On a trip to Tanzania you can hit several geographical records: The largest lake in Africa, Lake Victoria, is located in the border area of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. The deepest lake in Africa, Lake Tanganyika, is largely on Tanzanian territory. The highestmountain Africa and the world’s highest free-standing mountain, Kilimanjaro, is also located in Tanzania.
The greatest attraction in one vacationin Tanzania lies in the national parks. Safaris in the Serengeti or in the Ngorongoro Crater are unforgettable.
A holiday on the island of Zanzibar offers picture- perfect beaches as a contrast to the trips in the endless savanna. Zanzibar is the subject of many Tanzanian stories, legends and contemporary literature that deal with the beautiful island.
Tanzania in East Africa is blessed with species-rich vegetation and wildlife. But the culture in Tanzania is also extremely varied. There are over 100 languages and dialects in Tanzania. In addition to the widespread Bantu and Nilotic, there are also people who speak Kushite or Arabic among the 41 million residents.
In addition, regional art and cultural trends have developed in Tanzania throughout history. The art of carving of the Makonde is well known. This Bantu people lives in the southeast of Tanzania and in northeastern Mozambique. Particularly beautiful carvings are sold all over the world. The Mwenmarkt in Dar es Salaam offers the opportunity to look directly at the artists’ fingers. A wide variety of carvings are offered here and made directly in front of the visitors. Traditionally, fine ebony is used for the carvingsused. This can be processed well. However, this type of wood grows very slowly and so this material is becoming scarce in Tanzania. Therefore, African black wood is often used, which looks just as noble.
Area: 947,300 km² (land: 885,800 km², water: 61,500 km²)
Population: 42.7 million people (July 2011, COUNTRYAAH.COM), one of the most populous countries in Africa. 99% of the population on the Tanzanian mainland is made up of Black Africans (95% are Bantu from around 130 different peoples, the largest peoples are Sukuma and Nyamwezi, Swahili, Hehe and Bena, Haya, Makonde (especially in southeastern Tanzania), Maasai and other peoples). 1% of the population consists of Asians, Europeans and Arabs. In Zanzibar, the population is made up of Arabs, Africans and mongrels.
Population density: 45 people per km².
Population growth: 2.002% per year (2011, CIA)
Capital: Dodoma (300,000 residents).
The seat of government is in Dar es Salaam (about 3 million residents).
Here is a current list of the largest cities in Tanzania.
Form of government: Tanzania has been a federal presidential republic since 1964 and is represented in the Commonwealth. The constitution dates from 1977, the last constitutional change was made in 2000. The unicameral parliament consists of 274 members (232 directly elected every five years, 37 women appointed by the president, 5 members of the Zanzibar Houses of Representatives). The Tanzanian head of state is elected every five years by direct election.
Tanganyika gained its independence from Great Britain on December 9, 1961, Zanzibar on December 19, 1963. On April 26, 1964, the two united to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. On October 29, 1964, the current name United Republic of Tanzania was adopted.
Administrative division: 26 regions: Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Iringa, Kagera, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Lindi, Manyara, Mara, Mbeya, Morogoro, Mtwara, Mwanza, Pemba North, Pemba South, Pwani, Rukwa, Ruvuma, Shinyanga, Singida, Tabora, Tanga, Zanzibar Central / South, Zanzibar North and Zanzibar Urban / West.
Head of state: President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, since December 21, 2005
Prime Minister: Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda, since February 9, 2008
Highest point: Kilimanjaro, 5,895 m
Lowest point: Indian Ocean, 0 m
Language: Kiswahili and English are official languages in Tanzania. English is the main language in business, administration and higher education. Arabic is particularly common in Zanzibar. Numerous regional languages are used on the mainland.
Religion: Mainland: 35% Muslim, 35% traditional religion, 30% Christian
Zanzibar: more than 99% Muslim
Local time: CET + 2 h
In Tanzania there is no change between summer and winter time.
The time difference to Central Europe is +2 h in winter and +1 h in summer.
Telephone area code: 00255 or +255
Internet identifier:.tz
Mains voltage: 240 V, 50 Hz, adapters are recommended
Geography
Tanzania is located on the Indian Ocean and borders Kenya and Uganda in the north, Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the west and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique in the south.
Here you can find a detailed topographic map of Tanzania.
Apart from the coastal regions, Tanzania has a pronounced highland character.
The Tanzanian mainland consists of the 16 – 64 km wide coastal plain with lush tropical vegetation, the 213 – 1,067 m high Masai savannah in the north and the high plateau in the south (900 – 1,200 m), which extends to Zambia and Lake Malawi. The Central African ditch only touches Tanzania in the west, the East African ditch runs through the country center. Huge craters and volcanoes such as Rungwe (3,175 m), Mount Meru (4,565 m) or the highest mountain in Africa are witnesses of the geological processes in the tectonic fracture zone, the Kilimanjaro (5,895 m). The trench systems were created in a relatively recent geological period, namely in the Tertiary, through movements in the earth’s crust. Parts of the old African mass, which mainly consisted of early earth stones such as gneiss and granite, were excavated as clods (at 1,000 to 2,900 m), others have sunk as elongated ditches and filled with lakes and alluvial land.
Younger sea deposits such as sandstones and coral limestones, which also make up the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, can only be found near the coast.
Wet and dry savannahs with umbrella acacias and baobab trees dominate most of the country, semi-deserts and coastal plains (partly covered with mangrove swamps) make up the remaining landscape.
Inland waters cover an area of more than 53,000 square kilometers, the largest share are the lakes of the Rift Valley, the East African rift valley such as Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi. Besides being Lake Victoria to name. The islands of Pemba and Zanzibar, located about 45 km off the northeast coast, belong to the Tanzanian territory (Zanzibar since unification in 1964).
The less fertile and often leached red clay soils, which have mainly formed on gneiss and granite, are widespread in Tanzania. In contrast, where young volcanic soils are present, the land is very fertile (e.g. on the slopes of Kilimanjaro), where intensive agricultural cultivation takes place. Alluvial soils, which are found in depressions, in the ditch ridges and on the coastal plain, can also be fertile as long as they are not soaked.
Population in Tanzania
This map of the population distribution in Tanzania was created by the Worldmapper team. Densely populated areas appear bloated, the area of sparsely populated areas is reduced. The shape of the grid has been preserved; an underlying map with the original geographical extent helps interpret the map. The distorted map should help to present abstract statistical information clearly.
