Idjwi

Template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / surface missing template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / height missing

Idjiwi (also: Idjwi or Idschwi ) is an island in Lake Kivu and belongs to the Democratic Republic of Congo ( Kivu province ). With a length of 40 km and an area of ​​285 km ² it is the second largest inland island in a lake in Africa. Which belongs to Tanzania Ukerewe island in the nearby Lake Victoria is 530 km ² but much larger. Idjwi is approximately equidistant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west bank and Rwanda, on the eastern side of the lake. In this case, about 10-15 km of water separating the island from the mainland each. The southern tip of the island, however, is only one kilometer from the territory of Rwanda removed, which extends south a little around the lake. The highest elevation is 2239 m.

The largest towns are Kiumba and malambo in the north and Kashofo in the south, the ferry Nyamizi connects the island to Bukavu and Goma. According to estimates Idjiwi had about 50,000 inhabitants in 1983. After the genocide in Rwanda, some 46,000 Rwandan refugees came to the island. The number of Congolese residents Idjiwis has also increased significantly, according to estimates from 1996 to 112,000. The island's population thus has tripled in thirteen years. The population lives almost entirely on subsistence farming and malnutrition is - especially in children - spread.

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