TANZANIA

United Republic of Tanzania
Jamhuri Ya Muungano Wa Tanzania

CAPITAL: Dodoma

FLAG: The flag consists of a black diagonal stripe running from the lower left corner to the upper right corner, flanked by yellow stripes. The diagonal stripes separate two triangular areas: green at the upper left and blue at the lower right.

ANTHEM: The Tanzanian National Anthem is a setting to new words of the widely known hymn Mungu Ibariki Afrika (God Bless Africa).

MONETARY UNIT: The Tanzanian shilling (Sh) of 100 cents is a paper currency. There are coins of 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents and 1, 5, 10, and 20 shillings, and notes of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 shillings. Sh1 = $0.00089 (or $1 = Sh1,123.2) as of 2005.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is used.

HOLIDAYS: Zanzibar Revolution Day, 12 January; Chama Cha Mapinduzi Day, 5 February; Union Day, 26 April; International Workers' Day, 1 May; Farmers' Day, 7 July; Independence Day, 9 December; Christmas, 25 December. Movable religious holidays include 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-'Adha', Milad an-Nabi, Good Friday, and Easter Monday.

TIME: 3 pm = noon GMT.

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

Situated in East Africa just south of the equator, mainland Tanzania lies between the area of the great lakes—Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi (Niassa)—and the Indian Ocean. It contains a total area of 945,087 sq km (364,900 sq mi), including 59,050 sq km (22,799 sq mi) of inland water. Comparatively, the area occupied by Tanzania is slightly larger than twice the size of the state of California. It is bounded on the n by Uganda and Kenya, on the e by the Indian Ocean, on the s by Mozambique and Malawi, on the sw by Zambia, and on the w by Zaire, Burundi, and Rwanda, with a total boundary length of 4,826 km (2,999 mi), of which 1,424 km (885 mi) is coastline. Tanzania claims part of Lake Malawi, although its internationally recognized boundary is the eastern shore.

The section of the United Republic known as Zanzibar comprises the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba and all islets within 19 km (12 mi) of their coasts, as well as uninhabited Latham Island, 58 km (36 mi) south of Zanzibar Island. Zanzibar Island lies 35 km (22 mi) off the coast, and Pemba Island is about 40 km (25 mi) to the ne. The former has an area of 1,657 sq km (640 sq mi), and the latter 984 sq km (380 sq mi).

Tanzania's capital city, Dodoma, is located on the Indian Ocean coast.

TOPOGRAPHY

Except for the islands and a coastal strip varying in width from 16 to 64 km (10–40 mi), Tanzania lies at an altitude of over 200 m (660 ft). A plateau averaging 900–1,800 m (3,000–6,000 ft) in height makes up the greater part of the country. Mountains are grouped in various sections. The Pare range is in the northeast, and the Kipengere Range is in the southwest. Kilimanjaro (5,895 m/19,340 ft), in the north, is the highest mountain in Africa.

On the borders are three large lakes: Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world, exceeded only by Lake Superior; Tanganyika, second only to Lake Baykal as the deepest in the world; and Lake Malawi. Lakes within Tanzania include Natron, Eyasi, Manyara, and Rukwa.

Tanzania has few permanent rivers. During half the year, the central plateau has no running water, but in the rainy season, flooding presents a problem.

Two-thirds of Zanzibar Island, to the center and the east, consists of low-lying coral country covered by bush and grass plains and is largely uninhabited except for fishing settlements on the east coast. The western side of the island is fertile and has several ridges rising above 60 m (200 ft). Masingini Ridge, at 119 m (390 ft), is the highest point on the island. The west and center of Pemba Island consists of a flat-topped ridge about 9.5 km (6 mi) wide, deeply bisected by streams. Pemba is hilly, but its highest point is only 95 m (311 ft). Apart from the narrow belt of coral country in the east, the island is fertile and densely populated.

CLIMATE

There are four main climatic zones: (1) the coastal area and immediate hinterland, where conditions are tropical, with temperatures averaging about 27°c (81°f), rainfall varying from 100 to 193 cm (40 to 76 in), and high humidity; (2) the central plateau, which is hot and dry, with rainfall from 50–76 cm (20–30 in), although with considerable daily and seasonal temperature variations; (3) the semitemperate highland areas, where the climate is healthy and bracing; and (4) the high, moist lake regions. There is little seasonal variation in the Lake Victoria area, but the eastern sections average only 75–100 cm (30–40 in) of rain, while the western parts receive 200–230 cm (80–90 in). A small area north of Lake Niassa receives 250 cm (100 in) of rain. There are two rainy seasons in the north, from November to December and from March through May. In the south there is one rainy season, from November to March.

The climate on the islands is tropical, but the heat is tempered by sea breezes that are constant throughout the year, except during the rainy seasons. The seasons are well defined. From December to March, when the northeast monsoon blows, it is hot and comparatively dry. The heavy rains fall in April and May, and the lesser in November and December. It is coldest and driest from June to October, during the southwest monsoon.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Common savanna species cover most of the drier inland areas—amounting to about one-third of the country—between altitudes of 300 and 1,200 m (1,000 and 4,000 ft). Two main types of closed-forest trees—low-level hardwoods and mountain softwoods—are found in high-rainfall areas on the main mountain masses and in parts of the Lake Victoria Basin. Wooded grasslands are widely scattered throughout the country. The drier central areas include bushlands and thickets. Grasslands and heath are common in the highlands, while the coast has mangrove forest. There are over 10,000 species of plants throughout the country.

The 4 million wild mammals include representatives of 316 species and subspecies, notably antelope, zebra, elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, giraffe, and lion. Various types of monkeys are plentiful.

There are over 230 species of birds found in the country, ranging in size from ostrich to warbler. Insect life, consisting of more than 60,000 species, includes injurious species and disease carriers. There are at least 25 species of reptiles and amphibians and 25 poisonous varieties among the 100 species of snakes. Fish are plentiful.

The flora and fauna of Zanzibar and Pemba are varied. Mammals common to both are galagos, fruit-eating and insectivorous bats, genets, mongooses, small shrews, rats, and mice. Zanzibar has the leopard, Syke's monkey, civet, and giant rat. Unique species of tree coney are found on Pemba and Tumbatu Islands. There are also five unique mammals—Kirk's colobus (monkey), two elephant shrews, duiker antelope, and squirrel.

ENVIRONMENT

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, the Tanzania National Parks Department, and the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development are the government agencies entrusted with environmental responsibilities in Tanzania. One of the nation's major concerns is soil degradation as a result of recent droughts. Also of concern is the drop in water level at Lake Victoria. Some reports estimate that in the period of 1995–2005, the water level dropped by one meter.

The nation's land is also affected by the related problem of desertification. Tanzania lost 14.4% of its forest and woodland area between 1983 and 1993. Tanzania has 82 cu km of renewable water resources with 89% of annual withdrawals used for farming and 2% for industrial activity. About 92% of urban dwellers and 62% of the people living in rural areas have access to improved water sources. The nation's cities produce about 1.8 million tons of solid waste per year.

According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the number of threatened species included 34 types of mammals, 37 species of birds, 5 types of reptiles, 40 species of amphibians, 28 species of fish, 17 types of mollusks, 16 species of other invertebrates, and 239 species of plants. The nation's marine habitats are threatened by damage to its coral reefs caused by the fishing industry's use of dynamite. Threatened species included the Uluguru bush-shrike, green sea turtle, hawksbill turtle, olive ridley turtle, and Zanzibar suni. At least 16 species of fish have become extinct.

POPULATION

The population of Tanzania in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 36,481,000, which placed it at number 33 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 3% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 45% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 99 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–2010 was expected to be 2.4%, a rate the government viewed as too high and sought ways to reduce the fertility rate, which stood at more than five births per woman. The projected population for the year 2025 was 52,604,000.

The overall population density was 39 per sq km (100 per sq mi). The most densely populated regions are the well-watered or elevated areas, particularly in the Usambara Mountains around Kilimanjaro and Meru, on the shores of Lake Victoria, in the Southern Highlands, and in the coastal areas around Tanga and Dar es Salaam.

The UN estimated that 32% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 4.24%. The 2002 Tanzania census reported a metropolitan population for Dodoma, the capital, of 1,698,996. Other large cities and their 2002 regional populations include Mwanza, 2,665,956; Dar es Salaam, 2,497,940; Tanga, 1,742,412; Kigoma, 1,240,939; Arusha, 1,221,890; and Zanzibar 1,003,794.

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS has had a significant impact on the population of Tanzania. The UN estimated that 7.8% of adults between the ages of 15–49 were living with HIV/AIDS in 2001. The AIDS epidemic causes higher death and infant mortality rates, and lowers life expectancy.

MIGRATION

Out of an estimated Asian population of 100,000 in 1967, almost half, most of them with British passports, had left the country by 1980. Arabs, who were the dominant group on Zanzibar before the 1964 revolution, despite forming less than 20% of the population, fled after the event to the mainland or the Middle East. There is some emigration of laborers seeking work in neighboring countries, but Tanzanians who leave the country without authorization are subject to prosecution on return. During the clove harvest, labor moves from the towns to the clove plantations, from Zanzibar to Pemba, and from the mainland territories to Pemba. As a result of migration from rural areas to the cities, the urban population is estimated to be growing by 6.5% per year. Urban authorities are empowered to return the unemployed to their villages.

In October 1993, around 250,000 Burundian refugees fled to Tanzania to escape from a military coup in Burundi. Most of these refugees returned within three months. Following the genocide in Rwanda, 500,000 Rwandan refugees arrived in April 1994. In 1996, 220,000 Rwandan refugees in Burundi fled to Tanzania to escape from the fighting in northern Burundi; they were allowed to enter based on humanitarian grounds. By December 1995, around 500,000 were repatriated following an agreement between Tanzania, Rwanda, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In 1995, 18,000 Mozambicans entered Tanzania. Since 1997, 33,000 Zaireans and 59,000 Burundians have entered Tanzania. The total number of migrants living in Tanzania in 2000 was 893,000. As of 2004, there were 602,088 refugees in Tanzania, including some 443,000 from Burundi, and 153,000 from DROC. There were also 166 asylum seekers and 2 returned refugees. In 2004, Tanzania remained the fourth-largest asylum country.

In 2005, the net migration rate was estimated as -3.11 per 1,000 population. The government viewed the migration levels as satisfactory.

ETHNIC GROUPS

Mainland-native Africans constitute 99% of the total population. About 130 tribes have been categorized into 5 ethnic groups distinguishable by their physical characteristics and languages. Approximately 95% of Tanzanians may be roughly classified as Bantu, a comparatively recent blend mainly of Hamitic and Negroid stocks. Tribes range in membership from only a few thousand to the Sukuma tribe, which numbers more than two million. Other major tribes include the Nyamwezi, Makonde, Haya, and Chagga. The Luo, east of Lake Victoria, are the only people of Nilotic origin; the Masai of the northern highlands are Nilo-Hamites. A very small number of Bushmen-like people are scattered throughout northern Tanzania, where small tribes of Cushitic origin also live. The inhabitants of Zanzibar and Pemba are chiefly descendants of mainland Africans or are of mixed African and Arab extraction. The remaining 1% of the populace is made up of non-Africans, including Arabs, Asians, and Europeans.

LANGUAGES

Most Tanzanians speak variations of Bantu languages and dialects. Various languages also have Hamitic or Nilotic origins. Swahili (or Kiswahili) is the official language, as well as the lingua franca, and is understood in most parts of the country, although its usefulness declines toward the west. English, also an official language, is the primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education. Kiunguja, a form of Swahili, and Arabic are widely spoken in Zanzibar. The first language of most people is one of the local languages.

RELIGIONS

Since religious demography has been removed from government censuses as of 1967, reliable statistics on religious affiliation are diffi cult to obtain. Sociologists and religious leaders estimate that between 30–40% of the total population are Christian and that about an equal percentage are Muslim. The Christian churches represented include Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and Jehovah's Witnesses. A majority of the Muslims are Sunni, while others belong to one of several Shia groups. On the island of Zanzibar, about 99% of the inhabitants are Muslim.

Though the constitution forbids religious discrimination, many Muslims believe that they are disadvantaged with less representation in civil service, government, and other public institutions. A number of fundamental Muslims argue that the government is attempting to institute a Christian state. A 2001 Mufti Law allows the president of Zanzibar to appoint a mufti (Islamic leader) as a Zanzibar government official who settles religious disputes involving Muslims and generally monitors Muslim activities on the island. On the mainland, the National Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA) is a nongovernmental organization that has elected their own mufti. Several Muslims object to the government support shown for the appointment or elections of muftis, believing that it will only lead to government control of Islamic religious affairs. Fundamental Muslim groups on Zanzibar have initiated highly confrontational, anti-Christian proselytizing campaigns, and Christian fundamentalists have responded by calling Muslims "servants of Satan." Tension also exists between fundamental and moderate Muslim groups, as the fundamentalists criticize secular Muslims who drink alcohol and marry Christian women. Certain Christian and Muslim holidays are celebrated as national holidays.

TRANSPORTATION

As of 2004, the Tanzanian Railways Corporation operated domestic railway services on 3,690 km (2,218 mi) of track, all of it narrow gauge. The Central Line extends 1,255 km (780 mi) from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma; its main branch lines are Tabora to Mwanza (381 km/237 mi) and Kaliua to Mpanda (211 km/131 mi). The Northern Line, extending from Dar es Salaam and Tanga to Moshi and Arusha, is linked to the railway systems of Kenya and Uganda. The 1,857-km (1,154-mi) Tazara railway, operated by the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority, links Dar es Salaam in Tanzania with Kpiri Mposhi in Zambia; 962 km (598 mi) of the line are in Tanzania. The Tazara railway is used mainly to transport goods for Zambia and Malawi. In 2002, Tanzania had 85,000 km (52,819 mi) of roads, 4,250 km (2641 mi) of which were paved. In 2003, there were 20,100 passenger cars and 50,200 commercial vehicles.

Tanzania has a small national merchant shipping line of three freighters and one tanker. The principal ports on the mainland are Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, Tanga, and Lindi, all of which are managed by the Tanzanian Harbours Authority. Tanzanian ports handle cargo for landlocked Zambia, Zaire, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. Freight and passenger vessels serve Mwanza and other Lake Victoria ports, among them Bukoba and Musoma. A joint Burundian-Tanzanian shipping company operates on Lake Tanganyika, and the Tanzanian Railways Corporation operates vessels on lakes Tanganyika, Victoria, and Niassa. Tanzania's rivers are not navigable. In 2005, Tanzania's merchant fleet comprised 11 ships of 1,000 GRT or more, totaling 25,481 GRT.

Airports in 2004 totaled an estimated 123, only 11 of which had paved runways as of 2005. Most internal air services are operated by Air Tanzania, which also flies internationally. Charter companies operate flights to government-maintained airports, landing fields, and privately owned airstrips. Foreign airlines provide service from international airports at Dar es Salaam and in the vicinity of Mt. Kilimanjaro (opened in 1971). There is also an international airport on Zanzibar, which maintains its own airline, Zanair. In 2003, scheduled airline traffic carried about 150,000 passengers.

HISTORY

Paleontologists Louis and Mary Leakey, working at Olduvai Gorge and elsewhere in northern Tanzania, uncovered fossil evidence that humanlike creatures inhabited the area at least as early as 3.7 million years ago. Excavations of Stone Age sites have revealed that the hunter-gatherers of the late Stone Age, known as Bushmen, were gradually displaced by successive waves of Cushitic, Bantu, and Nilotic peoples. By the 1st millennium ad, the Iron Age Urewe culture had developed along the western shore of Lake Victoria.

Arabs from the Persian Gulf area were engaged in trade along the Indian Ocean coast by the 9th century ad and by the 12th century had established trading posts on the mainland and the offshore islands. Intermarriage between the Arabs and coastal Bantu-speaking peoples resulted in the creation of the Swahili people and language. (Swahili literally means "of the coast.")

The first contacts of European nations with the East African coast were incidental to their quest for spices. In 1498, Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and thereafter the Portuguese established trading and supply posts on the East African coast for their ships on the way to India. Eventually, the Portuguese lost control of the sea routes, and in 1698, the Ya'aruba imam of the Ibahdi Arabs of Oman, Sa'if bin Sultan, expelled the Portuguese from every position that they held north of Mozambique. The Ibahdis of Oman long remained in at least nominal control of East Africa, and there was a lucrative trade in slaves and ivory.

Sayyid Sa'id bin Sultan (the ruler of Oman during 1806–56), above all others, must be regarded as the founder of modern Zanzibar. Sa'id first visited Zanzibar in 1828, and in 1840, he made the island his capital. A believer in free trade, he encouraged foreign merchants, including Indians, broke up Arab monopolies, and made commercial treaties with the United States and the United Kingdom. Zanzibar is indebted to him most for his establishment of the clove tree. By the time he died in 1856, he had established a large, loosely held empire that included Oman, Zanzibar, and the East African coast inland to the Great Lakes and the Congo. Zanzibar produced three-quarters of the world's clove supply on plantations worked by slaves from the mainland. British pressure forced the closing of the slave trade in 1876, although slavery itself was not abolished until 1897.

The rise of Zanzibar as a commercial center was largely due to its trading links to the interior. Many of the caravan routes that stretched across East Africa were pioneered by African mainland societies. For example, the Yao living around Lake Malawi supplied the southern Tanzania trading town of Kilwa with slaves and ivory. African societies that gained control over the trade routes enhanced their power and wealth. In northeast Tanzania, a powerful trading and military state emerged in the 1860s in Urambo. Its leader, Mirambo was an excellent military and commercial strategist. He challenged the position of coastal traders in the area as well as the leading states that were closely aligned to Zanzibar.

The first Europeans to explore the interior were the British Sir Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke, who crossed the country in 1857 to search for the source of the Nile, which Speke discovered in 1858. In 1866, Sultan Majid of Zanzibar began building the coastal town of Dar es Salaam ("Haven of Peace"). In 1871, Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone had reached Ujiji when his whereabouts became unknown to the outside world; the Anglo-American explorer Henry Morton Stanley, commissioned by a US newspaper, located him there later in that year. Tanganyika (the name for the mainland prior to the 1964 union with Zanzibar) came under German influence in 1884–85, when Karl Peters concluded treaties with chiefs of the interior in order to secure a charter for his German East Africa Company.

In 1890, two treaties between Germany and Great Britain were signed: the first partitioned the territories on the mainland hitherto controlled by the sultan of Zanzibar; the second officially recognized Anglo-German spheres of influence, excluded Germany from the Upper Nile, and established a British protectorate over Zanzibar and Pemba. Tanganyika and Ruanda-Urundi (now Rwanda and Burundi) became recognized as German East Africa in 1891. As they occupied the interior, the German-led troops put down African opposition and uprisings. Intense military opposition to the European imperialism was led by Mirambo of the Nyamwezi in northwest Tanzania, by Mkwawa of the Hehe in southern highlands and by Meli of the Chagga around Kilimanjaro. However, the most bloody and intense opposition to German rule was the Maji-Maji war from 1905–1907. This war was inspired by Kinjekitile, a charismatic spiritual leader from southern Tanzania, succeeded in uniting a large number of African societies to fight the Germans. People who took Kinjekitile's medicine were told that the "white man's' bullets" could not harm them. After initial battlefield successes, the Germans initiated a scorched earth policy that eventually starved southern Tanzania into submission. During World War I, a small German force led by Gen. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck fought a long defensive guerrilla war against British armies, and much of Tanganyika was laid waste.

