About Tanzania: Get to know Tanzania

INFORMATION ABOUT TANZANIA

Discover essential information for your trip to Tanzania. Read practical information about Tanzania covering geography, history, population, economy, language, and the political landscape before you embark on your journey. This comprehensive info ensures you’re well-informed for a seamless and enjoyable travel experience in Tanzania.

Discover Tanzania: What you need to know about Tanzania
Tanzania is regarded as a superb safari destination with many world-class opportunities for game spotting. The country has many of the best and biggest parks in Africa with ideal conditions for African game. It also has some of the most varied and unique landscapes that you’ll ever see. From grasslands to woodlands, rock formations and mountain peaks, there’s no question that Tanzania features some amazing opportunities for sightseeing and photo-safaris.

Oldest human settlements
Some of the oldest human settlements were found in Tanzania. The oldest human fossils were unearthed in northern Tanzania, an area referred to as “The Cradle of Mankind”. It is therefore believed to be the birthplace of humanity. Fossils found in this area include bones that are believed to be over 2 million years old, and the oldest known footprints of the immediate ancestors of humans, the Laetoli footprints, are estimated to be about 3.6 million years old.

About 10,000 years ago, Tanzania was populated by the Khoisan, who were slowly absorbed by Cushitic-speaking people who came from the north about 5000 years ago. They introduced basic techniques of agriculture, food production, and later cattle farming. About 2000 years ago, Bantu speaking people began to migrate from western Africa. They further developed iron working skills and introduced different ideas of social and political organization. In the early first millennium, trade with Arabia and Persia made the East African coast economically strong. As a result, Islam was introduced and Arabic influences entered the language, resulting in the development of the Kiswahili language.

All along the coast, as well as on the islands of Zanzibar, many trading cities thrived. In 1498 Vasco da Gama became the first European to reach the East African coast, and by 1525 the Portuguese had subdued the entire coast. Portuguese control lasted until the early 18th century, when Arabs from Oman established a foothold in the region. During this time, Zanzibar became the center of the Arab slave trade. The port of Zanzibar was visited by Dutch, English and French ships. In 1873 a British fleet forced Sultan Barghash to declare the end of the slave trade. Although it was reduced, illegal slave trade continued.

Mount Kilimanjaro
In 1848 the German missionary Johannes Rebmann became the first European to see Mount Kilimanjaro, and in 1858 Richard Burton and John Speke mapped Lake Tanganyika. In January 1866 the Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone travelled to Zanzibar, from where he set out to seek the source of the Nile.

At the Berlin Conference (1884-1885) in Berlin, rules were established among the colonial powers for how to proceed with the establishment of colonies and protectorates. Tanganyika as a geographical and political entity did not take shape before the period of High Imperialism; its name only came into use after German East Africa was transferred to the United Kingdom as a mandate by the League of Nations in 1920.

Tanganyika was first colonized by Germany (1880s until 1919) then by the British (1919 to 1961). It served as a military outpost during World War II and provided financial help as well as munitions. Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere became the first president when Tanganyika became independent in 1961 and introduced African socialism or Ujamaa, which emphasized justice and equality.

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.

Population
Tanzania is growing at a very fast rate. At the end of 2020, the country’s population was estimated at 59.73 million and by the end of the century, the population will probably reach 282.67 million. Tanzania’s population is currently growing at a rate of 2.98%.

The country has a high fertility rate of 4.8 births per woman and a high birth rate of 36.2 births per 1,000 people. Unfortunately, the rapidly growing population in Tanzania has resulted in increased levels of poverty and income inequality.

With 947,300 square kilometers of land, Tanzania is the 23rd largest country in the world and the 13th largest in Africa. This, in combination with the total population, equates to a population density of approximately 62 people per square kilometer. More than 44% of the population is under the age of 15.

