Background: Shortly after independence Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule came to an end in 1994 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s.

Map reference: Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total area total: 945,090 km²
Land: 886,040 km²

Land boundaries: total 3,402 km, Burundi 451 km, Kenya 769 km, Malawi 475 km, Mozambique 756 km, Rwanda 217 km, Uganda 396 km, Zambia 338 km

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%

Irrigated land: 1,530 km² (1989 est.)

Natural hazards: the tsetse fly and lack of water limit agriculture; flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season

Geography
Note: Mount Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa

Population: 27,985,660 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: 2.5% (1994 est.)

Nationality: noun:Tanzanian(s)

Ethnic groups
Mainland: native African 99% (consisting of well over 100 tribes) Asian, European, and Arab 1%
Zanzibar: NA

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

Religions
Mainland: Christian 45%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 20%
Zanzibar: Muslim 99% plus

Population growth rate: 2.5% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 45.48 births/1000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 19.42 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.03 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)

Environment
Current issues: soil degradation; deforestation; desertification; destruction of coral reefs threatens marine habitats; recent droughts affected marginal agriculture

Infant mortality rate: 109.7 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 43.25 years
Male: 41.52 years
Female: 45.03 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.2 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1978)
Total population: 46%
Male: 62%
Female: 31%

Country name
Conventional long form: United Republic of Tanzania
Conventional short form: former:United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar

Government type: republic

Capital: Dar es Salaam
Note: some government offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which is planned as the new national capital by the end of 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: 26 April 1964; 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: 25 April 1977; major revisions October 1984

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

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 and President of Zanzibar Salmin AMOUR (since 9 November 1990) election last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held NA October 1995); results - Ali Hassan MWINYI was elected without opposition
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
National Assembly Bunge: elections last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held NA October 1995); results - CCM was the only party; seats - (241 total, 168 elected) CCM 168

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, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Peter Jon DE VOS
From the us chancery: 2,139 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
From the us telephone: [255] (51) 66,010 through 13
From the us fax: (202) 797-7,408
From the us embassy: 36 Laibon Road (off Bagamoyo Road), Dar es Salaam
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 9,123, Dar es Salaam
From the us FAX: [255] (51) 66,701

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

Economy overview: Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for about 58% 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, the International Monetary Fund, and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's deteriorated economic infrastructure. Growth in 1991-93 featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals led by gold.

Real gdp growth rate: 3.2% (1993 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $600 (1993 est.)

Agriculture products: accounts for over 58% 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, 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 and gold mining, oil refinery, shoes, cement, textiles, wood products, fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate: 9.3% (1990; accounts for 8% of GDP

Labor force: 732,200 wage earners
By occupation agriculture: 90%
By occupation industry and commerce: 10% (1986est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues:$495 million

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

Exports: $418 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
Commodities: coffee, cotton, tobacco, tea, cashew nuts, sisal
Partners: FRG, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Kenya, Hong Kong, US

Imports: $1.51 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
Commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, cotton piece goods, crude oil, foodstuffs
Partners: FRG, UK, US, Japan, Italy, Denmark

Debt external: $6.44 billion (1992)

Exchange rates: Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1 - 486.75 (January 1994), 405.27 (1993), 297.71 (1992), 219.16 (1991), 195.06 (1990), 143.38 (1989)

Electricity
Capacity: 405,000 kW
Production: 600 million kWh
Consumption per capita: 20 kWh (1991)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $NA, NA% of GDP

Airports: 109
Usable: 100
With permanentsurface runways: 12
With runways over 3659 m: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 4
With runways 1220-2439 m: 40

Pipelines: crude oil 982 km

Waterways: Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa

Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 29,145 GRT/39,186 DWT, cargo 3, oil tanker 1, passenger-cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

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

Illicit drugs: growing role in transshipment of Southwest Asian heroin destined for US and European markets