Moving Toward Independence

Beginning in 1920, the United Kingdom administered Tanganyika as a mandate of the League of Nations. A customs union was established with Kenya and Uganda, the cultivation of export crops was encouraged, and a system of indirect rule was instituted. A Legislative Council for Tanganyika was created in 1926, but not until 1945 were seats reserved for Africans. In 1946, Tanganyika became a UN trust territory. After 1954, the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) petitioned the UN Trusteeship Council to put pressure on the UK administration to establish a timetable for independence. TANU-supported candidates won the elections of 1958–60 for the Legislative Council, and Julius Nyerere became chief minister in September 1960. On 9 December 1961, Tanganyika became an independent nation. On 9 December 1962, it was established as a republic, headed by Nyerere as president.

In Zanzibar, a Legislative Council with an elected element had been established in 1957. On 24 June 1963, a deeply divided Zanzibar attained internal self-government; it became completely independent on 10 December 1963 under the (ZNP) Zanzibar Nationalist Party. On 12 January 1964, however, the ZNP government was overthrown by African nationalists allowing ZNP's bitter rivals the ASP (Afro-Shirazi Party) to take power. The sultan, who had fled, was deposed, and Abeid Karume was installed as president. On 26 April 1964, Tanganyika merged with Zanzibar and became the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, with Nyerere as president; in October, the name was changed to Tanzania. Karume, still president of Zanzibar and a vice president of Tanzania, was assassinated on 7 April 1972; his successor as head of the Zanzibar Revolutionary Council was Aboud Jumbe.

Under Nyerere, Tanzania became steadily more socialist. In international affairs, Tanzania became one of the strongest supporters of majority rule in southern Africa, backing liberation movements in Mozambique, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa. Growing differences between the East African Community's three members (Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda) led to the breakup in 1977 of the 10-year-old group. Tanzania's border with Kenya remained closed until 1983. On 30 October 1978, Ugandan forces invaded Tanzania; Nyerere retaliated by sending 20,000 Tanzanian troops into Uganda. Ugandan President Idi Amin's forces were routed in April 1979, and former president Milton Obote, who had been living in exile in Tanzania, was returned to power. In 1982, Tanzanian troops helped put down an army mutiny in the Seychelles.

In 1980, Nyerere was reelected without opposition to his fifth and last term as president. During the early 1980s, Tanzania was plagued by poor economic performance, and there was a small, unsuccessful army mutiny against Nyerere in January 1983. There was also rising dissatisfaction in Zanzibar over the islands' political ties to the mainland; an attempt to overthrow Jumbe in June 1980 failed. In 1984, Jumbe and his colleagues, including his Chief Minister Seif Shariff Hamad, attempted to push for more autonomy for Zanzibar. As a result, Aboud Jumbe was pressured by the union government to resign his posts as vice president of Tanzania and president of Zanzibar in January 1984. His Chief Minister, Seif Shariff Hamad was detained. Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Jumbe's successor, was elected president of Zanzibar in April 1984. He was succeeded by Idris Abdul Wakil in October 1985. Mwinyi succeeded Nyerere as president of Tanzania in November 1985, following presidential and parliamentary elections, and was reelected in 1990. Mwinyi was identified with those in the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), seeking greater political and economic liberalization, and in 1990 Nyerere resigned as chairman of the CCM. On 14 October 1999 Julius Nyerere died of leukemia. Idris Wakil, died shortly after on 15 March 2000.

Liberalization was not easy to attain. Except for religion, the CCM controlled almost all areas of social affairs. Party cells at work and in the community shadowed Tanzanians constantly. In February 1992, at an extraordinary national conference of CCM, delegates voted unanimously to introduce a multiparty system. On 17 June 1992, Mwinyi signed into law constitutional amendments that allowed new parties (with certain exceptions) to participate in elections. The first multiparty elections since the reinstitution of multiparty politics were local government elections held in 1994. In the elections the ruling party CCM soundly defeated the opposition parties. Despite strong government and CCM support for liberalization, the state is at least rhetorically committed to socialism as the concept of "socialism and self-reliance" is retained in article nine of the union constitution.

Rifts between the mainland (Tanganyika) and Zanzibar grew in the 1990s, often linked to the ongoing Christian–Muslim division. In December 1992, in violation of the constitution, the government in heavily Muslim Zanzibar covertly joined the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC). In August 1993, parliament debated a motion calling for constitutional revisions to create a separate government for Tanganyika, to parallel the Zanzibar government. At that point, Zanzibar agreed to withdraw from the OIC and to allow Tanzanians from the mainland to visit without passports.

In April 1993, fundamentalist Muslims were arrested for attacking owners of pork butcheries in Dar es Salaam. Demonstrations at their trials led to more arrests and a government ban on the Council for the Propagation of the Koran. Around the same time the government also arrested an evangelist pastor named Christopher Mtikila who had formed a political party not recognized by the government. Mtikila, a populist preacher, accused the government of selling the country off to Arabs and Zanzibaris and his actions helped to heighten Christian–Muslim tensions. Mwinyi shuffled his cabinet several times in 1993 to balance Christian and Muslim interests. Later under the Mkapa regime, religious tensions became apparent again when Muslims protested over the arrest of a religious leader from the Mwembechai Mosque in Dar es Salaam on the grounds that he was threatening peace and stability through his provocative sermons. In a demonstration that followed the arrest, two people were shot dead by the police and 135 demonstrators were arrested.

From the constitutional amendment of 1992 sprang the elections of October 1995, the first multiparty elections in Tanzania since the 1960s. However, the CCM commitment to a fair and open election was questioned. CCM candidate Benjamin Mkapa was elected union president in a vote that opposition parties and international observers considered flawed. On Zanzibar, international observers and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) believed that CCM intimidation and vote rigging influenced the election results for the islands' government to favor CCM. The CUF claimed victory, only to have the CCM reject the results. The CCM-dominated electoral commission then declared CCM candidate Salmin Amour the winner of the presidential race and gave the CCM the majority of seats in Zanzibar's House of Representatives. CUF boycotted sessions of the Zanzibar House and refused to recognize the Amour government until a 1999 Commonwealth-brokered agreement was reached between the two rival parties. Despite the agreement, political tensions on the islands were high as the October 2000 elections approached.

Among the major problems inherited by Mkapa was the fate of the 700,000 refugees living in camps near the northern and western borders. Tanzania had taken in some 500,000 Rwandan refugees who fled the violence in their country since 1980. In one day at the height of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, 200,000 refugees crossed over the border. Additionally, the government took in 200,000 refugees from Burundi. The strain on the country's resources, coupled with incursions into Tanzania by Tutsi dominated Burundi government forces chasing Hutu rebels, led the government to close its borders in 1995. In February 1997, Tanzania implemented its much-criticized plan to repatriate or expel its refugee population. In 1998 Tanzania severed its relations with Burundi and refused to recognize the military government of Maj. Pierre Buyoya. In response, Burundi closed its embassy in Dar es Salaam. Repatriation of Rwandan refugees was nearly completed by end of 2002.

On 7 August 1998, simultaneous bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam—claiming 12 Tanzanian lives—were attributed to Osama bin Laden's al-Quaeda organization. Combined investigations and close cooperation between the Tanzanian and US governments facilitated the capture of a number of the terrorists. However, in early 2003 Western governments issued warnings to their citizens of possible terrorist threats on Zanzibar, which had a devastating impact on the economy with some hotel bookings down by 50%.

In October 2000, Tanzanians went to the polls reelecting Benjamin Mkapa and giving the ruling CCM party 244 of 272 seats in the parliament. The CUF disputed the results in Zanzibar, and in January 2001 after the government declared a protest march illegal, security forces shot and killed approximately 30 persons, seriously injured 300, and displaced some 2,000 more. On 26 February 2001, in what appeared to be a revenge murder, the CCM secretary general for Pemba was found killed with machete slashes to his skull and body. Following year-long talks between the CCM and CUF, a constitutional amendment act was passed by the Zanzibari parliament on Pemba island towards the implementation of a reconciliation agreement signed by the two parties in October 2001. The passage of the act meant a review of the judiciary and Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), as well as the introduction of a director of public prosecution.

Presidential and parliamentary elections were held on 14 December 2005. Originally scheduled for 30 October, the elections were postponed due to the death of a vice presidential candidate. These polls were the third since the country returned to multiparty rule in 1992. They were also significant in that the incumbent President Benjamin Mkapa, who has served two consecutive terms, stepped down in accordance with the constitution. Jakaya Kikwete was elected president winning 80.3% of the votes. The next presidential election was scheduled for 2010.

Elections for the presidency of Zanzibar and its House of Representatives took place on 30 October 2005, as scheduled. Amani Abeid Karume of CCM won 53.18% of the votes and Seif Sharif Hamad of CUF won 46.07% of the votes in the presidential election. Voter turnout was high at 90.8% of registered voters. Immediately after the results were announced, riots broke out and a number of people were beaten and shot by the police. CUF protested the results claiming that Karume had won the presidency in Zanzibar through rigging. In the Zanzibar House of Representatives, CCM won 30 of the 50 seats and CUF took 19, with one seat being invalidated.

As of mid-2005, Tanzania faced a number of issues and challenges. According to the UNDP human development report for 2005, Tanzania ranked 164 out of 173 countries making it one of the world's poorest nations. The HIV adult prevalence rate was 11% with over two million people infected with the virus. The US State Department report on democracy and human rights observed that while Tanzania had improved its respect for human rights in recent years, the government's overall record remained poor. The report found that police were more disciplined in recent years, but members of the police and security forces committed unlawful killings and mistreated suspected criminals. The most serious violations of human rights resulted from election-related violence in Zanzibar in 2001 and in October 2005.

GOVERNMENT

A new constitution, replacing the 1965 interim document, went into effect April 1977 and was substantially amended in October 1984 and in 1992. It has been amended eight times.

The president, who is both chief of state and head of government, can be elected for no more than two five-year terms by universal adult suffrage. Before the constitutional amendments in 1992, the sole legal party Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) nominated the president. Two vice presidents, whom he appointed, assisted him: one was the prime minister and the other was the president of Zanzibar. As of 1995, the president is assisted by a vice president, prime minister, and cabinet. If the president of Tanzania is from Zanzibar, the vice president must be from the mainland and vice-versa.

As of 1995, the 274-seat unicameral national assembly consists of 232 members elected by universal adult suffrage for five-year terms, 36, or 15%, of the seats reserved for women nominated by their parties (parties nominate the women members of parliament in proportion to the number of seats they control), and 5 members from the Zanzibar House of Representatives and the attorney general. Presidential and legislative elections are held concurrently, and in each legislative constituency. All candidates in competing in elections must belong to political parties. The prime minister, who is chosen from the assembly members, heads the assembly. If the president withholds his assent from a bill passed by the assembly, it does not become a law unless the assembly passes it again by a two-thirds majority. The president may dissolve the assembly and call for new presidential and legislative elections if he refuses to assent to a law passed by such a majority within 32 days of its passage.

The Revolutionary Council of Zanzibar, which held power on the islands since 1964, adopted a separate constitution in October 1979, which it replaced in January 1984. The new constitution provides for a popularly elected president and a 75-member Council of Representatives, 50 of whom are popularly elected and 25 appointed. The government of Zanzibar has exclusive jurisdiction over internal matters, including immigration, finances, and economic policy. Since the 1990s, a trend toward greater autonomy for Zanzibar has been the basis of political tension with the mainland.

The Articles of Union and Acts of Union of 1964 provided for two governments: the union government, which also handled mainland issues, and the Zanzibar government, which dealt with nonunion matters pertaining to Zanzibar. The Tanganyikan constitution of 1962 was amended to accommodate the two government arrangement, which has remained in place ever since. However, the two-government system has been criticized as favoring Zanzibar because there is no separate government for the mainland. Moreover, Zanzibar's representation in parliament is considered to be disproportionate to its small population. In August 1993, following Zanzibar's attempt to join the OIC in violation of the constitution, the National Assembly adopted a resolution that provided for the possibility of setting up a mainland or Tanganyikan government to parallel that of Zanzibar. The issue of a federated system with three governments has remained a bone of contention between CCM and the opposition parties.

Renegotiation of the Union pact was the key issue of the 1995 elections, the first contested elections on Tanzania in 20 years. Although the former ruling party emerged from those elections with the Zanzibar presidency and a majority in the House of Representatives, the secessionist movement remained strong on the islands. The Zanzibar government established its own department of revenue and foreign affairs.

In February 2000 the Zanzibar CCM and the mainland CCM factions clashed over a constitutional amendment that would have allowed Zanzibar's President Salmin Amour to seek a third term. CCM's National Executive Committee postponed consideration of the issue until after the 2000 elections, effectively blocking Amour's bid. On 29 October 2000, Zanzibar elected Amani Abeid Karume president, and Benjamin Mkapa was returned president of the Tanzanian republic. In 2005 Jakaya Kikwete was elected president with 80.3% of the votes. In controversial Zanzibar elections held in October 2005, Karume won 53.18% of the votes to retain the Zanzibar presidency.

POLITICAL PARTIES

At independence in 1961, Tanganyika (Tanzania Mainland) had a multiparty political system. The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), established in 1954, was the overwhelmingly dominant political party in preindependence Tanganyika. Other political parties of this era included the United Tanganyika Party, the African National Congress, and the All Muslim National Unity of Tanganyika. In Zanzibar, there were three important political parties prior to independence. These were the ZNP (Zanzibar Nationalist Party, ASP (Afro-Shirazi Party), and ZPPP (Zanzibar and Pemba Peoples's Party). On 5 February 1977, ASP the ruling party of Zanzibar and TANU merged into the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) or Revolutionary Party. It became the sole legal political party in Tanzania. All candidates had to be approved by the CCM and were permitted to campaign only on the CCM platform. Elections within the single party framework were competitive, however. In the balloting on 13 and 27 October 1985, 328 candidates competed for 169 elective seats in the National Assembly. In 1987, former president Julius K. Nyerere was reelected chairman of the CCM. He stepped down in 1990, to be succeeded by Ali Hassam Mwinyi.

The CCM officially favors nonracism and African socialism. The basic aims, laid down in Nyerere's Arusha Declaration of 1967, are social equality, self-reliance, economic cooperation with other African states, ujamaa (familyhood), and the development of forms of economic activity, particularly in rural areas, based on collective efforts. However, since the late 1980s, CCM has slowly transformed itself into a pro-market, pro-business party. The party is divided into locally organized branches, which are grouped into districts, which in turn are grouped into regions. The 172-member National Executive Committee is the principal policymaking and directing body of the CCM. A central committee of 18 members is elected at periodic party congresses.

Although Tanzania amended its constitution in 1992 to become a multiparty state, the CCM still controls government. Other parties have tried to organize, and have complained of harassment by government and CCM activists. Before taking part in elections, the new parties undergo a six-month probation during which they can recruit and organize. Some 20 opposition groups had registered in the first four months of their legality. However, parties representing regional, racial, ethnic, or religious groups are explicitly prohibited.

Multiparty elections were held in Zanzibar on 25 October 1995 and union-wide on 29 October 1995. International observers and opposition parties accused the CCM of voter fraud and intimidation of opposition candidates in Zanzibar. While Civic United Front (CUF) claimed victory, on 26 October, the election commission declared CCM presidential candidate Salmin Amour the winner by 1,565 votes over the CUF's Seif Shariff Hamad. The CCM also won 26 of the 50 seats in the House of Representatives. Citing fraud in the election, the CUF boycotted the House and refused to recognize the Amour government. CCM–CUF tension in Zanzibar increased dramatically after the government arrested eighteen CUF members and charged them with treason, an offence punishable by death. Four of those charged with treason were CUF members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives. The Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, tried to reconcile the two parties. An agreement was reached between the two parties in 1999 but tensions on the island remained high as CUF charged CCM with not living up to the agreement. As the 2000 elections approached, the treason suspects were still behind bars and clamoring to run for office from prison.

The Union election held on 29 October 1995 was so disorganized that it was cancelled in Dar es Salaam and held again on 19 November. In the presidential election, CCM candidate Benjamin Mkapa won with 61.8% of the vote. Former Deputy Prime Minister Augustino Mrema of the National Convention for Constitutional Reform received 27.7%; Ibrahim Lipumba of the Civic United Front won 6.4%, and John Cheyo of the United Democratic Party captured 3.97%. Parliamentary election results saw the CCM win 59.2% of the vote and 186 seats; NCCR, 21.83% and 16 seats; CUF, 5% and 24 seats; Chadema, 6.2% and 3 seats, and UDP, 3.3% and 3 seats.

As of the October 2000 elections there were 12 permanently registered opposition parties: Civic United Front/Chama Cha Wananchi (CUF), the National Convention for Constitutional Reform (NCCR-Mageuzi), the Union for Multiparty Democracy (UMD), Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), the National League for Democracy (NLD), the Tanzania Peoples Party (TPP), the Tanzania Democratic Alliance (TADEA), the National Redemption Alliance (NRA), the Popular National Party (PONA), the United Peoples Democratic Party (UPDP), the United Democratic Party (UDP), and the Tanzania Labor Party (TLP).

In the presidential elections on 29 October 2000, CCM candidate Benjamin William Mkapa was reelected president with 71.7% of the vote, defeating CUF candidate Ibrahim Haruna Lipumba who garnered 16.3%. TLP candidate Augustine Lyatonga Mreme managed to obtain 7.8%, and John Momose Cheyo of the UDP 4.2%. In the National Assembly, the CCM won 244 of 272 seats to 16 for the CUF, 4 for CHADEMA, 3 for TLP, and 2 for UDP. In the Zanzibar House of Representatives the CCM won 34 seats to 16 for CUF. However, on Zanzibar the elections and postelections period were marred by violent civil unrest.

The results of the 2005 National Assembly election were as follows: CMM, 206 seats; CUF, 19 seats; CHADEMA, 5 seats; other, 2 seats; 37 women were appointed by the president, and Zanzibar representatives, 5 seats. The results of the 2005 Zanzibar House of Representatives election were as follows: CCM, 30 seats; CUF, 19 seats; and 1 seat was nullified with a rerun scheduled.

In the Union elections scheduled for December 2005, ten political parties fielded candidates for the presidency of Tanzania. Benjamin Mkapa of CCM stepped down as mandated by the constitution. CCM fielded Jakaya Kikwete who won the presidency with 80.3% of the votes, while Sauti ya Umma (SAU) was represented by Henry Kyara and CUF supported Ihrahim Lipumba who won 11.7% of the votes. Other presidential candidates included Emmanuel Makaidi of National League for Democracy (NLD); Freeman Mbowe of Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) (won 5.9% of the votes); Augustine Mrema of Tanzania Labour Party (TLP); Christopher Mtikila of Democratic Party (DP); Sengondo Mvungi of National Convention for Construction and Reform-Mageuzi (NCCR-Mageuzi) also supported by the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD), National Reconstruction Alliance (NRA), Union for Multiparty Democracy (UMD), and United People's Democratic Party (UPDP); Anna Senkoro of Progressive Party of Tanzania-Maendeleo (PPT-Maendeleo); and Leonard Shayo of Demokrasia Makini (MAKINI). The next general elections were to be held December 2010.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Mainland Tanzania is divided into 20 administrative regions, which are subdivided into 86 districts. Zanzibar and Pemba are divided into five regions. Regional commissioners are appointed by the central government, as are district commissioners and development directors for the districts.

The units of local government are district development councils. Each district development council includes elected members, but these bodies are only advisory. In Zanzibar, revolutionary committees are responsible for regional administration.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

Mainland Tanzanian law is a combination of British, East African customary law, and Islamic law. Local courts are presided over by appointed magistrates. They have limited jurisdiction, and there is a right of appeal to district courts, headed by either resident or district magistrates. Appeal can be made to the High Court, which consists of a chief justice and 17 judges appointed by the president. It has both civil and criminal jurisdiction over all persons and all matters. Appeals from the High Court can be made to the five-member Court of Appeal. Judges are appointed to the Court of Appeal and the High Court by the president on the advice of the chief justice and to courts at lower levels by the chief justice.

