Portal:Tanzania

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The Tanzania Portal

Flag of Tanzania Coat of Arms of Tanzania

Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, (formerly Swahililand) is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. According to the 2022 national census, Tanzania has a population of at least 67.4 million.

Many important hominid fossils have been found in Tanzania, such as 6-million-year-old Pliocene hominid fossils. In the Stone and Bronze Age, prehistoric migrations into Tanzania included Southern Cushitic speakers who moved south from present-day Ethiopia; Eastern Cushitic people who moved into Tanzania from north of Lake Turkana about 2,000 and 4,000 years ago; and the Southern Nilotes, including the Datoog, who originated from the present-day South Sudan–Ethiopia border region between 2,900 and 2,400 years ago. These movements took place at about the same time as the settlement of the Mashariki Bantu from West Africa in the Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika areas. In the late 19th century, the mainland came under German rule as German East Africa, and this was followed by British rule after World War I when it was governed as Tanganyika, with the Zanzibar Archipelago remaining a separate colonial jurisdiction. Following their respective independence in 1961 and 1963, the two entities merged in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. Tanganyika joined the British Commonwealth and Tanzania remains a member of the Commonwealth as a unified republic.

Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the north-east, where Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and the highest single free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, is located. Three of Africa's Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania. To the north and west lie Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, and Lake Tanganyika, the continent's deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish. To the south lies Lake Malawi. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the Zanzibar Archipelago just offshore. The Menai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibar's largest marine protected area. The Kalambo Falls, located on the Kalambo River at the Zambian border, is the second-highest uninterrupted waterfall in Africa. Tanzania is one of the most visited tourist destinations for safaris.

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Geographic-administrative extent of Swahili. Dark: native range (the Swahili coast). Medium green: Spoken by a majority alongside indigenous languages. Light green: Spoken by a minority.

Swahili, also known by its local name Kiswahili, is a Bantu language originally spoken by the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent littoral islands). Estimates of the number of Swahili speakers, including both native and second-language speakers, vary widely, generally ranging from 60 million to 150 million; most of its native speakers reside in Tanzania.

Swahili has a significant number of loanwords from other languages, mainly Arabic, as well as from Portuguese, English and German. Around 40% of Swahili vocabulary consists of Arabic loanwords, including the name of the language (سَوَاحِلي sawāḥilī, a plural adjectival form of an Arabic word meaning 'of the coasts'). The loanwords date from the era of contact between Arab traders and the Bantu inhabitants of the east coast of Africa, which was also the time period when Swahili emerged as a lingua franca in the region. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Tanzania-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Masai giraffe is Tanzania's national animal. (from Tanzania)
Image 2International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha (from Tanzania)
Image 3Tanzanian women harvesting tea leaves (from Tanzania)
Image 4The semi-autonomous Zanzibar Archipelago (from Tanzania)
Image 5Domestic expenditure on research in Southern Africa as a percentage of GDP, 2012 or closest year. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 (2015), figure 20.3. (from Tanzania)
Image 6Researchers (HC) in Southern Africa per million inhabitants, 2013 or closest year (from Tanzania)
Image 7Farmers using a rice harvester in Igunga District, Tanzania (from Tanzania)
Image 8Lemon and ginger tea. (from Culture of Tanzania)
Image 9Battle during the Maji Maji Rebellion against German colonial rule in 1905 (from Tanzania)
Image 10A 1572 depiction of the city of Kilwa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Tanzania)
Image 11High Court Building in Kigoma (from Tanzania)
Image 12Example of a World Food Programme parcel (from Tanzania)
Image 13Tanzanian Embassy in West End, Washington, D.C. (from Tanzania)
Image 14Scientific publications per million inhabitants in SADC countries in 2014. Source: UNESCO Science Report (2015), data from Thomson Reuters' Web of Science, Science Citation Index Expanded. (from Tanzania)
Image 15A Ramadan dinner in Tanzania (from Culture of Tanzania)
Image 16National Stadium in Dar es Salaam (from Tanzania)
Image 17Historical development of real GDP per capita in Tanzania, since 1950 (from Tanzania)
Image 18Tanzanian Ngoma group (from Tanzania)
Image 19Nyerere Bridge in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam (from Tanzania)
Image 20East African Legislative Assembly in Arusha (from Tanzania)
Image 21The snowcapped Uhuru Peak (from Tanzania)
Image 22Stamp of British East Africa with portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Tanzania)
Image 23Regions of Tanzania (from Tanzania)
Image 24Wildebeest migration in the Serengeti (from Tanzania)
Image 25Development of life expectancy (from Tanzania)
Image 26National Stadium in Dar es Salaam. (from Culture of Tanzania)
Image 27St Joseph's Catholic cathedral, Zanzibar (from Tanzania)
Image 28Tea fields in Tukuyu (from Tanzania)
Image 29Location of Zanzibar within Tanzania (from History of Tanzania)
Image 30Zanzibar harbour (from Tanzania)
Image 31Tanzanian Ngoma group (from Culture of Tanzania)
Image 32A carved door with Arabic calligraphy in Zanzibar (from Tanzania)
Image 33A Tanzanian woman cooks Pilau rice dish wearing traditional Kanga. (from Tanzania)
Image 34Barbecued beef cubes and seafood in Forodhani Gardens, Zanzibar (from Culture of Tanzania)
Image 35Julius Nyerere demanding political independence for Tanganyika in 1961. (from History of Tanzania)
Image 36A Tingatinga painting (from Tanzania)
Image 37A 1.8-million-year-old stone chopping tool discovered at Olduvai Gorge and on display at the British Museum (from Tanzania)
Image 38The Hadza live as hunter-gatherers. (from Tanzania)
Image 39Tanzania map of Köppen climate classification (from Tanzania)
Image 40Olduvai Gorge site also known as "The Cradle of Mankind" (from History of Tanzania)
Image 41Nkrumah Hall at the University of Dar es Salaam (from Tanzania)
Image 42A Tingatinga painting (from Culture of Tanzania)
Image 43The Arusha Declaration Monument (from Tanzania)
Image 44FIB Tanzanian special forces during training (from Tanzania)
Image 45Louis and Mary Leakey (from History of Tanzania)
Image 46Traditional Tanzanian food consisting of pilau kuku (seasoned rice with chicken), mishkaki (grilled meat), ndizi (plantain), maharage (beans), mboga (vegetables), chapati (flatbread) and pili pili (hot sauce) (from Culture of Tanzania)
Image 47One of the main trunk roads (from Tanzania)

