Background: Shortly after independence Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule came to an end in 1995 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s.

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total area total: 945,090 km²
Land: 886,040 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than twice the size of California
Note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar

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.)

Geography
Note: Mount Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa

Population: 28,701,077 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 2.55% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Tanzanian(s)
Adjective: Tanzanian

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 47% (female 6,724,575; male 6,676,652)
15-64 years: 50% (female 7,462,615; male 7,027,551)
65 years and over: 3% (female 425,211; male 384,473) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.55% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 45.25 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 19.81 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)
Note: in February 1995, a fresh influx of refugees from civil strife in Burundi brought the total number of Burundian refugees in Tanzania to about 60,000; in addition, since April 1994 more than a half million refugees from Rwanda have taken refuge in Tanzania to escape civil strife in Rwanda

Environment
Current issues: soil degradation; deforestation; desertification; destruction of coral reefs threatens marine habitats; recent droughts affected marginal agriculture
Current issues natural hazards: the tsetse fly and lack of water limit agriculture; flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season
Current issues international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification

Infant mortality rate: 109 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 42.53 years
Male: 40.88 years
Female: 44.22 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.15 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over has ability to read and write a letter or message in Kisahili (1988)
Total population: 59%
Male: 71%
Female: 48%

Country name
Conventional long form: United Republic of Tanzania
Conventional short form: Tanzania
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 Cleopa MSUYA (since 5 December 1994); Second Vice President and President of Zanzibar Salmin AMOUR (since 9 November 1990) election last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held 29 October 1995); results - Ali Hassan MWINYI was elected without opposition
Head of government: Prime Minister Cleopa David MSUYA (since 7 December 1994)
Cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president from the National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly Bunge: elections last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held 29 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, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Charles Musama NYIRABU
In the us chancery: 2,139 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 939-6,125
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 797-7,408
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Brady ANDERSON
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 telephone: [255] (51) 66,010 through 66,015
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. Topography and climatic conditions, however, limit cultivated crops to only 5% of the land area. 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 1991-94 has featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals, led by gold. Recent banking reforms have helped increase private sector growth and investment.

Real gdp growth rate: 3% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $750 (1994 est.)

Agriculture products: accounts for about 58% of GDP; 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 refining, 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
Expenditures: $631 million, including capital expenditures of $118 million (1990 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

Exports: $462 million (f.o.b., 1994)
Commodoties: coffee, cotton, tobacco, tea, cashew nuts, sisal
Partners: Germany, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Kenya, Hong Kong, US

Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
Commodoties: manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, cotton piece goods, crude oil, foodstuffs
Partners: Germany, UK, US, Japan, Italy, Denmark

Debt external: $6.7 billion (1993)

Exchange rates: Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1 - 523.40 (December 1994), 509.63 (1994), 405.27 (1993), 297.71 (1992), 219.16 (1991), 195.06 (1990)

Electricity
Capacity: 440,000 kW
Production: 880 million kWh
Production consumption per capita: 30 kWh (1993)

Telephone system: 103,800 telephones; fair system operating below capacity
Local: NA
Intercity: open wire, microwave radio relay, troposcatter
International: 2 satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $69 million, NA% of GDP (FY94/95)

Airports: 108
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 6
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 30
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2438 m: 16
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 51

Pipelines: crude oil 982 km

Waterways: Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa

Merchant marine
Total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 29,145 GRT/39,186 DWT
Ships by type: 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 European and US markets