In 1985, the Zanzibar courts were made parallel to those of the mainland. Islamic courts handle some civil matters. Cases concerning the Zanzibar constitution are heard only in Zanzibar courts. All other cases may be appealed to the Court of Appeal of the Republic.

Although declared independent by the constitution, the judiciary is subject to executive branch influence and is criticized as inefficient and corrupt. Questions have been raised as to the availability of a fair trial in politically charged cases.

ARMED FORCES

Tanzania's armed forces totaled 27,000 active personnel in 2005, with reserves numbering 80,000. The Army had 23,000 personnel in 5 infantry brigades, 1 tank brigade, 6 artillery battalions, 2 mortar battalions, 2 antitank battalions, 2 air defense battalions, and 1 engineering regiment. Equipment included 45 main battle tanks, 55 light tanks and 378 artillery pieces. The Navy had an estimated 1,000 personnel, whose major units consisted of six patrol/coastal vessels and two amphibious landing craft. The Air Defense Command numbered an estimated 3,000, operating 19 combat capable aircraft, including 9 fighters and 10 fighter ground attack aircraft. Police field forces, which included naval and air units, numbered 1,400. In 2004 (the latest year for which data was available), the defense budget totaled $362 million.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Tanganyika was admitted to United Nations membership on 14 December 1961, and Zanzibar on 16 December 1963; following their union into what was eventually called Tanzania, the two regions retained a single membership. Tanzania is a member of ECA and several nonregional specialized agencies, such as the FAO, ILO, the World Bank, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNCTAD, and the WHO. It is also a member of the African Development Bank, the East African Development Bank, the Commonwealth of Nations, the ACP Group, G-6, G-77, the WTO, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the African Union. Along with Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda, it belongs to the Kagera Basin Organization. Julius Nyerere, Tanzania's first president, was one of the founding members of the Nonaligned Movement. Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya signed an East African Cooperation Treaty in September 1999. A second treaty establishing a Customs Union was signed in March 2004.

In environmental cooperation, Tanzania is part of the Basel Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity, CITES, the Kyoto Protocol, the Montréal Protocol, and the UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea, Climate Change, and Desertification.

ECONOMY

Tanzania has an agricultural economy whose chief commercial crops are sisal, coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco, pyrethrum, spices, and cashew nuts. Agriculture accounts for 48% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the workforce. The most important minerals are gold and diamonds. Industry is mainly concerned with the processing of agricultural materials for export and local consumption. Gas production in the Rufiji Delta was scheduled for 2002. The multimillion dollar Songosongo gas pipeline project was being developed in 2003.

After 25 years of socialist experimentation achieved important advances in education and health, poor economic performance led the government, in 1986, to adopt market-style reforms in conjunction with the IMF structural adjustment program. Since then, significant progress has been made in revitalizing the economy and donors have pledged additional funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's deteriorated economic infrastructure. The high inflation rate dropped to 5% in 2001 and 4.1% in 2004. Growth averaged 4.2% in 1996–2000, and picked up steadily to 6.2% in 2002, before slightly dropping in 2003 to an estimated 5.7% because of drought, and then recovering to 6.7% in 2004.

In 2001, bilateral donor countries pledged $1 billion in aid for the country's reform programs, including education. Tanzania in 2003 was receiving $3 billion over time in debt relief under the IMF/World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and the net present value of Tanzania's external debt was being reduced by 54%. The economy was improving, with the mining, tourism, agriculture, construction, telecommunications, and utilities sectors all showing potential for growth. The government had sold off state-owned enterprises, was welcoming foreign investment, and had implemented strict fiscal and monetary policies. Nonetheless, Tanzania's macroeconomic progress had not translated into better lives for its rural poor.

INCOME

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2005 Tanzania's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $26.6 billion. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange based on current dollars. The per capita GDP was estimated at $700. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 6.1%. The average inflation rate in 2005 was 4.1%. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 43.2% of GDP, industry 17.2%, and services 39.6%.

According to the World Bank, in 2003 remittances from citizens working abroad totaled $7 million or about $0 per capita and accounted for approximately 0.1% of GDP. Foreign aid receipts amounted to $1,669 million or about $47 per capita and accounted for approximately 16.3% of the gross national income (GNI).

The World Bank reports that in 2003 household consumption in Tanzania totaled $7.94 billion or about $221 per capita based on a GDP of $10.3 billion, measured in current dollars rather than PPP. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that for the period 1990 to 2003 household consumption grew at an average annual rate of 1.8%. In 2001 it was estimated that approximately 67% of household consumption was spent on food, 5% on fuel, 4% on health care, and 12% on education. It was estimated that in 2002 about 36% of the population had incomes below the poverty line.

LABOR

Over 80% of Tanzania's working population was estimated to be engaged in agriculture in 2002, with the industrial and services sectors accounting for the remaining workforce. The labor force was estimated at 19.22 million in 2005. The was no data available on unemployment in Tanzania.

In 1964, by legislation of the National Assembly, the existing 13 trade unions were dissolved and amalgamated into a single national institution, the National Union of Tanzanian Workers. This was reorganized in 1978 to take in Zanzibar trade union activity as the Organization of Tanzania Trade Unions (OTTU), which still is the only labor union organization. The OTTU was renamed the Tanzania Federation of Trade Unions (TFTU) in 1995. As of 2002, only approximately 5–7% of the wage-earning labor force was organized. Strikes are permitted after a lengthy and complicated arbitration procedure which delays a resolution for months. Collective bargaining does not regularly occur, and public sector employee wages and benefits are set by the government.

With the permission of a parent, a child as young as 12 years old may work on a day-to-day basis. Employment of a long-term contractual nature cannot begin until a minor is at least 15. Enforcement of these provisions is inadequate and has actually declined in recent years with increased privatization. The standard workweek is 40 hours for government workers, while most private employers retain a 44 to 48-hour workweek. A minimum wage is fixed by law; as of 2002, it was about $38 a month.

AGRICULTURE

About 5.8% of the total land area is cultivated, with about two-thirds belonging to farmers owning or operating farms of five hectares (12.4 acres) or less. A massive collectivization and cooperative agricultural program was begun in 1967; by the end of 1980, 8,167 self-help villages, involving more than 14 million people, had been established. The program was coupled with the takeover of large estates.

The principal food crops are corn, millet, rice, sorghum, and pulses. The chief cash crops are coffee, cotton, and cashew nuts; sisal, cloves, sugar, tea, pyrethrum, and tobacco are also important. Tanzania is one of Africa's leading producers of sisal; in 2004, production was 23,500 tons. Other estimated agricultural production in 2004 included manioc, 6,890,000 tons; corn, 2,800,000 tons; sorghum, 650,000 tons; rice, 647,000 tons; and millet, 270,000 tons. Production in 2004 also included coffee, 47,000 tons; cotton, 109,000 tons; cashew nuts, 100,000 tons; tea, 25,500 tons; tobacco, 24,500 tons; sweet potatoes, 970,000 tons; white potatoes, 260,000 tons; and 83,000 tons of peanuts. Sugarcane production in that year was an estimated 1,800,000 tons; bananas, 150,400 tons; plantains, 601,600 tons; dry beans, 280,000 tons; seed cotton, 330,000 tons; and cottonseed, 210,000 tons.

Tanzania is the third leading producer of cloves, which are grown mostly on Pemba; production totaled 12,500 tons in 2004. Tanzania is also an important producer of coconuts (370,000 tons in 2004), mostly from the island of Zanzibar.

There was a steady decline in agricultural production during the late 1970s and early 1980s because of drought and low prices paid by the state crop-marketing agencies. In addition, there was a shortage of farm implements; only 3,000 of the nation's 10,000 tractors were in working order in 1982, and even hand hoes and oxen plows were in acute shortage. By 2003, there were some 7,600 tractors in service (down from 8,000 in 1985). Beginning in 1986, reforms of the cooperative unions and crop marketing boards have aided production. The purchase of crops (especially coffee, cotton, sisal, tea, and pyrethrum) has been opened to private traders.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Although large areas are unsuitable for livestock because of the tsetse fly, considerable numbers of cattle, sheep, and goats are kept, and livestock raising makes a substantial contribution to the economy. The estimated livestock population in 2005 included 17,800,000 head of cattle, 12,550,000 goats, 3,521,000 sheep, 455,000 pigs, and 30,000,000 poultry. About 364,000 tons of meat were produced in 2005. Milk production that year consisted of 940,000 tons from cows and 104,000 tons from goats.

FISHING

With over 6% of Tanzania's area consisting of open lake waters, inland fishing, especially on Lake Tanganyika, occupies an important place in the economy. There is also fishing in the Indian Ocean. The total catch was 363,522 tons in 2003, about 83% from inland waters. Nile perch, dagaas, and tilapias are the main species caught.

FORESTRY

Some 38,811,000 hectares (95,902,000 acres), or 43.9% of Tanzania's total land area, is classified as forest. There are about 13,000,000 hectares (32,000,000 acres) of permanent forest reserves. Small plantations for fast-growing trees have been established in these reserves. On the islands, remains of former forests are found only in two reserves.

Production in 2004 included about 23.8 million cu m (840 million cu ft) of roundwood, with 90% used as fuel wood. Sawn wood production was 24,000 cu m (847,000 cu ft) that year.

MINING

With the rebirth of the gold industry, in 1999, gold has dominated the mineral industry in Tanzania, and was expected to grow substantially in the near future. Because of significant exploration successes and government investment incentives, Tanzania's mining sector has been playing an increasingly important role in the economy. Mining sector output, by value, grew by about 17% in 2003, and by 15% in 2002. From 1999 through 2003, substantial increases in gold production spurred growth in the country's mining sector by around 15% annually. Tanzania's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.1% in 2003, of which mining and quarrying accounted for 3% of GDP in that year. Gold was the top export commodity in 2003, accounting for $504.1 million out of a total of $560.2 million in mineral exports for that year. Overall, mineral exports accounted for 48% of Tanzania's exports by value in 2003.

Output of refined gold in 2003 totaled 48,018 kg, up from 43,320 kg in 2002. With the opening of three new mines, and planned investment of $1.5 billion, gold production reached 30,088 kg in 2001 and was expected to reach 57,000 kg in 2007.

Diamond output in 2003 was 236,582 carats, down from 239,761 carats in 2002. Diamonds, 85% of which were gem-quality or semi-gem-quality, were mined at the Williamson field, in Mwadui. The deposits were jointly-owned by the government and Willcroft, of Canada. Diamond production has declined since the 1967 peak (988,000 carats), because of depletion of higher-grade ores and equipment failure. Production hit a low in 1994, of 17,177 carats. Diamond resources were 114 million tons containing 6.5 million carats. The output of other gemstones (including amethyst, aquamarine, chrysoprase, emerald, garnet, kyanite, opal, peridot, lolite, ruby, sapphire, tanzanite, and tourmaline) was 1,530,000 kg in 2003, compared to 196,000 in 2002. African Gem Resources, the new owner of block C of the Merlani mining area, estimated that block C, with resources of 2.24 million tons of ore, grading 22 carats per ton, contained two-thirds of the world's known deposits of tanzanite.

In 2003, Tanzania produced 23,176 metric tons (preliminary) of crude gypsum and anhydrite, as well as calcite, hydraulic cement, crushed limestone, salt, and presumably stone, and sand and gravel. Resources of limestone totaled 155 million tons; marble resources for lime production totaled 137 million tons; and calcitic marble resources amounted to 121 million tons. No iron ore or graphite was produced in 2003. Resources and proven reserves of iron ore, in Itewe, Liganga, and the Uluguru Mountains, totaled 103 million tons. Deposits of cobalt, copper, lead, mica, nickel, phosphates, tin, titanium, tungsten, and uranium were also known to occur, and companies were exploring for cobalt and nickel and planning to produce copper concentrate from a gold mine.

ENERGY AND POWER

Tanzania has proven reserves of natural gas and coal but must rely on imports for all its crude oil.

Tanzania, as of January 2003, had no proven reserves of crude oil, but as of that date, did possess a crude oil refining capacity of 14,900 barrels per day. However, the refinery, as of February 2004, was reported to be no longer operational and was being used as an oil storage area. In 2002, the country's imports and consumption of refined oil products each averaged 21,720 barrels per day. There were no recorded imports or consumption of natural gas in 2002.

Coal is Tanzania's most abundant resource. Reported as of February 2004, the country has recoverable coal reserves of 220 million short tons. In 2002, coal output totaled 91,000 short tons.

Tanzania electric power generating capacity in 2002 came to 0.832 million kW, of which 0.560 million kW was hydroelectric capacity, with conventional thermal capacity at 0.302 million kW. Electric power output in 2002 totaled 2.952 billion kWh, of which hydroelectric power provided 2.709 billion kWh and conventional thermal sources 0.243 billion kWh. Demand for electric power in 2002 totaled 2.773 billion kWh. Electric power imports that year totaled 0.028 billion kWh.

INDUSTRY

Manufacturing output increased by an average of 1.1% during the decade 1980–90, and by 1.7% between 1988 and 1998, when it accounted for 6.8% of GDP. Industry in general accounted for 17% of GDP in 2000. Along with the results of parastatal inefficiencies; fuel and import costs, lack of foreign exchange, power shortages, lack of spare parts, and unreliable local services have tested the manufacturing sector severely. By 2001, 333 of 395 state-owned companies had been privatized, including tobacco and cashew farms, mines, the brewery, and a cigarette factory.

Tanzanian industry is centered on the processing of local agricultural goods. Some products are exported to neighboring countries: textiles and clothes, shoes, tires, batteries, transformers and switchgear, electric stoves, bottles, cement, and paper. Other industries include oil refining, fertilizers, rolling and casting mills, metal working, beer and soft drinks, vehicle assembly, bicycles, canning, industrial machine goods, glass and ceramics, agricultural implements, electrical goods, wood products, bricks and tiles, oxygen and carbon dioxide, and pharmaceutical products. In the early 2000s, the industrial sector was relatively weak, but made small gains in the production of cement, soft drinks, corrugated iron sheeting, food processing, chemicals, leather products, and textiles. The construction industry was growing at a slow pace at that time, at less than 5% per year.

Oil and natural gas exploration are encouraged, and natural gas reserves were estimated at 2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2000. Tanzania has one oil refinery at Dar es Salaam with a production capacity of 15,000 barrels per day.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, founded in 1958 at Dar es Salaam, advises the government on science and technology policy. Much of the scientific and technical research in Tanzania is directed toward agriculture. Facilities include the Livestock Production Research Institute at Dodoma (founded in 1905), the National Institute for Medical Research at Amani and Mwanza (founded in 1949), the Silviculture Research Institute at Lushoto (founded in 1951), the Agricultural Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture at Mlingano (founded in 1934), and the Tropical Pesticides Research Institute at Arusha (founded in 1962). The University of Dar es Salaam (founded in 1961) has faculties of science, medicine, and engineering and an institute of marine sciences; Sokoine University of Agriculture at Morogoro (founded in 1984) has faculties of agriculture, forestry, and veterinary medicine. The Open University of Tanzania (founded in 1992 at Dar es Salaam) has faculties of science, technology, and environmental studies. In 1987–97, science and engineering students accounted for 37% of college and university enrollments. In 2002, high technology exports were valued at $1 million, or 2% of the country's manufactured exports.

DOMESTIC TRADE

Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's main distribution center. Mombasa, in Kenya, and inland Tanzanian towns also serve as trade centers. Previously, Tanzania used nontariff trade barriers to protect local industries and domestic commerce. With trade liberalization, tariff barriers have been adjusted for this purpose. Most retail shops are small, privately owned establishments that specialize in one or two specific products.

Normal business hours are 7:30 am to 2:30 pm, Monday through Friday; firms that take a lunch break at noon may stay open to 4 or 4:30 pm. Banks are open from 8:30 am to noon, Monday through Friday, and 8:30 to 11 am on Saturday.

FOREIGN TRADE

The chief imports are transport equipment and intermediate and industrial goods machinery. The big traditional export commodities for Tanzania are coffee (17.1%), fish and shellfish (11.6%), and fruits and nuts (including cashews—16.8%). Other exports include unfinished tobacco (8.6%) and cotton (7.4%). Since peaking in 1996–97, growth in traditional commodity exports has stagnated. Traditional commodity exports (coffee, cotton, sisal, tea, tobacco, cashew nuts and cloves) reached $435 million in 1997, but averaged only $218 million annually in 2001–04. This is largely due to the falling prices at international markets for these commodities. On the other hand, Tanzanian nontraditional exports rose to $327.5 million in 1996, but fell back to $232.2 million in 1998. The fall mainly reflected a decline in exports of petroleum products and manufactured goods. Petroleum exports have been adversely affected by smuggling and by the reforms currently under way in the sector, which have led to the restructuring of the Tanzanian and Italian Petroleum Refinery (Tiper). However, the

start of large-scale gold mining has resulted in dramatic increases in export earnings for this nontraditional sector expanding export earnings to $911.2 million in 2003.

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

Tanzania typically runs a current account deficit, although long term capital investment from abroad resulted in surpluses for several years during the 1970s. Agricultural marketing reforms and flexible exchange policies are expected to provide export growth in upcoming years, as exports move from the underground to the official market.

The Economist Intelligence Unit reported that in 2005 the purchasing power parity of Tanzania's exports was $1.573 billion while imports totaled $2.391 billion resulting in a trade deficit of $818 million.

BANKING AND SECURITIES

On 5 February 1967, Tanzania nationalized all banks after the adoption of the Arusha Declaration. From then until 1991, banking was a state monopoly led by the central Bank of Tanzania (BoT) and the National Bank of Commerce (NBC). In 1991, the financial services sector was opened to private and foreign capital. In 1993, the first private banks opened their doors. These were Meridien BIAO and Standard Chartered, the latter being among the UK-owned banks that were nationalized in 1967. Meridien's Zambian-based African network collapsed in 1995, and Stanbic of South Africa took over the Tanzanian subsidiary after its seizure by the BoT. The Kenyan-owned Trust Bank opened in March 1995, to be followed by Eurafrican Bank (a Belgian-led venture). Also in early 1995, the only private bank to be majority-owned by indigenous Tanzanians, First Adili Bank, began business.

In 2002, the BoT was still the central bank and bank of issue, provided advice to the NBC. The NBC, which used to accounted for over 75% of the country's transactions, was split in 1997 into NBC 1997 and the National Microfinance Bank (NMB). Other Tanzanian banks include the People's Bank of Zanzibar, the Tanzania Investment Bank, the Tanzania Housing Bank, the Rural Cooperative and Development Bank (CRDB), and the Tanganyika Post Office Savings Bank. Foreign banks include Citibank, Stanbic Bank, Standard Charter, Bank of Great Britain, EuroAfrican Bank, Akiba Commercial Bank, and Exim Bank.

The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate commonly known as M1—were equal to $874.0 million. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $1.9 billion. The discount rate, the interest rate at which the central bank lends to financial institutions in the short term, was 8.7%.

The establishment of a local stock market, the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE), occurred in March 1998. By 2003 there were four companies listed on the exchange with a total market capitalization of about $500 million: Tanzania Breweries Limited, Tanzania Tea Packers Limited, TOL Limited (producer of industrial gases), and Tanzania Cigarette Company Limited.

INSURANCE

All insurance companies were nationalized in 1967. There is one national insurance company, the National Insurance Corporation of Tanzania, that covers life, fire, automobile, marine, and general accident insurance.

