on the Tanzanian island of Unguja (Zanzibar). The city serves as the capital of the Zanzibar North region Unguja North Region, Zanzibar North Region or North Zanzibar Region (''Mkoa wa Unguja Kaskazini'' in Swahili) ...

), Zanzibar Urban/West (capital: Zanzibar City). Unguja belongs to Zanzibar, which is defined by the Tanzanian Constitution as "a part" of Tanzania with a high degree of autonomy. The local Zanzibari government is based in

Stone Town Stonetown of Zanzibar ( ar, مدينة زنجبار الحجرية), also known as Mji Mkongwe ( Swahili for "old town"), is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. The newer portion of the city is known as Ng'ambo ...

, on the west coast of Unguja.

Population

As of the 2012 census, the total population of Unguja was 896,721, mostly concentrated in the Zanzibar urban region. The main settlement on the island is Zanzibar City, which serves as a capital for Zanzibar and which includes the renowned historical city of

as well as other populated areas such as Michenzani. Other major settlements on Unguja include Mbweni,

Mangapwani Mangapwani is a town on the Tanzanian island of Unguja, the main island of Zanzibar. It is located on the northwest coast, north of the Zanzibari capital of Stone Town. The town's name means "Arabian Shore" in swahili,More specifically, the word ...

Chwaka Chwaka is a town on the Tanzanian island of Unguja, part of Zanzibar. It is located on the east coast of the island, due east of the capital Zanzibar City, on the coast of Chwaka Bay close to the edge of Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park The Joza ...

, and

Nungwi Nungwi, or Ras Nungwi, is a large village located in the far northern end of the island of Zanzibar. With a population of about 5,563, Nungwi is the second- or third-largest settlement on the island, possibly smaller than Makunduchi.Pfeifer, Kimbe ...

. People of Unguja mostly speak ''

kiunguja Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili ...

'' ("the language of Unguja"), which is the dialect of the

Swahili language Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili ...

that was used as the main model for the definition of standard Swahili.Kiunguja
/ref>

Economy

Unguja is the island of the Zanzibar Archipelago that has the most developed tourism industry. This accounts for a substantial part of Unguja's economy. Agriculture (including the production of spices such as

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, s ...

) and fishing are other relevant activities. All along the east coast, most villages also rely on seaweed farming.

Ecology

Notable mammal species on the island include the

Zanzibar servaline genet The Zanzibar servaline genet (''Genetta servalina archeri'') is a recently discovered subspecies of servaline genet endemic to Unguja Island in the Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar. Its conservation status is uncertain. Evolutionary history ...

African palm civet The African palm civet (''Nandinia binotata''), also known as the two-spotted palm civet, is a small feliform mammal widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Characteristics The African palm ...

, and Zanzibar red colobus. In June 2018, a

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

was caught on camera here, despite previously being considered extinct in Zanzibar for the past 25 years.

References

External links

Population growth 1988–2002

{{Authority control Zanzibar Archipelago Islands of Zanzibar