Republic of Tanzania

East African country situated just south of the Equator. Tanzania was formed as a sovereign state in 1964 through the union of the theretofore separate states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

Mainland Tanganyika covers more than 99 percent of the combined territories’ total area. Mafia Island is administered from the mainland, while Zanzibar and Pemba islands have a separate government administration. Dodoma, since 1974 the designated official capital of Tanzania, is centrally located on the mainland.

Dar es Salaam is the largest city and port in the country. The Tanzania mainland is bounded by Uganda, Lake Victoria, and Kenya to the north, by the Indian Ocean to the east, by Mozambique, Lake Nyasa, Malawi, and Zambia to the south and southwest, and by Lake Tanganyika, Burundi, and Rwanda to the west.

Climate

Mainland Tanzania can be divided into four principal climactic and topographic areas: the hot and humid coastal lowlands of the Indian Ocean shoreline, the hot and arid zone of the broad central plateau, the high inland mountain and lake region of the northern border, where Mount Kilimanjaro is situated, and the highlands of the northeast and southwest, the climates of which range from tropical to temperate Tanzania’s warm equatorial climate is modified by variations in elevation.

The high amount of solar radiation throughout the year is associated with a limited seasonal fluctuation of temperature: the mean monthly variation is less than 9 °F (5 °C) at most stations. Ground frosts rarely occur below 8,200 feet (2,500 metres). Rainfall is highly seasonal, being influenced greatly by the annual migration of the intertropical convergence zone. Roughly half of mainland Tanzania receives less than 30 inches (750 mm) of precipitation annually, an amount considered to be the minimum required for most forms of crop cultivation in the tropics.

People

According to most reputable surveys, Tanzania’s population includes more than 120 different indigenous African peoples, most of whom are today clustered into larger groupings. Because of the effects of rural-to-urban migration, modernization, and politicization, some of the smallest ethnic groups are gradually disappearing. Today the majority of Tanzanians are of Bantu descent; the Sukuma—who live in the north of the country, south of Lake Victoria—constitute the largest group.

Other Bantu peoples include the Nyamwezi, concentrated in the west-central region; the Hehe and the Haya, located in the country’s southern highlands and its northwest corner, respectively; the Chaga of the Kilimanjaro region, who inhabit the mountain’s southern slopes; and the Makonde, who reside in the Mtwara and Ruvuma regions of the southeast. Nilotic peoples—represented by the Maasai, the Arusha, the Samburu, and the Baraguyu—live in the north-central area of mainland Tanzania.

The Zaramo, a highly diluted and urbanized group, constitute another ethnic group of considerable size and influence. The majority of the Zaramo live in the environs of Dar es Salaam and the adjacent coastline. The Zanaki—the ethnic group smallest in number—dwell near Musoma in the Lake Victoria region. Julius Nyerere, the country’s founding father and first president (1962–85), came from this group.

Language

Tanzania has two official languages, Swahili (kiSwahili) and English. Swahili, the national language, is a composite of several Bantu dialects and Arabic that originated along the East African coast and on the island of Zanzibar. Swahili is the lingua franca of the country, and virtually all Tanzanians speak it. Since independence the government and other national institutions have promoted the use of Swahili through literature, local drama, and poetry.

Swahili is also used as the medium of instruction in the first seven years of primary education. English is the medium of instruction at higher levels of education and is widely used in government offices.

Religion

Roughly one-third of the population is Muslim, the majority of whom are Sunni; the Shiʿi population of Tanzania includes an Ismāʿīlī community under the spiritual leadership of the Aga Khan. Almost two-thirds of Tanzanians profess Christianity, which in Tanzania includes Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, and Baptist sects.

The remainder of the population is considered to hold traditional beliefs. The division is usually not as clear as official statistics suggest, since many rural Tanzanians adhere to elements of their indigenous religious practice.

Reference: Britannica

Tourist Attraction

Tanzania is an East African country known for its vast wilderness areas. They include the plains of Serengeti National Park, a safari mecca populated by the “big five” game (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino), and Kilimanjaro National Park, home to Africa’s highest mountain. Offshore lie the tropical islands of Zanzibar, with Arabic influences, and Mafia, with a marine park home to whale sharks and coral reefs.