PUBLIC FINANCE

The Tanzanian budget covers cash expenditures and receipts for the mainland only, and does not include Zanzibar government revenues and expenditures. Total expenditures include a development budget and revenues include profits from privatization sales. The fiscal year ends on 30 June. In the early 1980s, the annual budget deficit went over 10% of GDP, and payment arrears on external debts started to mount. Since 1986, the government has improved its fiscal and monetary policies, with mixed results. Tanzania qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2005 Tanzania's central government took in revenues of approximately $2.2 billion and had expenditures of $2.6 billion. Revenues minus expenditures totaled approximately -$434 million. Public debt in 2005 amounted to 5% of GDP. Total external debt was $7.95 billion.

TAXATION

The corporate income tax rate in 2005 was 30% of taxable profits. Withholding taxes include: a 10% general rate for dividends (5% for companies listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange); 10% for interest; 15% on royalties; and a 10% rate on rents for residents (15% rate for nonresidents). Capital gains are treated as ordinary business income and subject to the corporate rate.

Income taxes are also levied on wages and salaries. There is a Housing Levy and a Vocational Education Training Levy on gross payroll. There is a value-added tax (VAT) with a standard rate of 20%, as of 2005. Exemptions from VAT include computers, tour operations, hospital equipment, and investments in educational equipment. Other taxes include a stamp duty on sales, a transport withholding tax, local government development levies, an entertainment tax (for non-VAT-registered taxpayers), and airport and seaport departure charges.

CUSTOMS AND DUTIES

Tanzania has a single column tariff with many items dutiable ad valorem. Customs duties range from 0–25%, not including the VAT. In 1992, the government abolished duties and taxes on raw materials for industry as part of an economic reform program. In 1995, a uniform 5% tax was levied on imported capital goods. Import duties and sales tax apply according to the value of goods. There is a value-added tax of 20%. There are no export controls, except for protected wild animals, and there are no prohibited imports, except for narcotics and other internationally prohibited drugs. Import and export licenses are not needed.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

From independence in 1961, Tanzania followed state-centered socialist policies. With the initiation of economic reforms in 1986, investment interest in Tanzania has grown considerably in all sectors. Under the Tanzania Investment Promotion Policy of 1990 the Investment Promotion Center was established and by 1997, it had approved about 1,025 projects worth $3.1 billion. The operations of foreign banks were authorized in 1991, and the banking industry was substantially reformed to make it more competitive. In 1992, the Zanzibar Investment Promotion Agency (ZIPA) Act established the Tanzania Investment Center (TIC) as a one-stop shop for facilitating and coordinating private-sector investment, and for issuing certificates of incentives to qualifying investors. The incentive package includes 100% capital allowances in computing gains and profits of an enterprise; 0% import duty on capital equipment in "lead" sectors (mining, oil and gas, tourism, and infrastructure development), and 5% import duty on equipment for projects in "priority" sectors (agriculture, aviation, commercial buildings, development banks, export processing, special regions, human resources development, manufacturing, natural resources, radio and TV broadcasting, and tourism); and an automatic permit to employ up to five foreign nationals. The Tanzania Investment Act of 1997 was strengthened by the Land Act of 1999 and the Village Land Act of 1999, which provide the right to acquire land in urban and rural areas, respectively. As a further impetus for reform, the Tanzanian government has taken steps to qualify under the US Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), effective 2001, that mandates tariff-free and quota-free access to the US market for countries making market-based reforms.

From 1997 to 2004, annual foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows increased steadily from $157.8 million to $527 million in 2003, slightly dropping to $470 million in 2004. The annual average of foreign direct investment between 1997 and 2004 was $393 million. The 10 leading countries that have invested in Tanzania are the United Kingdom, the United States, Kenya, Canada, South Africa, China, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and India. Foreign investment has mainly gone into mining, manufactures, agriculture, and tourism.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Tanzanian government has focused in recent years on reorganizing and restructuring its economic institutions. Progress has been encouraging and private sector investors are increasingly interested in mining, transport, tourist, and fishing sector opportunities.

The fourth five-year development plan (1981–86) was not fully carried out because of Tanzania's economic crisis. Among the projects implemented were an industrial complex, a pulp and paper project, a machine-tool plant, a phosphate plant, and the development of natural gas deposits. The Economic and Social Action Plan of 1990 scaled back the government's ambitions and sought to continue moderate growth in the economy, improve foreign trade, and alleviate some of the social costs of economic reform. Development planning is now conducted on an annual basis, with recent development priorities set in the areas of transport infrastructure, health, and education.

In 2000, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a three-year $181.5 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) Arrangement for Tanzania (it expired in June 2003). With the inception of this program, gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged more than 5%, while inflation declined to below 5%. The servicing of Tanzania's over $8 billion external debt absorbs around 40% of total government expenditures. In 2001, Tanzania became eligible for $3 billion in debt service relief under the IMF/World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The government has taken steps to attract foreign investment, including revamping tax codes, floating the exchange rate, licensing foreign banks, and creating an investment promotion center to trim bureaucratic red tape. Poverty remains pervasive, however, and is the main target for economic development.

At the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington, DC in September of 2005, the IMF announced its new policy support instrument (PSI), which is likely to replace PRGF programs in countries such as Tanzania that have successfully completed multiple PRGFs. At this meeting, the possibility of a complete write-off of Tanzania's multilateral debt moved closer as the G8 and IMF and World Bank agreed a debt-forgiveness package to be implemented in early 2006.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

A social insurance system was implemented in 1998. It covers employees in the private sector, and some public workers and self-employed persons. Domestic workers are excluded, although voluntary coverage is available. Employers contribute 10% of payroll and employees contribute 10% of their wages. Coverage includes old age, disability, and survivorship payments, as well as medical care and maternity benefits. The labor code requires employers to provide severance pay to employees with continuous service of at least three months.

The government advocates equal rights and employment opportunities for women. However, discrimination and violence against women are widespread. The law does not specifically address spousal abuse and victims are hesitant to seek assistance. Female genital mutilation is prevalent. Rape is a significant problem, and the police are ill equipped to deal with the few cases that are actually reported. In Zanzibar, unmarried women who become pregnant and are under the age of 21 are subject to two years' imprisonment. Inheritance laws favor men.

Tanzania's human rights record remains poor. Police abuse of prisoners and detainees is widespread. Prison conditions are poor, and dysentery, malaria, and cholera are common. There are reports that the government has blocked the registration of local human rights organizations.

HEALTH

In 1975, the government began to nationalize all hospitals, including those run by Christian missions; private medical practice was ended in 1980. Medical treatment is free or highly subsidized in company clinics as well as hospitals. The pyramid structure of Tanzania's national health care system, stressing primary care at an affordable cost, makes it a pioneer in sub-Saharan Africa. Approximately, 54% of the population had access to safe drinking water and 90% had adequate sanitation. An estimated 80% of the population had access to health care services and public health care expenditures were 3% of GDP. Life expectancy was 45.24 years in 2005.

There are close to 3,000 rural health facilities, 17 regional hospitals, and 3 national medical centers. As of 2004, it was estimated that there were fewer than 4 physicians per 100,000 people. Medical staff morale was low due to declining wages and management and operational difficulties in the central medical stores and domestic pharmaceuticals industries. Imports of drugs are overseen by the Pharmaceutical Board; there are four local manufacturers.

Special programs of disease control have been carried out with the assistance of the World Health Organization and UNICEF for most major diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis, sleeping sickness, schistosomiasis, poliomyelitis, and yaws. As of 2000, an estimated 44% of children under five were malnourished. Children up to one year old were immunized against tuberculosis, 82%; diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 74%; polio, 73%; and measles, 69%. Tanzania's tuberculosis treatment program is less than 20 years old and consists of inexpensive drugs that cut recovery time in half.

As of 2002, the crude birth rate and overall mortality rate were estimated at, respectively, 39.1 and 13 per 1,000 people. About 25% of married women (ages 15 to 49) used contraception in 2000. Infant mortality in 2005 was 98.54 per 1,000 live births. Maternal mortality was an estimated 530 per 100,000 live births.

The female genital mutilation prevalence in Tanzania was lower than most African nations. An estimated 1.5 million or 10% suffered from the procedure. The government of Tanzania has not prohibited it.

The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 8.80 per 100 adults in 2003. As of 2004, there were approximately 1,600,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country. There were an estimated 160,000 deaths from AIDS in 2003. The Tanzanian government is working to stop the spread of AIDS by improving the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. Intervention on some STDs has shown a reduction in HIV prevalence.

HOUSING

Tanzania has developed a serious urban housing shortage as a result of the influx of people to the towns. All development planning has included considerable financial allocations for urban housing schemes. With private enterprise unable to meet the demand, the government in 1951 launched a low-cost housing program, which has been continued since that time.

A significant number of dwellings are constructed from mud and poles or from mud bricks and blocks. A smaller percentage of dwellings are made of concrete and stone, or of baked and burned bricks. Piped indoor water is available to about one-fourth of households and over half have private toilets. In 1995, it was estimated that about 70% of the urban population was living in temporary shelters of squatter/slum areas. The housing deficit in urban areas was estimated at 1.2 million units. In 2002, there were an estimated 6,996,036 households; the average household size was 4.9 members.

EDUCATION

Education is compulsory for seven years, generally for children between the ages of 7 and 14. This is covered by a two-stage primary school program (four years plus three years). Students may then attend four years of lower secondary and two years of upper secondary school. In the upper secondary level, students choose three courses of study from the following topics: languages, arts, social sciences, mathematics, sciences, commercial subjects, military science, and technology. All senior secondary students take a course in political education. The academic year runs from September to July.

Primary school enrollment in 2003 was estimated at about 69% of age-eligible students. In 2000, secondary school enrollment was about 4.6% of age-eligible students. It is estimated that about 57.7% of all students complete their primary education. The student-to-teacher ratio for primary school was at about 56:1 in 2003.

The University College in Dar es Salaam opened in 1961 and achieved university status in 1970. The Sokoine University of Agriculture, at Morogoro, was founded in 1984. Other educational facilities in Tanzania include trade schools, the Dar es Salaam Technical College, University College of Lands, Architecture, and Survey (Formerly Ardhi Institute of Dar es Salaam), the Institute of Finance Management and a political science college (both in Dar es Salaam), the College of African Wildlife Management at Mweka, the Institute of Development Management at Morogoro, and the College of National Education in Korogwe. The School of Art at Bagamoyo, devoted to preserving traditional cultures, is one of the few national art schools in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1995, an Open University was established to offer distance learning programs to students in remote areas. The first university to be established on Zanzibar, the University of Zanzibar, opened in 1998. In 2003, it was estimated that about 1% of the tertiary age population were enrolled in tertiary education programs. The adult literacy rate for 2004 was estimated at about 69.4%, with 77.5% for men and 62.2% for women.

As of 2003, public expenditure on education was estimated at 2.2% of GDP.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

The Tanzania Library Service was established in 1964. It maintains the National Central Library in Dar es Salaam (656,000 volumes), 20 regional public libraries, a school library service, and a rural extension service. The British Council Library and the American Center Library are also in Dar es Salaam. The other major library is the University of Dar es Salaam Library (750,000 volumes). The library at Dar es Salaam Technical College circulates books by mail to all parts of the country. Also in the capital is the library of the East African Literature Bureau. Zanzibar's National Archives has a collection of Arabic manuscripts. The Tanzanian Library Association was founded in 1973.

The National Museums of Tanzania, with branches in Dar es Salaam and Arusha, have ethnographical, archaeological, historical, geological, and natural history sections; the discoveries from Olduvai Gorge are located there. The Department of Geological Survey maintains a geological museum in Dodoma. There are also museums in Arusha, Bagamoyo, Mikumi, Mwanza, and Tabora.

In Zanzibar, the Government Museum has extensive exhibits illustrating the history, ethnography, industries, and natural history of Zanzibar and Pemba. Tabora has the Livingstone and Stanley Memorial site. There is a fine arts museum in Marangu.

MEDIA

In 2003, there were an estimated 4 mainline telephones for every 1,000 people; about 8,000 people were on a waiting list for telephone service installation. The same year, there were approximately 25 mobile phones in use for every 1,000 people.

Radio Tanzania, a government corporation, broadcasts internally in Swahili and English and abroad in English, Afrikaans, and several indigenous African languages. Radio Tanzania Zanzibar broadcasts in Swahili. Private radio and television stations broadcast from Dar es Salaam. As of 1999 there were 12 AM and 4 FM radio stations and 3 television stations. In 2003, there were an estimated 406 radios and 45 television sets for every 1,000 people. The same year, there were 5.7 personal computers for every 1,000 people and 7 of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet. There was one secure Internet server in the country in 2004.

In 2004, there were about 110 newspapers published in English and Kiswahili, including 19 dailies and 53 weeklies. Many of the papers are privately owned. The largest dailies, both published in Dar es Salaam, are the government-owned Daily News (in English), with a circulation of about 50,000 in 2002, and the CCM-owned Uhuru (in Swahili), with a circulation of 100,000. Kipanga (in Swahili) is published on Zanzibar by the government. The constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press; however, the government is said to pressure journalists into self-censorship.

ORGANIZATIONS

In most of the larger centers, chambers of commerce represent commercial, agricultural, and industrial interests. Rural cooperatives, dissolved in 1976, were reintroduced in 1982 to take over from state bodies the functions of crop purchasing and distribution of agricultural products. There are professional associations and unions for a number of fields, such as the Tanzania Teachers' Union and the Tanzania Sports Medicine Association. The Tanzania Consumers Protection Association is active.

The CCM has five principal affiliates: the Umoja Wa Wawawake Wa Tanzania, a women's organization; the Youth League; the Workers' Organization; the Union of Cooperative Societies; and the Tanzania Parents' Association. Cultural organizations include the National Kiswahili Council, which promotes the use of the Swahili language.

The Tanzanian Scout Association, Girl Guides, and YMCA/YWCA programs are available for youth. There are also several sports associations offering youth programs for athletes interested in a variety of pastimes, such as badminton, cricket, lawn tennis, squash, and track and field.

Social action groups include the Catholic Women Organization of Tanzania, the Center for Human Rights Promotion, National Peace Council of Tanzania, and the Tanzania Gender Networking Program. The multinational African Medical and Research Foundation–Tanzania is based in Dar es Salaam. The Center for Women and Children's Rights, established in 1998, and the Huruma Rehabilitation Programme, established in 1994, are dedicated to promoting and supporting the rights and social welfare of women. Volunteer service organizations, such as the Lions Clubs International, are also present. International organizations with national chapters include Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity, Africare, Caritas, and the Red Cross.

TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

Tanzania has great natural resources along its Indian Ocean coastline, 29 game reserves and 13 national parks, especially the 14,763 sq km (5,700 sq mi) Serengeti National Park, famed for its profusion of wildlife. Tourists also enjoy the dramatic view of Mt. Kilimanjaro. As of 2006, scientists were predicting that Kilimanjaro's ice cap, which had visibly shrunk during the 1990s, would completely disappear by 2015. Other attractions are the national dancing troupe and the ebony wood sculptures of the Makonde tribe. Visas are required and are valid for Zanzibar as well.

Yellow fever immunizations are required if traveling from an infected area, and malaria suppressants advised.

In 2005, the US Department of State estimated the cost of staying in Dar es Salaam at $255 per day. Other areas were significantly less with daily expenses of $187.

FAMOUS TANZANIANS

The most famous 19th-century Zanzibari was Sayyid Sa'id bin Ahmad al-Albusa'idi (b.Oman, 1791–1856), who founded the Sultanate. Mkwawa, chief of the Hehe, carried on guerrilla warfare against the Germans for three years until he was betrayed for a reward in 1898. The Germans cut off his head and sent it to the anthropological museum in Bremen; in 1961, Mkwawa's skull was returned to the Hehe. The foremost present-day figure is Julius Kambarage Nyerere (1922–99), the founder and first president of independent Tanganyika (and later of Tanzania) from 1962 to 1985, when he stepped down. He was succeeded by 'Ali Hassan Mwinyi (b.1925), who had been president of Zanzibar during 1984–85. Abeid Karume (1905–72), a sailor of Congolese origin, was the first president of Zanzibar and first vice president of Tanzania until his assassination. He was succeeded by Aboud Jumbe (b.1920), who resigned both posts in 1984. Since 1985, the president of Zanzibar has been Idris Abdul Wakil (b.1925). Edward Moringe Sokoine (1938–84), a prime minister during 1977–80 and 1983–84, was regarded as Nyerere's most likely successor until he died in a car crash. Salim Ahmed Salim (b.1942) was a president of the UN General Assembly during 1979–80, a foreign minister during 1980–84, and a prime minister during 1984–85. An internationally known Tanzanian runner is Filbert Bayi (b.1953), a former world record holder at 1,500 m.

DEPENDENCIES

Tanzania has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Assensoh, A. B. African Political Leadership: Jomo Kenyatta, Kwame Nkrumah, and Julius K. Nyerere. Malabar, Fla.: Krieger Pub., 1998.

Collier, Paul. Labour and Poverty in Rural Tanzania: Ujamaa and Rural Development in the United Republic of Tanzania. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.

Creighton, Colin, and C. K. Omari, eds. Gender, Family and Household in Tanzania. Brookfield, Vt.: Avebury, 1995.

Darch, Colin. Tanzania. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio, 1996.

Giblin, James L., Isaria N. Kimambo, and Gregory Maddox, eds. Custodians of The Land: Ecology and Culture in the History of Tanzania. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1996.

Kamoche, Ken M. (ed.). Managing Human Resources in Africa. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Lugalla, Joe. Crisis, Urbanization, and Urban Poverty in Tanzania: A Study of Urban Poverty and Survival Politics. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1996.

McElrath, Karen (ed.). HIV and AIDS: A Global View. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002.

Ofcansky, Thomas P. Historical Dictionary of Tanzania. 2nd ed. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 1997.

——. Historical Dictionary of Tanzania. [computer file]. Boulder, Colo.: netLibrary, Inc., 2000.

Okema, Michael. Political Culture in Tanzania. Lewiston: E. Mellen, 1996.

Sadleir, Randal. Tanzania, Journey to Republic. New York: Radcliffe Press; Distributed in the United States and Canada by St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Sender, John. Poverty, Class, and Gender in Rural Africa: A Tanzanian Case Study. New York: Routledge, 1990.

Tripp, Aili Mari. Changing the Rules: The Politics of Liberalization and the Urban Informal Economy in Tanzania. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.

Zeilig, Leo and David Seddon. A Political and Economic Dictionary of Africa. Philadelphia: Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2005.

TANZANIA

United Republic of Tanzania
Jamhuri Ya Muungano Wa Tanzania

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

LOCATION AND SIZE.

A relatively large country located in East Africa, Tanzania has a total area of 945,087 square kilometers (364,900 square miles), rendering it slightly larger than twice the size of California. The area of Tanzania includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Unguja; the latter 2 form a semi-autonomous region called Zanzibar that is part of an official union with the republic of Tanzania. With a coastline that spans 1,424 kilometers (883 miles), the eastern part of Tanzania borders the Indian Ocean, while to the north lies Kenya, to the northeast Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, to the west Zaire, to the southwest Zambia, and, finally, to the south, Malawi and Mozambique. The former capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, is situated slightly to the north of the central point along the coastline of the Indian Ocean. The new capital, Dodoma, is located slightly to the north of the center of the country.

POPULATION.

