 Ukerewe detached from coast in the southeastern region of Lake Victoria | |
  Ukerewe | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lake Victoria |
| Coordinates | 02°01′57″S 33°00′27″E / 2.03250°S 33.00750°E |
| Area | 530 km2 (200 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
| Mwanza Region | |
| Ukerewe District | |
| Largest settlement | Nansio |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 345,147[1] |
| Pop. density | 283.02/km2 (733.02/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | Kerewe |
Ukerewe is the fifth-largest lake island in the world. With an area of 530 km2 (200 sq mi), it is also the largest island in Lake Victoria and the largest lake island in Africa.[2]
Ukerewe Island is located in the Ukerewe District of Mwanza Region in the great lakes area of Tanzania, 45 km (28 mi) north of the city of Mwanza to which it is linked by ferry.[3] A ferry crossing of 3.8 km (2.4 mi) links the island to a dirt road on the eastern lake shore, which runs to Kibara and the city of Musoma in Mara Region. The shoreline of Ukerewe Island is carved into numerous bays and it is surrounded by at least a dozen smaller islands. Its largest community is the town of Nansio.
Ukerewe island is known for having a large population of Africans with albinism. Many of the first of them to live there were taken to and abandoned on the island by their families as children. Despite comprising an exceptionally high percentage of the island's population, they are still, as throughout Tanzania, an oppressed minority on the island, though it appears to have avoided the killings of albinos, who are "harvested" for black magic rituals, that regularly occurs in Tanzania.[4]
- ^ "2012 Population and Housing Census" (PDF). United Republic of Tanzania. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ World Atlas website: Islands of the World: Largest Lake Islands. Retrieved 4 June 2007.
- ^ Mwanza Guide: Ukerewe.
- ^ Howden, Daniel (2008-12-08). "Albinos slaughtered for body parts by black magic witchdoctors". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 2019-06-03.