Tanzania

This article is about the country in East Africa. For other uses, see Tanzania (disambiguation).

United Republic of Tanzania
Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania (Swahili)
Motto: Uhuru na Umoja
Freedom and Unity
Anthem: Mungu ibariki Afrika (Swahili)
"God bless Africa"[1]
Location of Tanzania (dark green) in eastern Africa
Location of Tanzania (dark green) in eastern Africa
Map of Tanzania
Map of Tanzania
CapitalDodoma
Largest cityDar es Salaam
Official languages
Other languagesOver 100 languages, including (1m+):
Religion
(2020)[3]
Demonym(s)Tanzanian
GovernmentUnitary dominant-party system presidential republic
• President
Samia Suluhu Hassan
Philip Mpango
Kassim Majaliwa
• Speaker
Tulia Ackson
Ibrahim Hamis Juma
LegislatureNational Assembly
Independence from the United Kingdom
9 December 1961
• Zanzibar
10 December 1963
• Unification of Tanganyika and Zanzibar
26 April 1964
• Current constitution
25 April 1977
Area
• Total
947,303 km2 (365,756 sq mi) (30th)
• Water (%)
6.4[4]
Population
• 2024 estimate
67,462,121[5] (23rd)
• 2022 census
Neutral increase 61,741,120[6]
• Density
65.2/km2 (168.9/sq mi) (147th)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $242.526 billion[7] (72nd)
• Per capita
Increase $3,595[7] (157th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $89.454 billion[7] (76th)
• Per capita
Increase $1,326[7] (164th)
Gini (2017)Negative increase 40.5[8]
medium inequality
HDI (2022)Decrease 0.532[9]
low (167th)
CurrencyTanzanian shilling (TZS)
Time zoneUTC+3 (East Africa Time)
Calling code+255[a]
ISO 3166 codeTZ
Internet TLD.tz

Tanzania,[b] officially the United Republic of Tanzania,[c] 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 the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. According to the 2022 national census, Tanzania has a population of around 62 million, making it the most populous country located entirely south of the equator.

Many important hominid fossils have been found in Tanzania. In the Stone and Bronze Age, prehistoric migrations into Tanzania included Southern Cushitic speakers who moved south from present-day Ethiopia;[12] Eastern Cushitic people who moved into Tanzania from north of Lake Turkana about 2,000 and 4,000 years ago;[12] and the Southern Nilotes, including the Datoog, who originated from the present-day South Sudan–Ethiopia border region between 2,900 and 2,400 years ago.[12]: page 18  These movements took place at about the same time as the settlement of the Mashariki Bantu from West Africa in the Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika areas.[12][13] In the late 19th century, the mainland came under German rule as German East Africa, and this was followed by British rule after World War I when it was governed as Tanganyika, with the Zanzibar Archipelago remaining a separate colonial jurisdiction. Following their respective independence in 1961 and 1963, the two entities merged in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania.[14] Tanganyika joined the British Commonwealth and Tanzania remains a member of the Commonwealth as a unified republic.[15]

Today, the country is a presidential constitutional republic with the federal capital located in Government City (Dodoma);[16] the former capital, Dar es Salaam, retains most government offices and is the country's largest city, principal port, and leading commercial centre.[14][17][18] Tanzania is a de facto one-party state with the democratic socialist Chama Cha Mapinduzi party in power.[citation needed] The country has not experienced major internal strife since independence and is seen as one of the safest and most politically stable on the continent.[19][unreliable source?] Tanzania's population comprises about 120 ethnic,[20] linguistic, and religious groups. Christianity is the largest religion in Tanzania, with substantial Muslim and Animist minorities.[21] Over 100 languages are spoken in Tanzania, making it the most linguistically diverse country in East Africa;[22] the country does not have a de jure official language,[23][24] although the national language is Swahili.[25] English is used in foreign trade, in diplomacy, in higher courts, and as a medium of instruction in secondary and higher education,[22][26] while Arabic is spoken in Zanzibar.

Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the north-east, where Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and the highest single free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, is located. Three of the African Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania. To the north and west lie Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, and Lake Tanganyika, the continent's deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish. To the south lies Lake Malawi. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the Zanzibar Archipelago just offshore. The Menai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibar's largest marine protected area. The Kalambo Falls, located on the Kalambo River at the Zambian border, is the second-highest uninterrupted waterfall in Africa.[27] Tanzania is one of the most visited tourist destinations for safaris.[28]

  1. ^ Kendall, David (2014). "Zanzibar". nationalanthems.info. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Tanzania". Ethnologue. SIL International.
  3. ^ "Religions in Tanzania | PEW-GRF". www.globalreligiousfutures.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BFF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Tanzania". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Population Size in Tanzania". Tanzania Sensa. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Tanzania)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Gini Index coefficient". CIA Factbook. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24". United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Tanzania | Define Tanzania at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  11. ^ "Tanzania". Oxford Dictionaries Online. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Genetics was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Ehret, Christopher (2001). An African Classical Age: Eastern and Southern Africa in World History, 1000 B.C. to A.D. 400. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 978-0-8139-2057-3.
  14. ^ a b "Tanzania". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 29 September 2021.
  15. ^ "United Republic of Tanzania | The Commonwealth". thecommonwealth.org. 15 August 2013.
  16. ^ Mosha, Aloysius C. "The planning of the new capital of Tanzania: Dodoma, an unfulfilled dream" (PDF). University of Botswana. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  17. ^ "The Tanzania National Website: Country Profile". Tanzania.go.tz. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  18. ^ "Dar es Salaam Port". Tanzaniaports.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  19. ^ "TIC | Peace and Political Stability".
  20. ^ African Studies Center University of Pennsylvania. "Tanzania – Ethnic Groups". East Africa Living Encyclopedia.
  21. ^ Religion in Tanzania Archived 4 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Pew Research Center
  22. ^ a b Ammon, Ulrich; Dittmar, Norbert; Mattheier, Klaus J. (2006). Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society. Walter de Gruyter. p. 1967. ISBN 978-3-11-018418-1.
  23. ^ Godfrey Mugoti (12 June 2009). Africa (a-z). Godfrey books. p. 152. ISBN 9781435728905.
  24. ^ "Tanzania Country Information – All about Tanzania". expogr.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  25. ^ "Tanzania Profile". Tanzania.go.tz. Tanzanian Government. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  26. ^ "Tanzania Ditches English In Education Overhaul Plan". AFK Insider. 17 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  27. ^ "Kalambo Falls". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  28. ^ "Why millions chose Africa as their safari destination". 12 January 2016.


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