In 1975, the total population of Tanzania stood at 15.9 million. Since then, the population has grown exponentially, reaching a total of 35.3 million in July 2000. Joe Lugalla, author of Crisis, Urbanization, and Urban Poverty in Tanzania: A Study of Urban Poverty and Survival Politics, attributes the rapid population growth to increased life expectancy, a high birth rate accompanied by a declining rate in infant mortality, better health care, the availability of clean water, and better nutrition. With a birth rate of 40.17 births per 1,000 people and a death rate of 12.88 deaths per 1,000 people, the current population growth rate, estimated at 2.3 percent (1997), is still quite significant. Indeed, by 2015, the population will reach approximately 47.2 million. In order to contain this growth, the Tanzanian government adopted an official population policy in 1992. The policy, which came into effect in 1995, emphasizes measures designed to increase the general standard of living of the population. It is argued that one of the major causes of population growth is poverty, as families are obliged to have large families in order to increase familial income. The age structure of Tanzania is relatively young, with 45 percent of the population aged between 0 and 14 years, 52 percent aged between 15 and 64 years, and only 3 percent aged 65 years and over. More than 80 percent of the population of Tanzania resides in rural areas.

In terms of ethnicity, 99 percent of the population of mainland Tanzania is of native African descent—95 percent of which belong to one of the more than 130 tribes that form part of the Bantu group of people. The remaining 1 percent consists of those of Asian, European, and Arab descent. The population of Zanzibar is slightly more diverse, with a higher percentage of Arab and mixed Arab and native African people. Conversely, religion in Zanzibar is more homogeneous (less diverse), with 99 percent of the population adhering to Islam. On the mainland, 45 percent of the population is Christian, 35 percent Muslim, and 20 percent categorized as adherents to indigenous religious systems (ones that are unique to the region). The official languages of the country are English and Kiswahili, the latter being a Bantu-based language with strong Arabic influences. The first language of most people, however, is usually one of the numerous local Bantu languages that are commonly spoken. English is quite prevalent in the business community, and Arabic is widely spoken in Zanzibar. Kiswahili, incidentally, has become the common language of central and eastern Africa.

One of the most daunting problems that the population of Tanzania confronts is the high incidence of HIV/AIDS. According to data released by the European Union on 2 December 2000—World AIDS Day—it is estimated that 1.3 million people in Tanzania have AIDS. This figure does not include the number of people that are afflicted with HIV, the condition that almost inevitably causes the fatal AIDS disease. That same day, President Mkapa announced the formation of the Tanzanian National AIDS Commission (TanAIDS), which will seek to implement the country's national strategy to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Of course, as in many African countries, the success of an AIDS policy, however well concocted, will depend on the ability of the government to address the structural conditions that facilitate the spread of HIV/AIDS, such as poverty and inequality.

OVERVIEW OF ECONOMY

The area that now comprises Tanzania came under the colonial dominance of Britain and Germany in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Britain assumed complete control of the area, which, at the time, was called Tanganyika, following the allied defeat of Germany in World War I. As a British colony, the economy of Tanganyika was based primarily on the production of cash crops , such as coffee, tea, and sisal, designated for consumption in the markets of the British metropole (the colonial power).

In 1961, Tanganyika achieved independence under the leadership of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), headed by Julius Nyerere. In 1964, Zanzibar, which was also a British colony, joined Tanganyika as a semi-autonomous island in a political union called the republic of Tanzania. As president of the republic, Nyerere worked with the TANU party to create a socialist society and economy. Policies directed towards realizing socialism in the economic sphere revolved around the complete public ownership of the economy, including all firms, factories, and industries. After 1967, the government also controlled the regulation, production, marketing, and distribution of agricultural cash crops, the country's major source of economic activity.

According to Khapoya, the author of the African Experience, the government's practice of economic control lost popular support with the intrusive "villagization" policies, in which numerous communities of rural Tanzanians were forced off their sacred ancestral lands and into new "development villages" that were better served with roads and other infrastructure . The development of a strong social sector, financed chiefly through aid from the Scandinavian countries, did not offset the resentment felt by many Tanzanians as a result of the villagization policies. Peasant resentment translated into a decline in productivity, which, in conjunction with the soaring increase of oil prices in the late 1970s, placed severe strains upon the Tanzanian economy.

To add to these problems, Tanzania was forced to spend US$500 million on a war effort aimed at repelling an invasion launched by neighboring Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1979. As a result of these economic strains, the Tanzanian government was obliged to borrow heavily from both foreign commercial banks and International Financial Institutions (IFIs), such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

By the early 1980s, the IFIs demanded that Tanzania implement a Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) designed to decrease the role of the government in the economy while increasing the role of the free market, in order to reschedule its debts and qualify for continued foreign aid. Though Nyerere himself refused to accept the SAP, his resignation as president in 1985 opened the way for his successor, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, to accept and implement the SAP reforms in 1986. Ten years later, an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) arrangement was made with the IMF, which focused on a major privatization campaign of selling state-owned enterprises to the private sector .

The economy of Tanzania continues to be based primarily on agricultural activity. Since the value of agricultural goods, which constitute Tanzania's major exports, is lower than the value of manufactured and consumer products, which comprise the country's major imports, the country runs a severe balance of trade deficit. The trade deficit, in turn, means that Tanzania must continue to borrow money in order to pay for its imports. In 1999, for example, the total debt stood at US$7.7 billion. According to the U.S. Department of State, the servicing of the debt absorbs about 40 percent of total government expenditures. In addition to loans, Tanzania is dependent upon foreign aid. In 1997 alone, Tanzania received US$963 million in aid. Most of Tanzania's exports are directed towards the markets of the European Union (EU), while aid also comes predominately from the countries of the EU.

POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND TAXATION

The legislative branch of the Tanzanian government consists of a unicameral National Assembly elected by popular vote. There is also a House of Representatives in Zanzibar, which makes laws specifically for the semi-autonomous island. The executive branch of the government consists of a president, who is both chief of state and head of government, and a cabinet, whose members are appointed by the president from among representatives in the National Assembly. Zanzibar elects a president who is head of government for matters internal to the island. The legal system is based on English common law, while the judicial branch of the government comprises a Court of Appeal, and a High Court, whose judges are appointed by the president. The army is considered more or less apolitical (not involved in politics), and the country has never experienced a coup d'etat (political overthrow).

Throughout most of Tanzania's post-independence history, the country has been a one-party democracy, dominated by the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, or the "Revolutionary Party"). The CCM emerged in 1977, following the consolidation of TANU and the Afro-Shirazi Party, the ruling party in Zanzibar. Prior to the merger, candidates of the respective parties possessed the sole right to compete for electoral office. Similarly, until 1992, when the state decided to introduce a multi-party system, all persons wishing to hold electoral office had to be members of the CCM party.

In 1973, the TANU government announced its decision to relocate the capital from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma—an urban bastion of TANU/CCM support. The official reason given to explain the move related to Dodoma's central geographical position in the country and thus its symbolic national importance. The move did not take effect until 1996, however, when an appropriate building to house the National Assembly was finally constructed.

Under the leadership of Nyerere, the ideology of TANU and its CCM postdecessor was a particular variant (version) of African socialism called Ujamaa, which emphasized the central role of the extended family. According to Nyerere, prior to the colonial period in Africa, African communities based on networks of extended families were relatively egalitarian and free of exploitative relationships. Although Nyerere's argument may have actually been a romanticization of the past, it nonetheless served to inform the Ujamaa vision of a return to the communal egalitarian ethos of the past within a context of a partially modern (industrial) socialist society.

The first general multi-party elections in Tanzania were held in October-November 1995. The CCM candidate, Benjamin W. Mkapa, won the presidential election, while the CCM party gained a majority of seats in the parliamentary elections. Mkapa, reelected for a second term in 2000, has more or less abandoned the old socialist ideology of the party, promoting, rather, a free market economy in line with the structural reforms supported by the World Bank and the IMF. With 244 seats in the National Assembly out of a total of 269, the CCM continues to dominate Tanzanian politics. The 2 major opposition parties, the Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) and the Civic United Front (CUF), respectively have 4 and 15 seats. While the former is more or less a centrist party that advocates constitutional democratic reform, the latter is a regionalist party from Zanzibar.

Though many observers, such as the U.S. State Department, have declared Tanzania an island of political stability in East Africa, the reelection of the CCM in the House of Representatives in Zanzibar has engendered considerable political violence. The CCM's victory in the 2000 elections was marred (tainted) by electoral irregularities that led to the re-running of polls in 16 constituencies. International observers condemned the format of the ballots that were used and the CUF denounced the elections as illegitimate. Since the elections took place, clashes between police and CUF supporters have occurred in Zanzibar and Pemba, leaving at least 30 people dead.

In terms of government revenue, import duties are the major source of government income, accounting for 31.7 percent of total revenue in the 1996 fiscal year . Consumption taxes are the second most important, while income taxes are the third, accounting, respectively, for 26.8 percent and 24.3 percent of total revenue during the same period.

There are a total of 12 income tax brackets, leading to a steeply progressive taxation system in which those that earn low incomes pay a lower percentage of income tax than those that earn higher incomes. For example, the lowest tax bracket, which consists of people that earn less than 20,000 shillings per month, are exempted from taxation because their incomes are considered too low, whereas the highest tax bracket, comprised of individuals who earn more than 700,000 shillings per month, pay 35 percent of their income to taxes. At the same time, however, the high sales taxes and excise taxes levied on goods and services, which form part of consumption taxes, strongly affect the poor. Excisable goods, for instance, such as alcoholic beverages and petroleum products, are subjected to excise tax rates as high as 30 percent.

INFRASTRUCTURE, POWER, AND COMMUNICATIONS

According to the U.S. State Department, infrastructure in Tanzania is extremely poor. In terms of the road network, for instance, only 3,704 kilometers (2,296 miles) of a total of 88,200 kilometers (54,684 miles) of highway is paved. Paved highways link Dar es Salaam to Tunduru, Dodoma, Tanga, and Arusha. The remaining 84,496 kilometers (52,388 miles) of highway is un-paved, making it extremely difficult to reach certain areas from Dar es Salaam, such as Lindi and Mtwara, during the rainy season. At the same time, many rural roads are virtually impassable, as seasonal washouts are commonplace. Although the road network has suffered as a result of many years of government debt-related negligence, funds allocated for road maintenance and rehabilitation have increased in the past 10 years.

With a combined total of 3,569 kilometers (2,213 miles) of railway track, there are 2 railway systems that operate independently in Tanzania. In addition to operating the internal railway network, the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) connects the country with Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, and Rwanda. Many parts of the TRC railway network are in need of major repairs. The Tanzanian/Zambian Railway Authority (TAZARA), in contrast, connects the port of Dar es Salaam with Zambia. Following the end of apartheid (the system of racial segregation in South Africa that prompted many countries to

restrict economic ties with the country), the amount of income generated by TAZARA, in addition to the port of Dar es Salaam, has drastically declined as a result of new competition with the South African Railway system and the South African ports of Durban and Port Elizabeth.

There are a total of 11 airports in Tanzania with paved runways. Dar es Salaam International Airport, Kilimanjaro International Airport, and the Zanzibar Airport handle international air traffic. Several international airlines provide transportation to countries around the world, while the Tanzanian airline, Air Tanzania, has regional and domestic routes across Southern Africa.

The Tanzanian Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) supplies the country with electricity, 95 percent of which is derived from hydroelectric power. As a result of this dependency, power shortages often occur in times of regional drought. The government has taken measures to diversify energy sources, including support for projects to develop the Songo Songo natural gas reserve and the Mchuchuma coal fields.

Telecommunications infrastructure in Tanzania is considerably underdeveloped. With only 4.5 telephone mainlines per 1,000 people (est. 1999), telephone services are highly unpredictable and extremely expensive. The situation contrasts sharply with the United States, where there are 640 telephone lines per 1,000 people (est. 1996). In conjunction with the international donor community, the Tanzanian government has sought to ameliorate the situation through increased investment for telecommunications infrastructure. In 1999, the international donor community commenced sponsorship of a 5-year, US$250 million program to rehabilitate and expand the existing telephone network.

ECONOMIC SECTORS

Agriculture is by far Tanzania's most important economic sector, in terms of both employment provision and contribution to GDP. Unfortunately, the large degree of dependency on this sector renders the Tanzanian economy particularly vulnerable to adverse weather conditions and unfavorable prices in international primary commodity markets. The exceptionally low level of industrial development makes the negative economic impacts associated with agricultural dependency all the more severe.

Industry and mining are relatively small areas of economic activity, though many observers, such as the U.S. State Department, believe that the mining sector offers important prospects for economic growth.

AGRICULTURE

As the pillar of both the domestic and the export economy, the agricultural sector in Tanzania engages 80 percent of the labor force , which equaled approximately 13.495 million in 1999, while providing 49 percent of the country's GDP (est. 1996). Agricultural products include coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum, cashew nuts, tobacco, cloves, corn, wheat, cassava, bananas, and vegetables. Livestock production includes cattle, sheep, and goats. Agricultural output remains predominately based on small holder production, as opposed to estate cultivation, though the latter does account for some sisal, tea, coffee, tobacco, rice, wheat, and wattle (construction material made of tied-together poles or sticks) production. Cash crops, such as coffee, tea, cotton, cashews, sisal, cloves, and pyrethrum account for the vast majority of export earnings. Maize, paddy, wheat, and cassava are produced for domestic consumption.

In terms of agricultural exports, coffee constitutes the most important cash crop. According to the IMF, coffee accounted for 17.7 percent of Tanzania's total exports in 1996. At 16.3 percent of total exports, cotton was the second most important cash crop, followed by cashew nuts (12.7 percent), tobacco (6.4 percent), tea (2.9 percent), and sisal (0.7 percent). In Zanzibar, the major cash crop is cloves, 90 percent of which are produced on the island of Pemba. The major importers of Tanzania's agricultural exports consist of the EU countries, especially the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands.

In the past, the agricultural sector was completely controlled by the government. While liberalization of the sector has rapidly occurred, there are still government marketing boards that set quasi-official (semi-official) prices for certain crops. Purchasers are not forced to abide by the set prices, but often feel compelled to because most peasants normally support the prices the government establishes. This has led to some conflict, and most recently a dispute has emerged between cashew producers and cashew exporters over the government-set prices. While the former supports the prices, the latter argues they are unreasonable. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EUI) argues that the quasi-official prices are detrimental to agricultural growth, as they cause confusion and conflict. At the same time, however, the government argues that they apply pressure on private purchasers to pay fair prices for different crops. Despite the pressures of deregulation in the agricultural sector, the government has not made plans to abandon the quasi-official pricing system.

The February 2001 Tanzania Country Report issued by the EIU forecasts that GDP growth in Tanzania will equal 5.3 percent in 2001 and 5.9 percent in 2002. Not surprisingly, this growth will be led by the production of traditional agricultural commodity exports. While growth in GDP represents a positive development, the cash crop basis of this growth renders it largely unsustainable. In other words, Tanzania is currently experiencing a period of favorable production conditions, which, due to the volatile (frequently changing) nature of the weather, are guaranteed to change, for better or worse.

Production patterns in Tanzania and other agriculturally based developing nations oscillate (rapidly increase and decrease) dramatically, according to the shifting weather conditions in a given harvest year. In the past 10 years, for instance, maize production in Tanzania has varied considerably, ranging from a high of 2,638 produced tons in 1995-96, to a low of 2,107 tons in 1996-97. Though maize production is largely for domestic consumption, the same unstable patterns of production characterize agricultural crops designated for exportation, as both are subject to the debilitating effects of drought and flooding during the rainy season.

The volatile prices of agricultural commodities on international markets exacerbate (make worse) the instability of countries such as Tanzania that are highly dependent upon cash crop exports. For example, in any given year, the international prices of a commodity such as coffee can increase or decrease considerably, depending upon how much or how little all coffee-producing countries collectively produce. If there is a large international coffee harvest, prices will diminish, as competition will increase. The same holds true in the opposite direction.

Another major inhibiting factor working against the sustainability of growth generated by agricultural production relates to the small amount of existing arable land in Tanzania. Only 4 percent of all land is arable, with only 1 percent suitable for permanent crops. To make matters worse, Tanzania currently confronts issues of soil degradation, deforestation, and desertification . For all these reasons, it is imperative that Tanzania develop the other sectors of its economy.

INDUSTRY

MINING. Accounting for approximately 17 percent of GDP (est. 1996), industry plays a small, albeit important role in the Tanzanian economy. As a subdivision of industry, the mining sector alone constitutes about 5 percent of GDP. At the same time, however, both industry in general and mining in particular engage a relatively small percentage of the labor force. Indeed, the industrial sector combined with the commercial sector provides employment for only 20 percent of the labor force.

The country is endowed with a wide variety of mineral deposits, including gold, diamonds, salt, gypsum, gemstones, iron ore, natural gas, phosphates, coal, nickel, and cobalt. Many of these minerals are exported to other countries, and mining, excluding petroleum products, accounted for 7.3 percent of export earnings in 1996. In the same year, petroleum products comprised 2.1 percent of export earnings.

As in the case of agricultural produce, however, mining output and output of refined minerals seems to oscillate considerably from year to year. In 1989, for example, 617,000 tons of petroleum products were produced, whereas in 1992, 3 years later, this figure plummeted to 55,900 tons. Similarly, 3,200 tons of aluminum were produced in 1993, while this figure dropped to 1,100 in 1995. According to the U.S. State Department, some of the impediments that prevent effective exploitation of mineral resources include a lack of capital, poor infrastructure, bureaucratic inefficiency, and limited technology.

Under the auspices of the IMF and World Bank sponsored SAPs, Tanzania has enthusiastically promoted foreign direct investment in the mining sector, effectively reversing its strong regulatory policies. Though few foreign mining firms are actually in operation, many multinational corporations (MNCs) (firms that operate in several countries) are beginning to look upon prospects in Tanzania favorably. Recently, there have been several developments with a Canadian company, Tanganyika Oil, which owns 75 percent of an oil concession in Mandawa, 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Dar es Salaam.

Some critics, such as Chachage Seithy L. Chachage, author of the essay "New Forms of Accumulating in Tanzania: The Case of Gold Mining," which appeared in Mining and Structural Adjustment: Studies on Zimbabwe and Tanzania, severely criticize Tanzania's new policy of openness. Chachage argues that the government is on the path of creating an "economy of plunder," in which the benefits of the country's rich minerals will accrue to foreigners rather than Tanzanians. At the same time, the government is in an extremely difficult position, as it lacks the resources to exploit the mineral reserves itself. This incapacity is largely related to the limited money the government has to invest in economic projects because of the large burden imposed by debt servicing .

MANUFACTURING.

According to the U.S. Department of State, Tanzania's industrial, or manufacturing sector, is one of the smallest in Africa. The main industrial activities include producing raw materials, import substitutes , and processed agricultural products. Specific areas of activity include production of cement, soft drinks, corrugated iron sheeting, food processing, chemicals, leather products, and textiles.

Once again, manufacturing activities seem to oscillate in their respective output capacities. In 1991, for example, 85.2 million square meters of textiles were produced, whereas 5 years later, in 1995, the output had deteriorated to 33.4 million square meters. The production of iron sheets similarly suffered decline. In 1993, for instance, 25,800 tons of iron sheets were produced, while in 1996, the figure dropped to 6,400 tons. Production of cement is one area of industrial activity that has escaped this negative pattern. Notwithstanding a huge increase in output in 1991, production has increased at a steady pace, growing from 589,100 tons in 1989, to 725,800 tons in 1996.

One of the major factors contributing to industrial instability relates to persistent power shortages caused by low rainfall. Since Tanzania is almost entirely dependent upon hydroelectricity, low rainfall translates into low water levels in hydroelectric dams. In November 2000, the Ministry of Energy and Minerals was obliged to announce the temporary introduction of power rationing, intended to reduce electricity consumption by about 35 percent until the beginning of the next rainy season in January 2001.

