When people think of crowded cities they picture Paris, Rome or New York.
But a much smaller place beats them all for density.
The island called Migingo Island sits in Africa’s Lake Victoria.
The landmass measures less than 0.5 acres.
That equals about half of a typical soccer field.
Migingo Island is home to over 500 people. (CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images)
The tiny isle sits awkwardly on the border between Uganda and Kenya.
No one has agreed who owns it.
Officials now say a bilateral commission will inspect the land to decide whether it should belong to Uganda or Kenya.
Both countries had earlier planned a joint commission to fix the border, but that effort stalled.
Since then the island has been co-managed by both nations.
The tiny island is less than 0.5 acres in size. (Recep Canik/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
The fight over Migingo’s control has been nicknamed Africa’s “smallest war.”
Because the island is so compact, everything sits very close together.
People live side-by-side in metal shacks.
Reports say the settlement includes four bars, a makeshift hair salon and several brothels.
This layout and these details come from the Mirror.
There are said to be four bars but allegedly only one sanitation facility.
A woman cleans her bar on Migingo Island. (YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
Fishing provides the main income on the island.
The surrounding deep waters hold species such as Nile Perch.
That fishery pulls people to the tiny patch of land.
“my friends who were here before used to come back home with lots of goodies”
The quote came from resident Isaac Buhinza in an interview with The Guardian in 2018.
Living on the island saves fishermen fuel and gives them easier access to wholesalers.
Fishing opportunities draws people to the island. (YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
Fishermen reportedly saw prices for Nile perch rise by 50 percent in recent years (as of 2019).
Kennedy Ochieng, a Kenyan fisherman, told Al Jazeera that large, high-quality fish could fetch more than $300 per kg on international markets.
While Nile perch remain abundant around Migingo, other fish stocks have fallen sharply.