Chizumulu Island
Chizumulu Island is the smaller of two islands in Lake Malawi/Lake Nyasa, 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 Mozambican territorial waters, but they belong to Malawi. They are therefore exclaves of Malawi. This came about because the islands were colonised by Anglican missionaries spreading east from Nyasaland, rather than by the Portuguese who colonised Mozambique. The British originally claimed the entire Lake Nyasa/Lake Malawi, but in 1954 signed an agreement with Portugal, which recognized the centre of the lake as the boundary between their holdings and Mozambique, and making these islands an enclave.

Chizumulu can be reached by steamer from the port of Nkhata Bay on the mainland of Malawi. The MV Ilala steamer that weekly crosses Lake Malawi stops at Chizumulu. Smaller boats including dhows cross the strait between Likoma and Chizumulu.

The island supports a population of about 4,000 people. Like Likoma, the island imports most of its food from the mainland. There is electricity on the island from 6am-10pm (with a break between 12-2pm), and no road. However, there is a well-constructed path which runs around the outside of the island, which can be walked around in about three hours.

The island consists of two large hills, with a flatter area to the south. Cassava plantations cover much of the lower slopes of the hills, with the upper parts being forested. Many baobab trees are present.

The locals speak a Nkamanga dialect, a variety of Nyanja.
Q5532
Lake Malawi/Lake Nyasa
LOC
Q9135742
Likoma island
LOC
Q740622
Likoma District
LOC
Q1029
Mozambique
LOC
Q213204
territorial waters
Concept
Q1020
Malawi
LOC
Q15621274
exclave
Concept
Q6423963
Anglican
Concept
Q219477
missionaries
Concept
Q1649306
Nyasaland
LOC
Q45
Portuguese
LOC
Q8680
British
LOC
Q178193
steamer
Concept
Q1370650
Nkhata Bay
LOC
Q2590167
MV Ilala
MISC
Q171799
dhow
Concept
Q37901
strait
Concept
Q12725
electricity
Concept
Q83124
Cassava
Concept
Q4421
forest
Concept
Q157991
baobab
Concept
Q33273
Nyanja
Concept
Q182414
Chizumulu Island
LOC
1954-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1954
DATE
+6^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
6
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-10^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-10
NUMBER
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12
NUMBER
-2^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-2
NUMBER
located in or next to body of water
located in the administrative territorial entity
enclave within
country
located in or next to body of water