Government involvement in the industrial sector, as in all spheres of economic activity, has steadily declined since the early 1990s. The Presidential Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC), an integral component of the SAPs, continues to scrutinize parastatals and push for privatization. By June 1998, 201 firms of the 398 parastatals singled out by the PSRC experienced privatization. It is argued that private firms are more efficient and competitive than parastatals, as they must depend on profit rather than guaranteed government financing in order to continue operation.

SERVICES

TOURISM.

Tanzania's tourism sector, which, according to the U.S. State Department, is growing at a rate of more than 8 percent per annum (est. 1999), is one of the country's most important sources of foreign currency. Currently, most of the tourism sector investment is concentrated in the northern part of the country in the so-called Northern Safari Circuit (Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti Plains, and Lake Manyara). There, a number of internationally acclaimed hotels provide services to tourists from around the world, particularly Europeans.

Numerous government initiatives have sought to increase investment in the Southern Circuit (Selous Game Reserve, Mikumi and Ruaha National Parks) as well. Though service facilities and infrastructure in this area are poor, the area's diverse wildlife renders it an ideal location for further tourist development. The international donor community has helped finance the rehabilitation of infrastructure in the Southern Circuit, thereby complementing efforts put forward by the Tanzanian government. The government, for its part, recently established the Tanzanian Tourism Board (TTB) to oversee tourist development in the country, though it has renounced its previous policy orientation of controlling the tourist market.

FINANCIAL SERVICES.

Legislation passed in August 1991 led to a fundamental restructuring of the banking system in Tanzania. Prior to the legislation, the government exercised a complete monopoly over the banking sector. Under the old system, the Bank of Tanzania acted as the central bank, while the government-run National Bank of Commerce (NBC) accounted for over 75 percent of the country's financial transactions. Although the Bank of Tanzania has retained its functions, which include the administration of the exchange control, the NBC has been subdivided with the creation of a separate National Micro-finance Bank (NMB). Both the NBC and the NMB are in the process of being privatized.

Since the banking legislation was passed, several private banks have registered with the Bank of Tanzania. In addition to some domestic financial institutions, numerous foreign banks have established operations, including Citibank of New York, Stanbic Bank of South Africa, Standard Charter Bank of Great Britain, EuroAfrican Bank, Akiba Commercial Bank, and Exim Bank.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Despite numerous Structural Adjustment Programs designed to increase exports and encourage growth and investment, Tanzania has suffered from a chronic negative balance of payments since the late 1970s. Moreover, instead of progressively diminishing, the balance of payments deficit has actually increased. Indeed, in the past 5 years, the country's deficit has grown from US$297.5 million in 1997, to US$528.5 million in 1999.

Tanzania's major exports include coffee, cotton, tea, sisal, tobacco, cashew nuts, and minerals. Together, agricultural exports accounted for 56.8 percent of all exports in 1996, while manufactured products only constituted 16.5 percent of exports. In the same year, the countries of

the EU collectively purchased the largest percentage share of Tanzanian exports (42 percent). Interestingly, however, Tanzania's dependence on Europe as a market for exports has substantially declined, as other regions, such as Asia and Africa, have become more important. In 1989, Africa accounted for 4.2 percent of all exports, while Asia accounted for 22.9 percent. By 1996, these figures respectively rose to 11.5 percent and 27.4 percent.

Tanzanian imports range the gamut of products, including machinery, transport and equipment ( capital goods ); oil, crude oil, petroleum products, industrial raw materials ( intermediate goods ); and finally, textiles, apparel, and food and foodstuffs ( consumer goods ). In 1996, capital goods comprised 36 percent of imports, intermediate goods 38 percent, and consumer goods 26 percent. Countries of the European Union are the major sources of imports, though their importance has declined considerably as the importance of Asian and African countries have concomitantly increased. In 1989, the EU (then the European Community) accounted for 58.4 percent of Tanzanian imports, Africa 3.9 percent, and Asia 13 percent. By 1996, the figures respectively changed to 42 percent, 11.5 percent, and 27.4 percent. Important African and Asian trading partners (for both exports and imports) include Japan, India, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Kenya, Zambia, and Burundi.

One of the major criticisms of the IMF/World Bank sponsored SAPs is that trade liberalization will lock countries like Tanzania into a pattern of sustained agricultural exportation at the expense of industry and commerce. At the most basic level, reduction of barriers will mean countries with emerging manufacturing industries will have to compete with much more competitive and efficient manufacturing industries from abroad. The result could be a long-term structural entrenchment of the only economic area in which Tanzania and similar countries can compete internationally: the agricultural sector. This is disadvantageous because international terms of trade accord higher prices to products that contain value added (meaning that they undergo a degree of manufacturing), such as capital goods, than those that contain less or no value added, such as agricultural commodities. Thus, a country like Tanzania that depends, in large part, upon agricultural exports and higher value added imports, will suffer from a negative balance of trade.

This seems to be precisely the situation in Tanzania, where even the pro-trade Economist Intelligence Unit attributes the recent deficit increase to weak international commodity prices for coffee and tea, 2 of the country's most important exports. The free trade rationale that all countries will benefit by individually trading that which they produce more efficiently than their counterparts conspicuously overlooks this crucial dilemma.

At the same time, however, trade liberalization at the regional level may offer positive benefits for participating countries as it can potentially enable them to realize the gains of competition and specialization in an environment characterized by a more level playing field. In other words, if 2 countries such as Tanzania and Mozambique partake in free trade, the competition will be more even, thereby enabling each to exchange a wide array of products, including manufactures and industrial commodities. This, in turn, will facilitate increased production capacity, preparing them to compete more effectively at a global level. Currently, Tanzania is a member of 2 separate regional trading arrangements (RTAs): the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community. The former includes Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda; the latter comprises Tanzania, Zaire, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique.

MONEY

The value of the Tanzanian currency, the shilling, is determined by a free floating exchange rate system based on supply and demand in international foreign exchange markets. This means that if the shilling is in high demand in international exchange markets, its value will accordingly increase in relation to other currencies. The value of the shilling, like many other currencies, is normally expressed against the value of the U.S. dollar. Over

the past several years, this value has steadily depreciated. In 1995, for example, the exchange rate was 574.76 shillings for 1 U.S. dollar. In January 2000, the exchange rate rose to 798.9 shillings for 1 U.S. dollar.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, one of the major factors behind the depreciation of the shilling relates to the decline in international commodity prices for the agricultural cash crops on which the export economy depends. The EIU forecasts a further depreciation of 5.1 percent in 2001, increasing to 12.4 percent in 2002. The poor will doubtlessly experience the ramifications of the depreciation process more than any other group, as a devalued shilling means that more money will be needed to purchase needed imports from abroad, such as food and other consumer products.

POVERTY AND WEALTH

Although a small segment of Tanzanians with secure access to employment in the public and business sectors enjoy a relatively high standard of living, the vast majority of Tanzanians live in poverty. Indeed, the United Nations Development Programme 's (UNDP) human development index (HDI) listings, which arranges countries according to their overall level of human development, ranks Tanzania 156th out of a total of 174 nations. The HDI, a composite index (one that assesses more than one variable) that measures life expectancy at birth, adult literacy rate, school enrollment ratio, and GDP per capita , is indicative of a country's general social and economic well-being. As such, Tanzania's HDI ranking demonstrates that the country is one of the poorest and least developed in the world.

Under the socialist policies of Julius Nyerere, the Tanzanian government focused heavily on achieving social equity through the development of a strong health and education sector. Inequality in the early years of Ujamaa was mainly the result of the colonial legacy in which some peasants were connected to the cash crop export economy while others were not. Those that lived in areas favorable for cash crop production enjoyed a slightly higher standard of living than their subsistence peasant

counterparts. Though Nyerere's social policies were generous, they were unsustainable in a context of economic crisis and negligible growth. Moreover, many critics, such as Enos S. Bukuku, the author of The Tanzanian Economy: Income Distribution and Economic Growth, argue that Nyerere's development policies promoted the modern, nascent industrial sector, at the expense of agriculture. The result was actually increased poverty in the countryside, and the creation of a few highly skilled and highly paid jobs associated with the parastatals and policies of import substitution industrialization.

Today, the cleavage (division; in this case economic) between the general peasantry and those with higher-paying jobs in the urban centers persists, though this type of inequality is characteristic of most countries that are still in the throes of the development process. According to the CIA World Factbook, the poorest 10 percent of the Tanzanian population consume a marginal 2.9 percent of total national consumption, while the richest 10 percent consume 30.2 percent. In 1998, the GNP per capita in Tanzania was estimated at a paltry US$220, whereas the GNP per capita in the United States was US$29,240 in the same year.

Social policy in Tanzania is currently guided by the so-called "Vision 2025," a comprehensive framework emphasizing 7 priority areas linked to overall poverty reduction. In 2000-01, the Tanzanian government allocated its budget amid these 7 priority areas as follows: education (23.2 percent), health (8.4 percent), roads (6.4 percent), agriculture (1.0 percent), judiciary (1.0 percent), water (0.6 percent), and HIV/AIDS (0.6 percent). While the government's coherent strategy is a welcomed development, the IMF notes that it needs work in some areas, including education, promotion of agricultural/rural development, gender strategies, and a more comprehensive approach to HIV/AIDS and the environment.

The vast majority of Tanzanians spend their meager incomes on the basic necessities of life, such as food, rent, clothing, fuel, and transportation. Very little is spent on entertainment and recreation, which are considered luxuries for those that live in considerable poverty. To make matters worse, in the past 10 years the increase in the GNP per capita has been grossly outweighed by mounting inflation , which means that Tanzanians are having an increasingly difficult time purchasing the commodities essential for human existence. The UNDP estimates that the annual growth rate in GNP per capita between 1990 to 1998 was 0.4 percent, while the average annual rate of inflation during the same period was 24.3 percent.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The Tanzanian labor force stood at 13.495 million in 1999. Although recent statistics on the level of unemployment are unavailable, a 1991 statistical abstract produced by the Tanzanian Bureau of Statistics stated that the unemployment rate in rural and urban areas was 2.2 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively. The higher unemployment rate in the urban areas results from both a lack of economic prospects and a much higher rate of population growth. This latter factor, in turn, stems chiefly from a high rate of rural to urban migration, caused, in large part, by the migrant perception that urban employment is generally higher paying.

Confronted with the reality of limited opportunity in the urban areas, however, many migrants are obliged to find work in the informal sector of the economy, which consists of the wide range of activities that are unregulated and untaxed by the government. Those that work in the informal sector do not enjoy the various employment protections afforded by the government. On the contrary, many informal sector participants, considered nuisances, confront harassment and intimidation by police and government officials. Joe Lugalla, author of Crisis, Urbanization, and Urban Poverty in Tanzania: A Study of Poverty and Survival Politics, argues that the informal sector is vital for the livelihoods of the urban poor and that government restrictions and harassment are therefore regressive. Instead, the government could encourage informal activity by abolishing restrictions such as requirements to operate in fixed premises and other bureaucratic restrictions which prevent licensing for certain activities.

The right of association for workers in the formal sector is recognized by the Tanzanian Constitution, though the government-created Tanzanian Federation of Trade Unions (TFTU) is the only trade union organization in the country. The TFTU, which represents 60 percent of workers in industry and government, is comprised of 11 independent trade unions that have the right to separate from the federation and collect their own dues. If this were to happen, however, 5 percent of the dues must be legally contributed to the TFTU.

All workers are permitted to join unions, but "essential" workers are not permitted to strike. In total, only 25 percent of Tanzania's wage earners are organized in trade unions, with most agricultural workers remaining unorganized. Moreover, the right to strike is only granted following complicated and protracted mediation and conciliation procedures. According to the U.S. Department of State, frustrated workers have staged impromptu, illegal, wildcat strikes and walkouts pending resolutions. The Tanzanian's Security of Employment Act of 1964 prohibits discriminatory activities by employers against union members and employers found guilty of such activities are legally required to reinstate workers.

The Tanzanian Constitution prohibits forced labor and work by children under 12 years of age in the formal wage sector in both rural and urban areas. At the same time, children are permitted to work on family farms or in herding domestic livestock. Young persons between the ages of 12 and 15 may engage in industrial employment but only between the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Government enforcement of the minimum working age and of regulations governing the rights of young workers, however, is highly inadequate and has reportedly declined with increased privatization. Approximately 3,000 to 5,000 children engage in seasonal employment on various cash crop plantations. They are often paid less than their adult counterparts and are subjected to hazardous and detrimental conditions, especially on sisal plantations. An additional 1,500 to 3,000 children work in unregulated gemstone mines, while thousands assist their parents in unregulated piecework manufacturing in the informal sector. The ugly reality is that for many families suffering from acute poverty, children must work simply in order for the household to survive.

Although there is a legal minimum wage in Tanzania, which equals approximately US$30 per month, it is not always sufficient to provide an adequate standard of living for a worker and family. Consequently, many workers must depend on the extended family, or a second, or even third, job. There is no standard legal work-week for non-government employees, though most employers retain a 6-day, 44-to 48-hour workweek. An occupational health and safety factory inspection system is managed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and Youth Development to monitor implementation of the several laws that regulate safety in the workplace. Its effectiveness is severely limited. Workers have the right to take an employer to court through their TFTU branch for failure to comply with health and environmental standards, though they cannot remove themselves from dangerous situations without jeopardizing their employment.

COUNTRY HISTORY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

EARLY CENTURIES A.D. Bantu farmers migrate to Southern Africa from the west and south, largely displacing the original ethnic groups that used a click-tongue language similar to that of South Africa's Bush-men and Hottentots.

8TH-12TH CENTURY. Arab, Persian, and Indian traders and immigrants build several highly developed cities and trading states along the coast, including Kibaha, a settlement that held ascendancy until the Portuguese destroyed it in the early 1500s.

1498-1506. The Portuguese explore the East African coast and claim control over the entire area. Control is nominal, however, and the Portuguese are driven out by the early 18th century.

MID-19TH CENTURY. European exploration of the interior begins, led by German missionaries and English explorers.

1840. Sultan Seyyid Said of the Omani Arabs moves his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar, promoting a lucrative trade in slaves and ivory.

1876. The British succeed in forcing Said to abolish the slave trade.

1884. Karl Peters, head of the Society for German Colonization, concludes a series of treaties with chiefs from the interior, establishing a German protectorate over the area.

1886-1890. Anglo-German agreements are negotiated that delineate British and German spheres of influence in the interior. Also, Zanzibar becomes a British protectorate, administered through an Arab sultan.

1905-07. The Maji Maji rebellion against European rule erupts, resulting in a total of 120,000 African casualties from fighting or starvation.

1918. The United Kingdom assumes complete control of Tanganyika.

1954. Julius Nyerere establishes the nationalistic Tanganyika African National Union (TANU).

1956. The Afro-Shirazi Party is founded in Zanzibar, led by Abaid Karume.

1959. The United Kingdom agrees to grant Tanganyika internal self-government and Nyerere becomes chief minister of the new government.

1959. Tanganyika achieves full independence and soon after becomes a republic within the Commonwealth with Nyerere as president.

1963. Zanzibar achieves independence.

1964. Tanganyika forms a union with Zanzibar, thereby creating the United Republic of Tanzania and embarking on a path towards the realization of socialism based on the ideology of Ujamaa.

LATE 1970s. Soaring oil prices in conjunction with Ujamaa's villagization policies seriously undermine the economy.

1977. TANU and the Afro-Shirazi Party merge into the Chama Cha Mapinduzi.

1977. Idi Amin's Ugandan invasion of Tanzania costs the Tanzanian government US$500 million to repel, exacerbating the severe economic situation.

1985-86. Nyerere is succeeded by Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who accepts the International Monetary Fund's and World Bank's Structural Adjustment Package (SAP) in order to qualify for further borrowing and a rescheduling of debt payments. The SAP focuses on acquiring macroeconomic stability, privatizing the economy, and export promotion.

1995. The first multi-party elections are held, resulting in a CCM victory.

1995. The Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility is negotiated with the IMF, emphasizing rapid privatization of parastatals.

FUTURE TRENDS

Like many African states and other developing countries, Tanzania has adopted 2 diametrically opposed models of economic organization that have mutually failed to launch the country on a path of sustainable economic development. Indeed, the socialist policies advanced by Nyerere under the rubric of Ujamaa created a weak economy heavily dependent upon aid and loans from foreign countries, international financial institutions, and commercial banks. The free-market policies advanced by Nyerere's successors under the auspices of the IFI-sponsored SAPs have equally failed to rectify the endemic economic crisis.

While a degree of macroeconomic stability has been achieved, especially in the realm of containing inflation, a growing negative balance of payments, a continued dependence on the exportation of weak agricultural commodities, a mammoth debt, and an enormous degree of poverty continue to characterize the economic situation in Tanzania. If nothing else, the major lesson that can be drawn from the Tanzanian experience is that solutions to economic problems based on unbending principles of ideology are bound to fail in one way or another.

While the Tanzanian government continues to base its policies on free market panaceas (cure-alls), the recent IMF and World Bank's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPCI), which reduces the debt-servicing obligations of Tanzania and other heavily indebted poor countries, may enable the government to spend more money on needed social services. The aim of the HIPCI is in fact to accomplish exactly that, with the ultimate intention of creating a more educated labor force and thus a more skilled economy. This is certainly a step in the right direction, though it is doubtful that such a measure will succeed on its own.

DEPENDENCIES

Tanzania has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bukuku, Enos S. The Tanzanian Economy: Income Distribution and Economic Growth. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 1993.

Chachage, Chachage Seithy L. "New Forms of Accumulating inTanzania: The Case of Gold Mining." In Mining and Structural Adjustment: Studies on Zimbabwe and Tanzania. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 1993.

Economist Intelligence Unit. Country Report: Tanzania, Comoros, February 2001. London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2001.

International Monetary Fund. IMF Staff Country Report, Tanzania: Statistical Appendix. <http://www.imf.org>. Accessed January 2001.

Lugalla, Joe. Crisis, Urbanization, And Urban Poverty in Tanzania: A Study of Poverty and Survival Politics. Lanham: University Press of America, 1995.

UNDP. Human Development Report 2000. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

U.S. Department of State. FY 1999 Country Commercial Guide: Tanzania. <http:www.state.gov/www/about_state/business/com_guides/1999/Africa/Tanzania99.html>. Accessed May 2001.

U.S. Department of State. Background Notes: Tanzania. <http:\www.state.gov/www/background_notes/tanzania_0008_bgn.html>. Accessed May 2001.

World Bank Group. Tanzania: Competitiveness Indicators. <http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/psd>. Accessed January 2001.

—Neil Burron

CAPITAL:

Dodoma. In 1996, the capital was officially moved from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma. The National Assembly now meets regularly in the new capital, though most government ministries are still located in Dar es Salaam. Slowly, government ministries are being relocated to Dodoma.

MONETARY UNIT:

Tanzanian shilling (TSh). One shilling equals 100 cents. Coins include 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents and 1, 5, 10, and 20 shillings. Notes include 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 shillings.

CHIEF EXPORTS:

Coffee, manufactured goods, cotton, cashew nuts, minerals, tobacco, sisal.

CHIEF IMPORTS:

Consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, crude oil.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:

US$23.3 billion (purchasing power parity, 1999 est.).

BALANCE OF TRADE:

Exports: US$828 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.). Imports: US$1.44 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.).