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This month in Tanzanian history

1 August 1890: The Sultan of Zanzibar signed an anti-slavery decree.
7 August 1998: The United States embassy in Dar es Salaam was bombed.
8 August 1914: The East African Campaign of World War I began.
9 August 2008: The African Development Bank cancelled $642m of Tanzania's debt.
27 August 1896: The Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought between Zanzibar and the United Kingdom. At approximately 38 minutes, it was the shortest war in history.

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Wildlife of Tanzania - show another

Credit: Haplochromis

The African buffalo, affalo or cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a large African bovid. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear. Owing to its unpredictable nature which makes it highly dangerous to humans, it has not been domesticated, unlike its Asian counterpart, the domestic Asian water buffalo.

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Did you know ...

...that while the first union was founded in 1927, Tanzania did not have a significant labor movement until the 1940s?

... that at the time of its sinking in the 1896 Anglo-Zanzibar War, HHS Glasgow was the only ship in the navy of Zanzibar?

... that the first expedition of the Universities' Mission to Central Africa ended disastrously, when the bishop and several others died of malaria?

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WikiProjects

WikiProject Tanzania

WikiProject Africa

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Recognised content

Featured Articles: Anglo-Zanzibar War
Zanzibar Revolution

Featured Lists: List of Sultans of Zanzibar

Good Articles: 2008 invasion of Anjouan, Freddie Mercury, Lloyd Mathews

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Selected panorama - show another

A panoramic view of the city of Dar es Salaam. Visible are the Bank of Tanzania twin towers, the PPF Towers, the Mafuta House and the Julius Nyerere Pension Tower, to the right; the Kariakoo area next with the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium at the back, followed by the slums.

Uganda–Tanzania War - show another

Articles here focus upon aspects of the Uganda–Tanzania War. These are all Good articles that meet a core set of high editorial standards.

During the Uganda–Tanzania War, the Battle of Bondo was fought on 27 May 1979 near the town of Bondo, Uganda, between Tanzanian forces and Ugandan troops loyal to Idi Amin. A band of Uganda Army soldiers opened fire on the Tanzanian Minziro Brigade as it advanced towards Arua, before fleeing in the face of a Tanzanian charge. Several Tanzanians were killed and wounded by their own artillery. It was the last battle of the war. Arua fell without resistance shortly thereafter. (Full article...)

List of Uganda–Tanzania War articles
Battle of Entebbe Battle of Bombo Battle of Jinja Battle of Lira Battle of Karuma Falls Battle of Lukaya Battle of Masaka Air campaign of the Uganda–Tanzania War Battle of Mutukula Battle of Tororo

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Credit: Fanny Schertzer

School children in Arusha, Tanzania. There are four schools in and around Arusha. One, the School of St Jude, provides free education to children from poor local families.

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...Archive — Nominations

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