ABOUT TANZANIA

United Republic of Tanzania
Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania

Flag Coat of arms

Motto: "Uhuru na Umoja" (Swahili)
"Freedom and Unity"
Anthem: Mungu ibariki Afrika
"God Bless Africa"


Capital Dodoma
Largest city Dar es Salaam
Official language(s) Swahili (de facto)
English (Higher courts, higher education)[1]
Demonym Tanzanian
Government Republic
- President Jakaya Kikwete
- Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda
Independence from the United Kingdom
- Tanganyika 9 December 1961
- Zanzibar 12 January 1964
- Merger 26 April 1964
Area
- Total 945,203 km2 (31th)
364,898 sq mi
- Water (%) 6.2
Population
- 2009 estimate 43,739,000[2] (32nd)
- 2005 census 37,445,392
- Density 46.3/km2 (124th)
119.9/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2009 estimate
- Total $57.400 billion[3]
- Per capita $1,416[3]
GDP (nominal) 2009 estimate
- Total $22.318 billion[3]
- Per capita $550[3]
Gini (2000–01) 34.6 (medium)
HDI (2008) ▲ 0.530 (medium) (151st)
Currency Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
Time zone EAT (UTC+3)
- Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+3)
Drives on the left
Internet TLD .tz
Calling code +2552
1 Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
² 007 from Kenya and Uganda.

Coordinates: 6°18′25″S 34°51′14″E / 6.307°S 34.854°E / -6.307; 34.854 The United Republic of Tanzania (pronounced /ˌtænzəˈniːə/; Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania)[4] is a nation in central East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.

The United Republic of Tanzania is a unitary republic composed of 26 mikoa (regions).[5] The current head of state is President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, elected in 2005. Since 1996, the official capital of Tanzania has been Dodoma, where parliament and some government offices are located. Between independence and 1996 the major coastal city of Dar es Salaam had been the country's political capital. Today Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city of Tanzania and the de-facto seat of most government institutions.It is the major seaport for the country and its landlocked neighbours.

The name Tanzania is a portmanteau of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The two states united in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which later the same year was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania.[5]