Tanzania

PROFILE
PEOPLE
HISTORY
GOVERNMENT
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
ECONOMY
FOREIGN RELATIONS
U.S.-TANZANIAN RELATIONS
TRAVEL

Compiled from the December 2007 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:

United Republic of Tanzania

PROFILE

Geography

Area: Mainland—945,000 sq. km. (378,000 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than New Mexico and Texas combined. Zanzibar—1,658 sq. km. (640 s mi)

Cities: Capital—Dar es Salaam (executive), Dodoma (legislative), Major metropolises—Arusha, Mwanza, Mbeya, Mtwara, Stonetown in Zanzibar.

Terrain: Varied.

Climate: Varies from tropical to arid to temperate.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective—Tanzanian(s); Zanzibari(s).

Population: Mainland—39.3 million. Zanzibar—1 million (est.).

Religions: Muslim 40%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 20%.

Languages: Kiswahili (official), English.

Education: Attendance—73.2% Mainland (primary); 71.4% Zanzibar. Literacy: Females 67% Mainland; 76.8% Zanzibar. Literacy: Males 79.9% Mainland; 86% Zanzibar.

Health: Infant mortality rate—68/ 1,000. Life expectancy—50 years.

Work force: Agriculture—80%; industry, commerce, government—20%.

Government

Type: Republic.

Independence: Tanganyika 1961, Zanzibar 1963. Union formed in April 1964.

Constitution: 1982.

Government branches: Executive—president (chief of state and commander in chief), vice president, and prime minister. Legislative-unicameral National Assembly (for the Union), House of Representatives (for Zanzibar only). Judicial—Mainland: Court of Appeals, High Courts, Resident Magistrate Courts, district courts, and primary courts; Zanzibar: High Court, people's district courts, kadhis court (Islamic courts).

Political parties: 1. Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), 2. The Civic United Front (CUF), 3. Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), 4. Union for Multiparty Democracy (UMD), 5. National Convention for Construction and Reform (NCCR-Mageuzi), 6. National League for Democracy (NLD), 7. National Reconstruction for Alliance (NRA) 8. Tanzania Democratic Alliance Party (TADEA), 9. Tanzania Labour Party (TLP), 10. United Democratic Party (UDP), 11. Demokrasia Makini (MAKINI), 12. United Peoples’ Democratic Party (UPDP), 13. Chama cha Haki na Ustawi (CHAUSTA), 14. The Forum for Restoration of Democracy (FORD), 15. Democratic Party (DP), 16. Progressive Party of Tanzania (PPT-Maendeleo), 17. Jahazi Asilia.

Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Political subdivisions: 26 regions (21 on mainland, 3 on Zanzibar, 2 on Pemba).

Economy

GDP: (2006) $12.1 billion.

Average growth rate: (2006) 6.2%.

Per capita income: (2006) $320.

Natural resources: Hydroelectric potential, coal, iron, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel, diamonds, crude oil potential, forest products, wildlife, fisheries.

Agriculture: (2004) 46.4% of GDP. Products—coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco, cloves, sisal, cashew nuts, maize, livestock, sugar cane, paddy, wheat, pyrethrum.Industry/manufacturing (2004) 8.8% of GDP. Types—textiles, agro-processing, light manufacturing, construction, steel, aluminum, paints, cement, cooking oil, beer, mineral water and soft drinks.

Trade: (2006) Exports—$1.723 billion (merchandise exports, 2006) coffee, cotton, tea, sisal, cashew nuts, tobacco, cut flowers, seaweed, cloves, fish and fish products, minerals (diamonds, gold, and gemstones), manufactured goods, horticultural products; services (tourism services, communication, construction, insurance, financial, computer, information, government, royalties, personal and other businesses). Major markets—U.K., Germany, India, Japan, Italy, China, Bahrain, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Pakistan, Indonesia. Primary imports—petroleum, consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment, used clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals. Major suppliers—U.K., Germany, Japan, India, Italy, U.S., United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Kenya.

PEOPLE

Population distribution in Tanzania is extremely uneven. Density varies from 1 person per square kilometer (3 per sq. mi.) in arid regions to 51 per square kilometer (133 per sq. mi.) in the mainland's well-watered highlands to 134 per square kilometer (347 per sq. mi.) on Zanzibar. More than 80% of the population is rural. Dar es Salaam is the capital and largest city; Dodoma, located in the center of Tanzania, has been designated the legislative capital and the Parliament meets there four times a year.

The African population consists of more than 120 ethnic groups, of which the Sukuma, Haya, Nyakyusa, Nyamwezi, and Chaga have more than 1 million members each. The majority of Tanzanians, including such large tribes as the Sukuma and the Nyamwezi, are of Bantu stock. Groups of Nilotic or related origin include the nomadic Masai and the Luo, both of which are found in greater numbers in neighboring Kenya. Two small groups speak languages of the Khoisan family peculiar to the Bushman and Hottentot peoples. Cushitic-speaking peoples, originally from the Ethiopian highlands, reside in a few areas of Tanzania.

Although much of Zanzibar's African population came from the mainland, one group known as Shirazis traces its origins to the island's early Persian settlers. Non-Africans residing on the mainland and Zanzibar account for 1% of the total population. The Asian community, including Hindus, Sikhs, Shi’a and Sunni Muslims, and Goans, has declined by 50% in the past decade to 50,000 on the mainland and 4,000 on Zanzibar. An estimated 70,000 Arabs and 10,000 Europeans reside in Tanzania.

Each ethnic group has its own language, but the national language is Kiswahili, a Bantu-based tongue with strong Arabic borrowings.

HISTORY

Tanganyika/Tanzania

Northern Tanganyika's famed Olduvai Gorge has provided rich evidence of the area's prehistory, including fossil remains of some of humanity’ earliest ancestors. Discoveries suggest that East Africa may have been the site of human origin.

Little is known of the history of Tanganyika's interior during the early centuries of the Christian era. The area is believed to have been inhabited originally by ethnic groups using a click-tongue language similar to that of Southern Africa's Bushmen and Hottentots. Although remnants of these early tribes still exist, most were gradually displaced by Bantu farmers migrating from the west and south and by Nilotes and related northern peoples. Some of these groups had well-organized societies and controlled extensive areas by the time the Arab slavers, European explorers, and missionaries penetrated the interior in the first half of the 19th century.

The coastal area first felt the impact of foreign influence as early as the 8th century, when Arab traders arrived. By the 12th century, traders and immigrants came from as far away as Persia (now Iran) and India. They built a series of highly developed city and trading states along the coast, the principal one being Kibaha, a settlement of Persian origin that held ascendancy until the Portuguese destroyed it in the early 1500s.

The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama explored the East African coast in 1498 on his voyage to India. By 1506, the Portuguese claimed control over the entire coast. This control was nominal, however, because the Portuguese did not colonize the area or explore the interior. Assisted by Omani Arabs, the indigenous coastal dwellers succeeded in driving the Portuguese from the area north of the Ruvuma River by the early 18th century. Claiming the coastal strip, Omani Sultan Seyyid Said (1804-56) moved his capital to Zanzibar in 1841.

European exploration of the interior began in the mid-19th century. Two German missionaries reached Mt. Kilimanjaro in the 1840s. British explorers Richard Burton and John Speke crossed the interior to Lake Tanganyika in 1857. David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary-explorer who crusaded against the slave trade, established his last mission at Ujiji, where he was “found” by Henry Morton Stanley, an American journalist-explorer, who had been commissioned by the New York Herald to locate him.

German colonial interests were first advanced in 1884. Karl Peters, who formed the Society for German Colonization, concluded a series of treaties by which tribal chiefs in the interior accepted German “protection.” Prince Otto von Bismarck's government backed Peters in the subsequent establishment of the German East Africa Company.

In 1886 and 1890, Anglo-German agreements were negotiated that delineated the British and German spheres of influence in the interior of East Africa and along the coastal strip previously claimed by the Omani sultan of Zanzibar. In 1891, the German Government took over direct administration of the territory from the German East Africa Company and appointed a governor with headquarters at Dar es Salaam.

Although the German colonial administration brought cash crops, railroads, and roads to Tanganyika, European rule provoked African's

resistance, culminating in the Maji Maji rebellion of 1905-07. The rebellion, which temporarily united a number of southern tribes and ended only after an estimated 120,000 Africans had died from fighting or starvation, is considered by most Tanzanians to have been one of the first stirrings of nationalism.

German colonial domination of Tanganyika ended after World War I when control of most of the territory passed to the United Kingdom under a League of Nations mandate. After World War II, Tanganyika became a UN trust territory under British control. Subsequent years witnessed Tanganyika moving gradually toward self-government and independence.

In 1954, Julius K. Nyerere, a school teacher who was then one of only two Tanganyikans educated abroad at the university level, organized a political party— the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU). TANU-supported candidates were victorious in the Legislative Council elections of September 1958 and February 1959. In December 1959, the United Kingdom agreed to the establishment of internal self-government following general elections to be held in August 1960. Nyerere was named chief minister of the subsequent government.

In May 1961, Tanganyika became autonomous, and Nyerere became Prime Minister under a new constitution. Full independence was achieved on December 9, 1961. Julius. Nyerere was elected President when Tanganyika became a republic within the Commonwealth a year after independence.

Zanzibar

An early Arab/Persian trading center, Zanzibar fell under Portuguese domination in the 16th and early 17th centuries but was retaken by Omani Arabs in the early 18th century. The height of Arab rule came during the reign of Sultan Seyyid Said, who encouraged the development of clove plantations, using the island's slave labor.

The Arabs established their own garrisons at Zanzibar, Pemba, and Kilwa and carried on a lucrative trade in slaves and ivory. By 1840, Said had transferred his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar and established a ruling Arab elite. The island's commerce fell increasingly into the hands of traders from the Indian subcontinent, who Said encouraged to settle on the island.

Zanzibar's spices attracted ships from as far away as the United States. A U.S. consulate was established on the island in 1837. The United Kingdom's early interest in Zanzibar was motivated by both commerce and the determination to end the slave trade. In 1822, the British signed the first of a series of treaties with Sultan Said to curb this trade, but not until 1876 was the sale of slaves finally prohibited.

The Anglo-German agreement of 1890 made Zanzibar and Pemba a British protectorate. British rule through a Sultan remained largely unchanged from the late 19th century until after World War II.

Zanzibar's political development began in earnest after 1956, when provision was first made for the election of six nongovernmental members to the Legislative Council. Two parties were formed: the Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP), representing the dominant Arab and “Arabi-zed” minority, and the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), led by Abeid Karume and representing the Shirazis and the African majority.

The first elections were held in July 1957. The ASP won three of the six elected seats, with the remainder going to independents. Following the election, the ASP split; some of its Shirazi supporters left to form the Zanzibar and Pemba People's Party (ZPPP). The January 1961 election resulted in a deadlock between the ASP and a ZNP-ZPPP coalition.

United Republic of Tanzania

Zanzibar received its independence from the United Kingdom on December 19, 1963, as a constitutional monarchy under the sultan. On January 12, 1964, the African majority revolted against the sultan and a new government was formed with the ASP leader, Abeid Karume, as President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council. Under the terms of its political union with Tanganyika in April 1964, the Zanzibar Government retained considerable local autonomy.

On April 26, 1964, Tanganyika united with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The country was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania on October 29, 1964.

To form a sole ruling party in both parts of the union Nyerere merged TANU with the Zanzibar ruling party, the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) of Zanzibar to form the CCM (Chama cha Mapinduzi-CCM Revolutionary Party), on February 5, 1977. The CCM was to be the sole instrument for mobilizing and controlling the population in all significant political or economic activities. He envisioned the party as a “two-way street” for the flow of ideas and policy directives between the village level and the government. On April 26, 1977, the union of the two parties was ratified in a new constitution. The merger was reinforced by principles enunciated in the 1982 union constitution and reaffirmed in the constitution of 1984. President Nyerere stepped down from office and was succeeded as President by Ali Hassan Mwinyi in 1985. Nyerere retained his position as Chairman of the ruling CCM party for 5 more years and was influential in Tanzanian politics until his death in October 1999. The current President, Jakaya Kikwete, was elected in December 2005. Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume, the son of Zanzibar's first president, was elected in 2000, in general elections that were marked by widespread irregularities throughout the Isles. His predecessor, Salmin Amour, was first elected in single-party elections in 1990, then re-elected in 1995 in Zanzibar's first multi-party elections. These elections also were tainted by violence and serious irregularities in the voting process.

GOVERNMENT

Tanzania's president and National Assembly members are elected concurrently by direct popular vote for 5-year terms. The president appoints a prime minister who serves as the government's leader in the National Assembly. The president selects his cabinet from among National Assembly members. The Constitution also empowers him to nominate 10 non-elected members of Parliament, who also are eligible to become cabinet members. Elections for president and all National Assembly seats were held in December 2005.

The unicameral National Assembly has up to 325 members: the Attorney General, the Speaker, five members elected from the Zanzibar House of Representatives to participate in the Parliament, 75 special women's seats apportioned among the political parties based on their election results, 233 constituent seats from the main-land, and up to 10 members nominated by the president.

In 2006, the president nominated seven members and the Speaker was elected to a constituent seat, bringing the total number of Members of Parliament to 320. The ruling party, CCM, holds about 82% of the seats in the Assembly. Laws passed by the National Assembly are valid for Zanzibar only in specifically designated union matters.

Zanzibar's House of Representatives has jurisdiction over all non-union matters. There are currently 81 members in the House of Representatives in Zanzibar: 50 elected by the people, 10 appointed by the president of Zanzibar, 5 ex officio members, an attorney general appointed by the president, and 15 special seats allocated to women. Ostensibly, Zanzibar's House of Representatives can make laws for Zanzibar without the approval of the union government as long as it does not involve union-designated matters. The terms of office for Zanzibar’ president and House of Representatives also are 5 years. The semiautonomous relationship between Zanzibar and the union is a relatively unique system of government.

Tanzania has a five-level judiciary combining the jurisdictions of tribal, Islamic, and British common law. Appeal is from the primary courts through the district courts, resident magistrate courts, to the high courts, and the high courts to the Court of Appeals. District and resident court magistrates are appointed by the Chief Justice, except for judges of the High Court and Court of Appeals, who are appointed by the president. The Zanzibari court system parallels the legal system of the union, and all cases tried in Zanzibari courts, except for those involving constitutional issues and Islamic law, can be appealed to the Court of Appeals of the union. A commercial court was established on the mainland in September 1999 as a division of the High Court.

For administrative purposes, Tanzania is divided into 26 regions—21 on the mainland, 3 on Zanzibar, and 2 on Pemba. Ninety-nine district councils have been created to further increase local authority. These districts are also now referred to as local government authorities. Currently there are 114 councils operating in 99 districts, 22 are urban and 92 are rural. The 22 urban units are classified further as city (Dar es Salaam and Mwanza), municipal (Arusha, Dodoma, Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, Morogoro, Shinyanga, Tabora, and Tanga), and town councils (the remaining 11 communities).

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 2/1/2008

Pres.: Jakaya Mrisho KIKWETE

Vice Pres.: Ali Mohamed SHEIN, Dr.

Prime Min.: Edward LOWASSA

Pres. of Zanzibar: Amani Abeid KARUME

Min. of Agriculture, Food Security, & Cooperatives: Stephen Masatu WASSIRA

Min. of Community Development, Gender, Children: Sofia Mnyambi SIMBA

Min. of Defense & National Service: Juma Athumani KAPUYA

Min. of East Africa Cooperation Affairs: Ibrahim Said MSABAHA

Min. of Education & Vocational Training: Margareth Simwanza SITTA

Min. of Energy & Mineral Resources: Naziri Mustafa KARAMAGI

Min. of Finance: Zakia Hamdani MEGHJI

Min. of Foreign Affairs & Intl. Cooperation: Bernard Kamillius MEMBE

Min. of Health & Welfare Development: David Homeli MWAKYUSA

Min. of Home Affairs: Joseph James MUNGAI

Min. of Industry, Trade, & Marketing: Basil Pesambili MRAMBA

Min. of Information, Culture, & Sports: Muhammed Seif KHATIB

Min. of Infrastructure Development: Andrew John CHENGE

Min. of Justice & Constitutional Affairs: Mary Michael NAGU

Min. of Labor, Employment, & Youth Development: John Zefania CHILIGATI, Capt.

Min. of Lands & Human Settlement Development: John Pombe MAGUFULI

Min. of Livestock Development: Anthony Mwandu DIALLO

Min. of Natural Resources & Tourism: Jumanne Abdallah MAGHEMBE

Min. of Planning, Economy, & Empowerment: Juma Alifa NGASONGWA

Min. of Public Safety & Security: Bakari MWAPACHU

Min. of Science, Technology, & Higher Education: Peter Mahmoud MSOLLA

Min. of Water: Shukuru Jumanne KAWAMBWA

Min. of State for Central Establishment, Pres.'s Office: Mary Michael NAGU

Min. of State for Good Governance, Pres.'s Office: Philip Sang’ka MARMO

Min. of State for Environment, Vice Pres.'s Office: Mark James MWANDOSYA

Min. of State for Union Matters, Vice Pres.'s Office: Hussein Ali MWINYI

Min. of State, Prime Min.'s Office: Batilda Salha BURIAN

Min. of State, Prime Min.'s Office: Mizengo Kayanza Peter PINDA

Attorney Gen.: Johnson MWANYIKA

Governor, Central Bank: Daudi BALLALI

Ambassador to the US: Ombeni Y. SEFUE

Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Augustine Philip MAHIGA

Tanzania maintains an embassy in the United States at 2139 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-939-6125.)

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

From independence in 1961 until the mid-1980s, Tanzania was a one-party state, with a socialist model of economic development. Beginning in the mid-1980s, under the administration of President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzania undertook a number of political and economic reforms. In January and February 1992, the government decided to adopt multiparty democracy. Legal and constitutional changes led to the registration of 11 political parties. Two parliamentary by-elections (won by CCM) in early 1994 were the first-ever multiparty elections in Tanzanian history.

In October 2000, Tanzania held its second multi-party general elections. The ruling CCM party's candidate, Benjamin W. Mkapa, defeated his three main rivals, winning the presidential election with 71% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections, CCM won 202 of the 232 elected seats. In the Zanzibar presidential election, Abeid Amani Karume, the son of former President Abeid Karume, defeated CUF candidate Seif Sharif Hamad. The election was marred by irregularities, especially on Zanzibar, and subsequent political violence claimed at least 23 lives in January 2001, mostly on Pemba island. Also, 16 CUF members were expelled from the Union Parliament after boycotting the legislature to protest the Zanzibar election results.

In October 2001, the CCM and the CUF parties signed a reconciliation agreement which called for electoral reforms on Zanzibar and set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the deaths that occurred in January 2001 on Pemba. The agreement also led to the presidential appointment of an additional CUF official to become a member of the Union Parliament. Changes to the Zanzibar Constitution in April 2002 allowed both the CCM and CUF parties to nominate members to the Zanzibar Electoral Commission. In May 2003, the Zanzibar Electoral Commission conducted by-elections to fill vacant seats in the parliament, including those seats vacated by the CUF boycott. Observers considered these by-elections, the first major test of the reconciliation agreement, to be free, fair, and peaceful.

In October 2005, presidential and parliamentary elections were scheduled to take place. However, the death of an opposition vice presidential candidate forced a postponement until December. Zanzibari presidential elections went forward as scheduled. Although there were many administrative improvements over the 2000 elections in Zanzibar, the poll was marred by violence and intimidation. Abeid Amani Karume edged out Seif Sharif Hamad 53% to 46% in an election widely deemed to have had serious irregularities by international observers. In contrast, the December 2005 elections in mainland Tanzania proceeded with few if any problems, and the popular Kik-wete won by over 80% of the vote. The ruling CCM party also picked up additional parliamentary seats, leaving the opposition parties fractured and marginalized. President Kik-wete, Vice President Ali Mohamed Shein, Prime Minister Edward Lowassa, and National Assembly members will serve until the next general elections in 2010. Similarly, Zanzibar President Karume and members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives also will complete their terms of office in 2010.

