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Background: Shortly after achieving independence from Britain in the early 1960s, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule came to an end in 1995 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s. Zanzibar's semi-autonomous status and popular opposition have led to two contentious elections since 1995, which the ruling party won despite international observers' claims of voting irregularities.
Geography
Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique
Area: total: 945,087 sq km note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar, water: 59,050 sq km, land: 886,037 sq km
Land boundaries: total: 3,861 km border countries: Burundi 451 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 459 km, Kenya 769 km, Malawi 475 km, Mozambique 756 km, Rwanda 217 km, Uganda 396 km, Zambia 338 km
Coastline: 1,424 km
Climate: varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands
Terrain: plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south
Natural resources: hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel
Geography Note: Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa; bordered by three of the largest lakes on the continent: Lake Victoria (the world's second-largest freshwater lake) in the north, Lake Tanganyika (the world's second deepest) in the west, and Lake Nyasa in the southwest.
People
Population: 39,384,223
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43.9% (male 8,666,227/female 8,624,387), 15-64 years: 53.3% (male 10,330,727/female 10,649,507), 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 491,252/female 622,123) (2007 est.)
Median age: total: 17.7 years, male: 17.4 years, female: 17.9 years (2007 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 2.091% (2007 est.)
Birth rate: 35.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate: 13.36 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 71.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 50.71 years, male: 49.41 years, female: 52.04 years (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 8.8% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 1.6 million (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 160,000 (2003 est.)
Ethnic groups: mainland - African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 tribes), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar - Arab, African, mixed Arab and African
Religions: mainland - Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 35%; Zanzibar - more than 99% Muslim
Languages: Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages.
note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages.
Literacy (definition: age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic): total population: 78.2%, male: 85.9%, female: 70.7% (2003 est.)
Government
Official Name: United Republic of Tanzania
Government type: Republic
Capital: Dar es Salaam
Independence: 26 April 1964; Tanganyika became independent 9 December 1961 (from UK-administered UN trusteeship); Zanzibar became independent 19 December 1963 (from UK); Tanganyika united with Zanzibar 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; renamed United Republic of Tanzania 29 October 1964
Economy
Overview: Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for almost half of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the work force. Topography and climatic conditions, however, limit cultivated crops to only 4% of the land area. Industry traditionally featured the processing of agricultural products and light consumer goods. The World Bank, the IMF, and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's out-of-date economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty. Long-term growth through 2005 featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals led by gold. Recent banking reforms have helped increase private-sector growth and investment. Continued donor assistance and solid macroeconomic policies supported real GDP growth of nearly 6% in 2006.
Annual GDP: $29.62 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita: $800 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 43.3%, industry: 17.7%, services: 39% (2006 est.)
Labor force: 19.35 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 80%, industry and services: 20% (2002 est.)
Industries: agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine); diamond, gold, and iron mining, salt, soda ash; cement, oil refining, shoes, apparel, wood products, fertilizer
Agriculture - products: coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), cashew nuts, tobacco, cloves, corn, wheat, cassava (tapioca), bananas, fruits, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats
Exports - commodities: gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton
Communications
Telephone Lines in use: 169,135 (2007)
Cellular Phones: 6.72 million (2007)
Television Broadcast Stations: 3 (1999)
Internet Users: 384,300 (2005)
Transportation
Railways: total: 3,690 km (2006 est.)
Highways: total: 78,891 km paved: 6,808 km, unpaved: 72,083 km (2003)
Airports - with paved runways: 11
Airports - with unpaved runways: 113
Transnational Issues
Disputes - International: Tanzania still hosts more than a half-million refugees, more than any other African country, mainly from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite the international community's efforts at repatriation; disputes with Malawi over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant.
Refugees & Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): refugees (country of origin): 393,611 (Burundi), 150,112 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2006)
Information from the CIA World Factbook 2007
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tz.html
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