Data at glance of Tanzania - average on period

History

Tanzania contains some of Africa’s most iconic national parks and famous paleoanthropological sites, and its diverse cultural heritage reflects the multiple ethnolinguistic groups that live in the country. Its long history of integration into trade networks spanning the Indian Ocean and the African interior led to the development of Swahili as a common language in much of east Africa and the introduction of Islam into the region. A number of independent coastal and island trading posts in what is now Tanzania came under Portuguese control after 1498 when they began to take control of much of the coast and Indian Ocean trade. By 1700, the Sultanate of Oman had become the dominant power in the region after ousting the Portuguese, who were also facing a series of local uprisings. During the next hundred years, Zanzibar -- an archipelago off the coast that is now part of Tanzania -- became a hub of Indian Ocean trade, with Arab and Indian traders establishing and consolidating trade routes with communities in mainland Tanzania that contributed to the expansion of the slave trade. Zanzibar briefly became the capital of the Sultanate of Oman before it split into separate Omani and Zanzibar Sultanates in 1856. Beginning in the mid-1800s, European explorers, traders, and Christian missionaries became more active in the region. The Germans eventually established control over mainland Tanzania -- which they called Tanganyika -- and the British established control over Zanzibar. Tanganyika came under British administration after the German defeat in World War I. Tanganyika gained independence from Great Britain in 1961, and Zanzibar followed in 1963 as a constitutional monarchy. In Tanganyika, Julius NYERERE, a charismatic and idealistic socialist, established a one-party political system that centralized power and encouraged national self-reliance and rural development. In 1964, a popular uprising overthrew the Sultan in Zanzibar and either killed or expelled many of the Arabs and Indians who had dominated the isles for more than 200 years. Later that year, Tanganyika and Zanzibar combined to form the United Republic of Tanzania, but Zanzibar retained considerable autonomy. Their two ruling parties combined to form the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party in 1977, which has since won every presidential election. Tanzania held its first multi-party elections in 1995, but CCM candidates have continued to dominate politics. The ruling party has claimed victory in four contentious elections since 1995, despite international observers' claims of voting irregularities. In 2001, 35 people died in Zanzibar when soldiers fired on protestors. John MAGUFULI won the 2015 and 2020 presidential elections, and the CCM won over two-thirds of the seats in Parliament in both elections. MAGUFULI died in 2021 while in office and was succeeded by his vice president, Samia Suluhu HASSAN.

Environment

Area: 947,300 km2

Climate: varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands

Natural resources: hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones (including tanzanite, found only in Tanzania), gold, natural gas, nickel

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: mainland - African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 tribes), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar - Arab, African, mixed Arab and African

Languages: Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic, many local languagesmajor-language sample(s): The World Factbook, Chanzo cha Lazima Kuhusu Habari ya Msingi. (Kiswahili)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Christian 63.1%, Muslim 34.1%, folk religion 1.1%, Buddhist <1%, Hindu <1%, Jewish <1%, other <1%, unspecified 1.6% (2020 est.)note: Zanzibar is almost entirely Muslim

Government

Capital: Dodoma

Government type: presidential republic

Executive branch

Chief of state: President Samia Suluhu HASSAN (since 19 March 2021)

Head of government: President Samia Suluhu HASSAN (since 19 March 2021)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among members of the National Assemblyelection/appointment process: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by the presidentmost recent election date: 28 October 2020election results: 2020: John MAGUFULI reelected president; percent of vote - John MAGUFULI (CCM) 84.4%, Tundu LISSU (CHADEMA) 13%, other 2.6%2015: John MAGUFULI elected president; percent of vote - John MAGUFULI (CCM) 58.5%, Edward LOWASSA (CHADEMA) 40%, other 1.5%expected date of next election: October 2025note 1: Zanzibar elects a president as head of government for internal matters; election held on 28 October 2020; Hussein MWINYI (CCM) 76.3%, Maalim Seif SHARIF (ACT-Wazalendo) 19.9%, other 3.8%note 2: the president is both chief of state and head of governmentnote 3: after the death of President John MAGUFULI in March 2021, Vice President Samia Suluhu HASSAN assumed the presidency

Legislative branch

Description: legislature name: National Assembly (Bunge)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 403 (272 directly elected; 120 indirectly elected; 10 appointed)electoral system: plurality/majorityscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 5 yearsmost recent election date: 10/28/2020parties elected and seats per party: Revolutionary Party of Tanzania (CCM) (350); Chadema (Party for Democracy and Development) (20); Other (7)percentage of women in chamber: 0%expected date of next election: October 2025