General Information

Tanzania

Tanzania is in East Africa on the Indian Ocean. To the north are Uganda and Kenya; to the west, Burundi, Rwanda, and Congo; and to the south, Mozambique, Zambia, and Malawi. Its area is three times that of New Mexico. Tanzania contains three of Africa’s best-known lakes—Victoria in the north, Tanganyika in the west, and Nyasa in the south. Mount Kilimanjaro in the north, 19,340 ft (5,895 m), is the highest point on the continent. The island of Zanzibar is separated from the mainland by a 22-mile channel.

Area: 945,087 sq km, a little more than twice the size of California.
Capital City: Dodoma (but the commercial capital and largest city is Dar es Salaam).
Population: Around 39 million people live in Tanzania.
Language: Kiswahili or Swahili (official), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar) and many local languages.
Religion: Mainland – Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, and indigenous beliefs 35%. Zanzibar, more than 99% Muslim
Climate: Tanzania lies just south of the equator and on the whole enjoys a tropical climate. There are two rainy seasons, generally the heaviest rains (called Masika) usually fall from mid-March to May and a shorter period of rain (called mvuli) from November to mid-January. The dry season, with cooler temperatures, lasts from May to October. More about Tanzania’s weather.