Tanzania has a very uneven population distribution. In the arid regions, population density is as low as 1 person per square kilometer, about 53 people per square kilometer in the water-rich mainland highlands and up to 134 people per square kilometer in the capital city of Zanzibar. About 80% of the population lives in rural areas. The largest city in Tanzania is Dar es Salaam with 2,698,652 inhabitants.

Language
The official language in Tanzania is Swahili, but there are hundreds of local dialects. English is the second official language and the country’s commercial language. It is also the main medium of instruction at all higher education institutions. You will find that most of the people with whom you come into contact are fluent in English and have a surprisingly good command of the language.

Time
Tanzania observes Eastern Africa Time (EAT) all year. Daylight Saving Time is currently not applicable.

Great variety of wildlife
Tanzania is noted for its great variety of wildlife throughout the country. It is estimated that there are more than four million wild animals in Tanzania representing 430 different species and subspecies. The country houses about 20% of Africa’s large mammal population. Zebras, giraffes, elephants, wildebeest, buffaloes, hippos, antelopes and gazelles are found everywhere as well as larger predatory animals like lions, cheetahs and leopards.

In Tanzania, you also find approximately 60,000 insect species, 25 types of reptiles and amphibians, around 100 species of snakes and many fish species. Also birds are widely represented in Tanzania with around one thousand species, including kingfishers, hornbills and flamingos.

Tropical rainforest
Small patches of tropical rainforest in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc range provide an ecosystem for a vast variety of plants, many of which are unique in the world. They include the popular Usambara or African violet (Saintpaulia) and Impatiens, which are sold as house plants in grocery stores in western countries. Similar forest patches – remnants of the much larger tropical forest that once extended across the continent – are also found in the Udzungwas, Ulugurus and several other areas. South and west of the Eastern Arc range are stands of baobab, with some particularly striking baobab-studded landscapes in the Tarangire National Park.

Savanna
Away from the mountain ranges, much of the country is covered by miombo (‘moist’ woodland), where the main vegetation consists of various types of the Brachystegia tree. Much of the dry central plateau is covered with savanna, bushland and thickets, while grasslands cover the Serengeti plain and other areas that lack good drainage. The Amani Nature Reserve and the Kitulo National Park are among the country’s botanical highlights, and Kitulo is one of the few parks in Africa with wildflowers as its main attraction.

The economy of Tanzania

Tanzania has one of Africa’s fastest growing economies with nearly 7% annual national GDP growth since 2000. However, widespread poverty has persisted, with 49% of Tanzania’s population living below the international extreme poverty line of $1.90 per day (World Bank, 2011). Especially among Tanzania’s predominantly rural population (73%), economic growth has been limited. Inclusive, broad-based growth is hindered by low productivity growth in labor-intensive sectors like agriculture, which employs 77% of working-age adults. The agriculture sector has grown by just 4% per year over the past decade.

Private sector engagement is an essential component of the economic development of Tanzania and the country’s efforts to reach middle-income status by 2025. Businesses in Tanzania are at the forefront of encouraging growth through job creation, innovation, generating tax revenue, and fair competition. The Tanzanian private sector’s vast financial resources and expertise in market-based solutions have the potential for tackling systemic social challenges. Currently employing about 70% of the youth in Tanzania, the private sector provides a critical pathway to self-reliance.

SIM cards & mobile operators

The international code for Tanzania when dialing from abroad is +255. Telephone calls within Tanzania are inexpensive and the network between main cities is reliable.

There are five network providers operating in the country (Vodacom, Airtel, Tigo, Zantel, and Halotel). Vodacom has the widest coverage in the country, and Zantel has the best coverage for Zanzibar. Local SIMs and credit are widely available.

Standard voltage 230V

Electricity in Tanzania is based on English standards, meaning it is supplied at 230Volts, 50Hz. This means that all European equipment should work here, from laptop power supplies to mobile phone chargers. Wall sockets use a 3-pin fused plug, which necessitates the use of travel adapters for people (and equipment) from other countries. Please note that the power supply in East-Africa is notoriously unreliable, so a flashlight or headlamp is very useful at night.