Likoma District is the least populous district of

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

, which consists of two separate exclaves of Malawi situated within Mozambican waters in

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fr ...

(also known in Tanzania as Lake Nyasa and in surrounding Mozambique as Lago Niassa). It consists of two main islands, Likoma and

Chizumulu Chizumulu Island is the smaller of two islands in Lake Malawi, the larger being the nearby Likoma island, which together make up the Likoma District. Both these islands lie just a few kilometres from Mozambique and are entirely surrounded by Moza ...

. It is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the Northern Region of Malawi. The capital is Likoma.

History

Whereas Portuguese missionaries colonized the interior of

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

in the 19th century, Anglican missionaries colonized Malawi, including the islands in

. In 1954, an agreement was made to make the middle of Lake Malawi the border between Malawi and neighboring

; however, Likoma and Chizumulu islands were kept as part of Malawi.

Demographics

At the time of the 2018 Census of Malawi, the distribution of the population of Likoma District by ethnic group was as follows: * 73.8%

Nyanja Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zambia. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for l ...

* 9.2%

Chewa Chewa may refer to: *the Chewa people *the Chewa language Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambiq ...

* 9.1%

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

* 3.1% Tumbuka * 1.4% Yao * 1.2% Ngoni * 1.1% Lomwe * 0.4% Nkhonde * 0.2%

Mang'anja The Mang'anja are a Bantu people of central and southern Africa, particularly around Chikwawa in the Shire River valley of southern Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked co ...

* 0.1% Sena * 0.1%

Lambya The Lambya, also known as the Nkoya, are an ethnic and linguistic group based along the border of northwestern Malawi and in Mbeya Region, Tanzania. A minority also exists in Zambia. In 2001 the Lambya population was estimated to number 85,000, i ...

* 0.0% Sukwa * 0.3% Others

Culture

The Likoma people are mostly fishermen and speak a traditional Nkamanga language. There are mostly small villages on both islands, with the exception of Mbamba with an Anglican cathedral. There are few cars but plenty of four-wheelers, creating a unique blend of tourism and local culture.

Geography

The district covers an area of 20 km² and has a population of 14,527 at the 2018 Census. The population density is thus approximately 726 people per square kilometre. It is the smallest of Malawi's districts. There is one airport, on the main island. Likoma (satellite)

Main Towns

* Likoma * Mbamba * Chiguluwindi * Chinyanya * Chiponder *Batmanlevels * Chipyela

Government and administrative divisions

There is a single

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

constituency representing the Likoma Islands: * Likoma Islands Since the 2009 election it has been held by O. A. Thundu of the Democratic Progressive Party.

Politics

The district was visited by none of the dozen presidential hopefuls in the 2014 election cycle, which locals took as a sign of discouragement.

Climate

Most of the island is

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

, and the dominant trees are baobab tree and the

mango tree ''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern mangoesthe "Indian t ...

. Animal life is made up of small amphibians,

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s, and some of the most diverse fish life in Malawi.

References

Districts of Malawi Districts in Northern Region, Malawi Enclaves and exclaves {{Malawi-geo-stub