Tanzania
United Republic of Tanzania | |
|---|---|
| Motto: "Uhuru na Umoja" "Freedom and Unity" | |
| Anthem: "Mungu ibariki Afrika" "God bless Africa"[1] | |
.svg)  | |
| Capital | Dodoma 6°10′S 35°44′E / 6.167°S 35.733°E |
| Largest city | Dar es Salaam 06°48′S 39°16′E / 6.800°S 39.267°E |
| Official languages | |
| National language | Swahili[4] |
| Other languages | Over 100 languages, including (1m+): |
| Religion (2022)[5] |
|
| Demonym | Tanzanian |
| Government | Unitary dominant-party presidential republic |
| Samia Suluhu Hassan | |
| Emmanuel Nchimbi | |
| Mwigulu Nchemba | |
• Speaker | Mussa Zungu |
| George Mcheche Masaju | |
| Legislature | National 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[6] |
| Population | |
• 2024 estimate | 67,462,121[7] (22nd) |
• 2022 census |  61,741,120[8] |
• Density | 65.2/km2 (168.9/sq mi) (147th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2025 estimate |
• Total |  $293.59 billion[9] (69th) |
• Per capita | $4,370[9] (158th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2025 estimate |
• Total | $88.980 billion[9] (80th) |
• Per capita | $1,280[9] (162nd) |
| Gini (2017) |  40.5[10]medium inequality |
| HDI (2023) | 0.555[11] medium (165th) |
| Currency | Tanzanian shilling (TZS) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (East Africa Time) |
| Calling code | +255[b] |
| ISO 3166 code | TZ |
| Internet TLD | .tz |
Tanzania,[c] officially the United Republic of Tanzania,[d] (pronounced tan-zuh-NEE-uh in Western English or tan-za-NEE-ah or tan-za-NEE-yah in local usage or Swahili)[14] 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. According to a 2024 estimate, Tanzania has a population of around 67.5 million,[7] making it the most populous African 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 similar to modern day Iraqw people, who moved south from present-day Ethiopia;[15] Eastern Cushitic people who moved into Tanzania from north of Lake Turkana about 2,000 and 4,000 years ago;[15] 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.[15]: 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.[15][16] In the late 19th century, the mainland came under German rule as German East Africa. 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 gaining respective independence in 1961 and 1963, the two entities merged in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania.[17]
Tanganyika joined the British Commonwealth, and Tanzania remains a Commonwealth country as a unified republic.[18] Today, the country is a presidential constitutional republic with the federal capital located in Government City (Dodoma);[19] the former capital, Dar es Salaam, retains most government offices and is the country's largest city, principal port, and leading commercial centre.[17][20][21] For decades, Tanzania has been ruled by the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) as a de facto one-party state.[22][23]
Tanzania's population comprises about 120 ethnic,[24] linguistic, and religious groups. Christianity is the largest religion in Tanzania, with substantial Muslim and Animist minorities.[25] Over 100 languages are spoken in Tanzania, making it the most linguistically diverse country in East Africa.[26] The country does not have a de jure official language,[2] although the national language is Swahili.[4] English is used in foreign trade, in diplomacy, in higher courts, and as a medium of instruction in secondary and higher education.[26][27] Arabic is widely spoken in Zanzibar, reflecting its history as a trading center dominated by Arabs.
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.[28] Tanzania is one of the most visited tourist destinations for safaris.[29] The country is an official member of the United Nations, Group of 77, African Union, East African Community, and the Non-Aligned Movement.
Etymology
[edit]The name "Tanzania" was created as a clipped compound of the names of the two states that unified to create the country: Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964.[30] When Zanzibar and Tanganyika were uniting, national newspaper The Standard ran a contest for a new name, which was won by Mohammed Iqbal Dar. Iqbal claimed that he formulated the name by taking "Tan" and "zan" from the uniting states, "i" from his own name, and adding "a" as a reference to Ahmadiyya.[31]
The name Tanganyika derives from the Swahili words tanga "sail" and nyika "uninhabited plain, wilderness", creating the phrase "sail in the wilderness". It is sometimes understood as a reference to Lake Tanganyika.[32]
The name "Zanzibar" derives from Zanj, the name of a local people, and Arabic barr "coast" or "shore."[33] Zanj comes from Al-Zanjia, the Arabic name for the East African coast. This word is related to Azania, the Greek name (possibly from a Sabaic name) for the same coast, mentioned in Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a book written in the first-century CE. Azania is described as ruled by the Mapharitis - an ethnic group residing (at the time) in what is today southwest Yemen.
History
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