Background: Shortly after independence Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule came to an end in 1991 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s.

Land boundaries:

Coastline: 1,424 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands

Terrain: plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south

Natural resources: hydropower potential, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel

Land use: arable land: 5%; permanent crops: 1%; meadows and pastures 40%; forest and woodland 47%; other 7%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Population: 26,869,175 (July 1991), growth rate 3.4% (1991)

Nationality: noun--Tanzanian(s; adjective--Tanzanian

Ethnic groups: mainland--native African consisting of well over 100 tribes 99%; Asian, European, and Arab 1%

Languages: Swahili and English (official; English primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education; Swahili widely understood and generally used for communication between ethnic groups; first language of most people is one of the local languages; primary education is generally in Swahili

Religions: mainland--Christian 33%, Muslim 33%, indigenous beliefs 33%; Zanzibar--almost all Muslim

Birth rate: 50 births/1000 population (1991)

Death rate: 15 deaths/1000 population (1991)

Net migration rate: - 1 migrants/1000 population (1991)

Environment
Current issues: lack of water and tsetse fly limit agriculture; recent droughts affected marginal agriculture; Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa geoad2

Infant mortality rate: 105 deaths/1000 live births (1991)

Life expectancy at birth: 50 years male, 55 years female (1991)

Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1991)

Literacy: 46% (male 62%, female 31%) age 15 and over can read and write (1978)

Country name: conventional long form: United Republic of Tanzania

Government type: republic

Capital: Dar es Salaam; some government offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which is planned as the new national capital in the 1990s

Administrative divisions: 25 regions; Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Iringa, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Lindi, Mara, Mbeya, Morogoro, Mtwara, Mwanza, Pemba North, Pemba South, Pwani, Rukwa, Ruvuma, Shinyanga, Singida, Tabora, Tanga, Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar North, Zanzibar Urban/West, Ziwa Magharibi

Independence: Tanganyika became independent 9 December 1961 (from UN trusteeship under British administration; 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

National holiday: Union Day, 26 April (1964)

Constitution: 15 March 1984 (Zanzibar has its own Constitution but remains subject to provisions of the union Constitution)

Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Executive branch: Chief of State--President Ali Hassan MWINYI (since 5 November 1985; First Vice President John MALECELA (since 9 November 1990; Second Vice President Salmin AMOUR (since 9 November 1990; Head of Government--Prime Minister John MALECELA (since 9 November 1990)

Legislative branch: Tanzanian People's Defense Force (TPDF; including Army, Navy, and Air Force; paramilitary Police Field Force Unit; Militia

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, High Court

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-6, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador-designate Charles Musama NYIRABU; Chancery at 2,139 R Street NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 939-6,125; US--Ambassador Edmund DE JARNETTE; Embassy at 36 Laibon Road (off Bagamoyo Road), Dar es Salaam (mailing address is P. O. Box 9,123, Dar es Salaam; telephone [255] (51) 37,501 through 37,504

Flag description: divided diagonally by a yellow-edged black band from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is blue Tanzania TanzaniaTanzania

Economy overview: Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for about 47% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 90% of the work force. Industry accounts for 8% of GDP and is mainly limited to processing agricultural products and light consumer goods. The economic recovery program announced in mid-1986 has generated notable increases in agricultural production and financial support for the program by bilateral donors. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have increased the availability of imports and provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's deteriorated economic infrastructure.

Agriculture products: accounts for over 40% of GDP; topography and climatic conditions limit cultivated crops to only 5% of land area; cash crops--coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), cashews, tobacco, cloves (Zanzibar; food crops--corn, wheat, cassava, bananas, fruits, and vegetables; small numbers of cattle, sheep, and goats; not self-sufficient in food grain production

Industries: primarily agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine), diamond mine, oil refinery, shoes, cement, textiles, wood products, fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate: 4.2% (1988; accounts for 8% of GDP

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $495 million; expenditures $631 million, including capital expenditures of $118 million (FY90)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

Exports: $380 million (f.o.b., 1989)
Commodities: coffee, cotton, sisal, tea, cashew nuts, meat, tobacco, diamonds, coconut products, pyrethrum, cloves (Zanzibar)
Partners: FRG, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Kenya, Hong Kong, US

Imports: $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1989)
Commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, cotton piece goods, crude oil, foodstuffs
Partners: FRG, UK, US, Japan, Italy, Denmark

Debt external: $5.8 billion (December 1990 est.)

Exchange rates: Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1--196.60 (January 1991), 195.06 (1990), 143.377 (1989), 99.292 (1988), 64.260 (1987), 32.698 (1986), 17.472 (1985)

Electricity
Capacity: 401,000 kW capacity; 895 million kWh produced, 35 kWh per capita (1989)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: $111 million, 3.9% of GDP (1988)

Airports: 105 total, 93 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 44 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Pipelines: 982 km crude oil

Waterways: Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa

Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,784 GRT/25,860 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 3 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker

Disputes international: boundary dispute with Malawi in Lake Nyasa; Tanzania-Democratic Republic of the Congo-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it is reported that the indefinite section of the Democratic Republic of the Congo-Zambia boundary has been settled