Unguja (also referred to as "Zanzibar Island" or simply "Zanzibar", in – as mentioned in The ''

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and Roman commerce, trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports lik ...

'') is the largest and most populated island of the

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

archipelago, in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

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 Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. The c ...

, in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, about south of the second largest island of the archipelago, Pemba. Unguja and mainland

are separated by the

Zanzibar Channel The Zanzibar Channel is a strait in south-eastern Africa, separating the island of Unguja (also known as Zanzibar) from mainland Tanzania. The channel is 120 km long and 29–37 km wide, with depth varying from a few dozen metres (in the ...

. 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 Changuu Island (also known as Kibandiko, Prison or Quarantine Island) (''Kisiwa cha Changuu'', in Swahili) is an island in the Mjini Magharibi Region, Tanzania, off the coast of Mjini District. It is situated in the Zanzibar Channel. It is loca ...

, Chumbe, Kizingo, Kwale, Latham, Mautani, Miwi, Mnemba, Mwana wa Mwana, Nianembe, Popo, Pungume, and Ukanga.

Politics

Unguja and the surrounding islands are divided into three

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

: * Zanzibar Central/ South (capital: Koani), * Zanzibar North (capital: Mkokotoni) and * Zanzibar Urban/ West (capital:

Zanzibar City Zanzibar City or Mjini District, often simply referred to as Zanzibar (''Wilaya ya Zanzibar Mjini'' or ''Jiji la Zanzibar'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of two administrative districts of Mjini Magharibi Region in Tanzania. The district co ...

). Unguja belongs to

, which is defined by the Tanzanian Constitution as "a part" of

with a high degree of autonomy. The local Zanzibari government is based in

Stone Town Stonetown of Zanzibar (), also known as , 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, Swahili for 'the other side'. Stone Town is located on the western coast of Un ...

, on the west coast of Unguja.

Population

As of the 2012

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, the total population of Unguja was 896,721, mostly concentrated in the Zanzibar urban region. The main settlement on the island is

, 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, Chwaka, 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 30,762 (2022 census), Nungwi is the second largest settlement on the island. Pfeifer, Kimberly (2000). ''Echoing silence and ...

. People of Unguja mostly speak '' kiunguja'' ("the language of Unguja"), which is the

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

of the

Swahili language Swahili, also known as as it is referred to endonym and exonym, in the Swahili language, is a Bantu languages, Bantu language originally spoken by the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique (along the East Af ...

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 Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. This accounts for a substantial part of Unguja's economy. Agriculture (including the production of

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

s 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, ...

) and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

are other relevant activities. All along the east coast, most villages also rely on

seaweed farming Seaweed farming or kelp farming is the practice of aquaculture, cultivating and harvesting seaweed. In its simplest form farmers gather from natural beds, while at the other extreme farmers fully control the crop's biological life cycle, life c ...

Ecology

Notable mammal species on the island include the Zanzibar servaline genet, African palm civet, and Zanzibar red colobus. In June 2018, a

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with 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