In 2001, the East African Community (EAC)—formerly a customs union in 1967 consisting of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda—was revived, and a new treaty was signed that paves the way for an economic and political union of the three countries. In July 2007, Rwanda and Burundi joined the EAC as full members.

ECONOMY

Significant measures have been taken to liberalize the Tanzanian economy along market lines and encourage both foreign and domestic private investment. Beginning in 1986, the Government of Tanzania embarked on an adjustment program to dismantle state economic controls and encourage more active participation of the private sector in the economy. The program included a comprehensive package of policies which reduced the budget deficit and improved monetary control, substantially depreciated the overvalued exchange rate, liberalized the trade regime, removed most price controls, eased restrictions on the marketing of food crops, freed interest rates, and initiated a restructuring of the financial sector.

In July 2003, Tanzania's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement with the International Monetary Fund was extended for an additional three years. In June 2003, the Tanzanian Government successfully completed a previous three-year PRGF, the successor program to the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF). From 1996-1999, Tanzania had an ESAF agreement. Tanzania also embarked on a major restructuring of state-owned enterprises. The program has so far divested 335 out of some 425 parastatal entities. Overall, real economic growth has averaged about 4% a year, much better than the previous 20 years, but not enough to improve the lives of average Tanzanians. Also, the economy remains overwhelmingly donor-dependent. Moreover, Tanzania has an external debt of $7.5 billion.

The servicing of this debt absorbs about 40% of total government expenditures. Tanzania has qualified for debt relief under the enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Debts worth over $6 billion were canceled following implementation of the Paris Club VII Agreement. Agriculture dominates the economy, providing more than 44% of GDP and 80% of employment. Cash crops, including coffee, tea, cotton, cashews, sisal, cloves, and pyrethrum, account for the vast majority of export earnings. While the volume of major crops—both cash and goods marketed through official channels—have increased in recent years, large amounts of produce never reach the market. Poor pricing and unreliable cash flow to farmers continue to frustrate the agricultural sector.

Accounting for less than 10% of GDP, Tanzania's industrial sector is one of the smallest in Africa. It was hard hit during the 2002-2003 drought years and again in 2005-2006 by persistent power shortages caused by low rainfall in the hydroelectric dam catchment area, a condition compounded by years of neglect and bad management at the state-controlled electric company.

The main industrial activities (90%) are dominated by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) specializing in food processing including dairy products, meat packing, preserving fruits and vegetables, production of textile and apparel, leather tanning and plastics. A few larger factories (10%) manufacture cement, rolled steel, corrugated iron, aluminum sheets, cigarettes, beer and bottling beverages, fruit juices and mineral water. Other factories produce raw materials, import substitutes, and processed agricultural products. Poor infrastructure in water and electricity supply systems continue to hinder factory production.

Despite Tanzania’ past record of political stability, an unattractive investment climate has discouraged foreign investment. Government steps to improve the business climate include redrawing tax codes, floating the exchange rate, licensing foreign banks, and creating an investment promotion center to cut red tape. In terms of mineral resources and the largely untapped tourism sector, Tanzania could become a viable and attractive market for U.S. goods and services.

Zanzibar's economy is based primarily on the production of cloves (90% grown on the island of Pemba), the principal foreign exchange earner. Exports have suffered with the downturn in the clove market. Tourism is a promising sector with a number of new hotels and resorts have been built in recent years.

The Government of Zanzibar legalized foreign exchange bureaus on the islands before the mainland Tanzania moved to do so. The effect was to increase the availability of consumer commodities. Furthermore, with external funding, the Government of Zanzibar plans to make the port of Zanzibar a free port. In 2007, the rehabilitation of Zanzibar's port facilities commenced with assistance from European donors. The island's manufacturing sector is limited mainly to import substitution industries, such as cigarettes, shoes, and process agricultural products. In 1992, the government designated two export-producing zones and encouraged the development of offshore financial services. Zanzibar still imports much of its staple requirements, petroleum products, and manufactured articles.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Tanzania's first president, Julius Nyerere also was one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement, and, during the Cold War era, Tanzania played an important role in regional and international organizations, such as the Non-Aligned Movement, the front-line states, the G-77, and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). One of Africa's best-known elder statesmen, Nyerere was personally active in many of these organizations, and served chairman of the OAU (1984-85) and chairman of six front-line states concerned with eliminating apartheid in Southern Africa. Nyerere's death, in October 1999, is still commemorated annually.

Tanzania enjoys good relations with its neighbors in the region and in recent years has been an active participant in efforts to promote the peaceful resolution of disputes. Tanzania helped to broker peace talks to end the conflict in Burundi; a comprehensive cease-fire was signed in Dar es Salaam on September 7, 2006. Tanzania also supports the Lusaka agreement concerning the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In March 1996, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya revived discussion of economic and regional cooperation. These talks culminated with the signing of an East African Cooperation Treaty in September 1999; a treaty establishing a Customs Union was signed in March 2004. The Customs Union went into effect January 1, 2005 and, in time, should lead to complete economic integration.

On July 1, 2007 Rwanda and Burundi joined the EAC and the Customs Union as full members. Tanzania is the only country in East Africa which also is a member of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). In January 2005, Tanzania became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council serving a two-year term that ended on December 31, 2006.

U.S.-TANZANIAN RELATIONS

The U.S. has historically enjoyed very good relations with Tanzania. When terrorists bombed the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam on August 7, 1998, that relationship became even closer. This act horrified Tanzanians and Americans alike and also drew condemnation from around the world. In the aftermath of the bombing, U.S.-¥Tanzanian cooperation broadened to include areas such as anti-terrorism and law enforcement.

President Benjamin Mkapa visited the U.S. in September 1999 with a delegation of business executives, reflecting the increased level of cooperation on trade and investment issues and Tanzania's commitment to economic liberalization. With the election of President Kikwete, the relationship has blossomed into warmer relations than at any time since Tanzania achieved independence.

President Kikwete visited the U.S. in May 2006, meeting with Secretary Rice, Vice President Cheney, and briefly, President Bush. He met President Bush in a private meeting in September 2006 In New York. Kik-wete wants to broaden Tanzanian ties to the U.S. across all spheres, including political, economic, and military, and has been actively engaged in pursuing internal structural reforms to allow that to happen. The U.S. Government provides assistance to Tanzania to support programs in the areas of health, environment, democracy, and development of the private sector. The U.S. Agency for International Development's program in Tanzania averages about $20 million per year. The Peace Corps program, revitalized in 1979, provides assistance in education through the provision of teachers. Peace Corps also is assisting in health and environment sectors. Currently, about 147 volunteers are serving in Tanzania. First Lady Laura Bush visited Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar in mid-July 2005.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Last Updated: 2/19/2008

DAR ES SALAAM (E) 686 Old Bag-amoyo Road, (255) 22 2668001, Fax (255) 22 2668373, Workweek: 7:30 a.m.—5:00 p.m, Monday to Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Friday, Website: http://tanzania.usembassy.gov.

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet

January 4, 2008

Country Description: Tanzania is a developing East African nation noted for both its history of stability and its astounding natural beauty. A robust tourist industry provides all levels of tourist amenities, although higher-end facilities are concentrated mainly in the cities and selected game parks. The United Republic of Tanzania was formed in 1964 with the union of the mainland country of Tanganyika and the Zanzibar archipelago, which comprises the islands of Unguja and Pemba. Unguja is the much larger and more populous of the two islands and it is commonly referred to as Zanzibar, as is its main city, Stonetown.

Zanzibar enjoys an autonomous status in many areas of governance and has a separate legal system from the mainland. The legislative capital of Tanzania is Dodoma. The U.S. Embassy is in Tanzania's largest city, Dar es Salaam, the location of most government offices, and the commercial center of the country.

Entry Requirements: A passport and visa are required for travel to Tanzania. U.S. citizens with valid passports may obtain a visa either before arriving in Tanzania or at any port of entry staffed by immigration officials. The current fee for a visa has recently risen to $100 for a 12-month multiple-entry tourist visa to reciprocate the fee the United States charges visa applicants. This could rise again as the U.S. application fee rises. Some border posts and embassies may have technical difficulty in producing the 12-month visa. They may make hand-written annotations on the computer printed visa.

U.S. passports should be valid for a minimum of six months beyond the date the visa is obtained, whether it is acquired beforehand or at the port of entry. Also, foreigners are required to show their passports when entering or exiting Zanzibar. Visitors are required to have a valid yellow fever inoculation stamp on their international health cards.

Tanzanian law is very strict on visa categories. A recurring problem encountered by Americans is that volunteer activity—even if the traveler is paying for the volunteer opportunity—is prohibited on a tourist visa. Americans who are traveling to Tanzania for short or long term volunteer projects should review their status with the sponsoring organization before entering the country.

Travelers are reminded to safeguard their U.S. passports while in Tanzania. Passport loss can lead to delays in departing the country and can cause disruption of travel. Tanzanian authorities require that travelers who are not in possession of the visa and entry stamps obtained upon admission to Tanzania visit the immigration office prior to departure to regularize their status. Persons attempting to depart the country without proper documentation may be subject to fines or delays in departure.

Visit the Embassy of Tanzania's web site at http://www.tanzaniaembassy-us.org for the most current visa information.

Safety and Security: Terrorist incidents in the recent past highlight the continuing threat posed by terrorism in East Africa and the capacity of terrorist groups to carry out such attacks. On August 7, 1998, terrorists bombed the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, Kenya. On November 28, 2002, terrorists bombed a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, approximately 50 miles north of the Kenya-Tanzania border, and unsuccessfully attempted to shoot down an Israeli charter plane departing Mombassa Airport.

U.S. citizens should be aware of the risk of indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets including usual gathering places of tourists and Westerners. At all times, travelers should maintain a high level of security vigilance. They should avoid political rallies and related public gatherings. In the past, peaceful demonstrations have turned violent with little or no warning as riot police clashed with demonstrators.

The population in Zanzibar is majority Muslim and holds traditional values. Some Zanzibar newspapers have warned that women who dress immodestly may be subject to harassment. American citizens are advised to dress modestly and to refrain from intemperate public behavior.

The area near Tanzania's borders with Rwanda and Burundi has been the site of minor military clashes, and refugee flows across the borders into Tanzania continue. There have been a number of incidents of criminal and violent activity in the region. Travelers to this area should exercise caution.

U.S. officials, in keeping with UN security procedures, request police escorts on parts of the Rusomo to Kahama road near the Rwandan border because of an increase in armed bandit attacks.

Inter-city transportation routes between major destinations such as Arusha and Dar es Salaam are serviced by a variety of carriers that offer differing levels of safety and comfort. U.S. citizens who travel by bus are urged to select carriers who use modern equipment and to avoid utilizing vehicles that are in obvious disrepair. Americans on long-haul bus routes in Tanzania have been victims of “druggings” in which drug-laced food and drink are used to sedate unsuspecting passengers so their belongings can be stolen easily. Travelers are cautioned not to accept food or beverages from fellow passengers.

In-town transportation is best accomplished using taxis or hired drivers from a reputable source. Travelers should be wary of using the ubiquitous microbuses (dala-dalas), which are frequently overcrowded, poorly maintained, a common site of petty theft, and whose operation is generally unsafe.

A continuing concern is Toure Drive on Msasani Peninsula in Dar es Salaam. It is the beach front road leading from the Sea Cliff Hotel into town and provides an inviting view of the ocean. However, there are regular reports of daytime muggings, pick-pocketing, and theft from cars. This road continues to be an area of concern any time of day, on foot, or in vehicles. US government personnel are expressly advised to avoid walking or running along Toure Drive.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's web site, where the current World-wide Caution Travel Alert, Travel Warnings and other Travel Alerts can be found. Up-to-date information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada, or for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444.

Crime: Crime is a serious problem in Tanzania, and visitors should be alert and cautious. Street crime in Dar es Salaam is common and includes mugging, vehicle theft, “smash and grab” attacks on vehicles, armed robbery, and burglary. Thieves and pickpockets on buses and trains steal from inattentive passengers.

Crime involving firearms is becoming more common. A series of robberies involving increasing levels of violence has occurred along the coast and on Zanzibar. Robbers have held up tour buses and dive boats at gunpoint. In July 2004, a group of volunteer conservation workers was attacked on Pemba Island. Two of the group suffered gunshot wounds.

Pedestrians on beaches and footpaths, both in isolated areas and in popular tourist venues, are often targeted for robbery or assault. This is especially true on Zanzibar and in Dar es Salaam and its environs. Visitors should limit the amount of cash they carry and leave valuables, such as passports, jewelry and airline tickets, in a hotel safe or other secure place. Cameras are highly coveted by thieves, and should be guarded carefully. Because of the potential for fraud, credit cards should only be used in reputable tourist hotels. Sexual assaults involving tourists are also an increasing concern. Travelers are warned to avoid walking alone after dark.

Travelers should contract only with legitimate tour guides, preferably arranged by a known travel agency or hotel. The Embassy has received reports of female tourists being maneuvered into unsafe situations by gregarious men offering to show them certain sights or locales. When alone with the women, the men made sexual advances that escalated to assaults. Travelers are advised to be wary of “spontaneous” offers of sightseeing and to avoid being alone with “friendly” strangers who propose special, customized sightseeing trips.

In Arusha, the high number of foreign tourists attracts pickpockets and bag snatchers. Occasionally, these crimes escalate into violence. Travelers are strongly encouraged not to walk around at dusk or later, and to avoid the section of Arusha on the far side of the Themi River at all times on foot. Long time residents say that crime in Arusha peaks around the December-January holiday season. Travelers should be even more vigilant during these months.

In northern Tanzania, there have been several incidents of armed, violent robberies of Americans. One of these involved the ambush of tourists. In the rest, the targets were resident Americans or organizations that hosted long-term volunteers. While very frightening, the number of these attacks is small and the majority of American residents and tourists enjoy Tanzania in peace. Travelers are always urged to practice common sense security and remain vigilant of their surroundings. If a situation does not seem right, travelers should follow their instincts and leave the scene.

Carjacking has occurred in both rural and urban areas. Visitors are advised to drive with doors locked and windows rolled up. Travelers are urged not to stop between populated areas and to travel in convoys if possible.

Information for Victims of Crime: The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, contact family members or friends and explain how funds may be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed.

Medical Facilities and Health Information: Medical facilities are limited and medicines are sometimes unavailable, even in Dar es Salaam. There are hospitals on Zanzibar that can treat minor ailments. For any major medical problems, including dental work, travelers should consider obtaining medical treatment in Nairobi or South Africa where more advanced medical care is available. Cholera is prevalent in many areas of Tanzania, and several strains of malaria are endemic. Malaria suppressants are advised, and travelers are strongly advised to carry malaria suppressants with them. Visitors should consult their physicians before traveling to learn about prophylaxis and the possible side effects of various available medications.

In addition, other personal protective measures, such as the use of insect repellents, help to reduce malaria risk. Travelers who become ill with a fever or flu-like illness while traveling in a malaria-risk area and up to one year after returning home should seek prompt medical attention and tell the physician their travel history and what anti-malarial medications they have been taking. For additional information on malaria, protection from insect bites, and anti-malarial drugs, please visit the CDC travel health web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel.

Tap water in Tanzania is unsafe to drink. Travelers are strongly urged to use bottled water for drinking and food preparation.

The HIV infection rate in the population is around seven percent. The infection is even more prevalent among prostitutes and their clients. Travelers should be aware of the related health and legal risks.

East African Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping sickness) is carried by the tse-tse fly, which is endemic to the northern safari circuit of Tanzania. The disease itself is very rare but present. Travelers are advised to use normal precautions to avoid insect bites. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are essential if there is an infection. If symptoms appear, even months later, health care practitioners should be told of the visit to East Africa and the possibility of exposure.

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747) or via the CDC's web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization's (WHO) web site at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith/en.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Tanzania is provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

Road and traffic conditions in Tanzania differ markedly from those found in the United States and present hazards that require drivers to exercise continual alertness and caution.

Traffic in Tanzania moves on the left. Drivers and pedestrians alike must maintain vigilance, looking both ways before turning or crossing a road.

Drivers are advised against nighttime travel. Roadways are often not marked and many lack both streetlights and shoulders. Pedestrians, cyclists, and animals are often encountered on unlit roads after dark, as are slow-moving trucks and cars traveling without lights. Carjacking and other related crimes are more common during the nighttime hours. Traveling in rural areas after dark is strongly discouraged.

Although a number of inter-city highways are periodically repaved and maintained, maintenance schedules are erratic and even good roads may deteriorate precipitously in periods of inclement weather. During the rainy season (late March to mid-June), many roads in Tanzania, both urban and rural, are passable only with four-wheel-drive vehicles.

In urban areas, it is common to find main arterial roads paved and maintained, while secondary streets are severely rutted and passable only with high-clearance vehicles. Traffic lights are often out of order, and care should be exercised at any traffic intersection, whether controlled or not, as many drivers disregard signals.

Excessive speed, unpredictable driving habits, and the lack of basic safety equipment on many vehicles pose serious traffic hazards.

Tanzanian law requires all motor vehicle operators to be in possession of a valid driver's license. Persons staying in Tanzania for six months or less may use a valid U.S. driver's license after validation by local traffic authorities, or an international driver's license. Persons intending to remain in Tanzania for more than six months are required to obtain a Tanzanian driver's license. All vehicles are required to carry third-party liability insurance.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service between the United States and Tanzania, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards. For more information, travelers may visit the FAA's web site at http://www.faa.gov.

Special Circumstances: Every year, thousands of Americans have a truly awe-inspiring experience in Tanzania enjoying its natural wonders. However, these activities do have inherent risks. A handful of tourists are mauled or killed by wild animals. Climbers are injured or killed in rockslides or succumb to altitude sickness or hypothermia. Safaris and mountain expeditions in general require sustained physical exertion and can aggravate existing chronic health problems. In past years, Americans have died while on safari in accidents or from natural causes related to the exertion of the trip or environmental factors. Most tour operators offer structured, safe excursions into parks, the mountains, and other wildlife areas. Travelers must also play a responsible role in maintaining their safety. Travelers are reminded to maintain a safe distance from animals and to remain in vehicles or other protected enclosures when venturing into game parks. Persons with chronic health problems should weigh the risks before joining an extended trip in the African wilderness. Climbers should familiarize themselves with the signs of altitude sickness and heed the advice of the professionals organizing the ascents.

U.S. citizens should carry a copy of their U.S. passport with them at all times, so that, if questioned by local officials, they have readily available proof of identity and U.S. citizenship. Travelers and U.S. citizens resident in Tanzania are strongly urged to maintain legal immigration status while in Tanzania to avoid difficulties with local immigration authorities. U.S. citizens who are arrested or detained have the right to have the U.S. Embassy notified of their situation and should request that notification be made.

Credit cards may be used at some major hotels, but are not widely accepted in Tanzania. In the larger urban areas, ATM machines are usually available at major banks. Travelers are advised to check with their home banking institution regarding international ATM use. Travelers should bring sufficient cash or traveler's checks for their trip if they will be spending time outside of the large cities.

Photography of military installations is forbidden. Individuals have been detained and/or had their cameras and film confiscated for taking pictures of hospitals, schools, bridges, industrial sites, and airports. Installations that are prohibited from being photographed are not always marked.

Criminal Penalties: While in a for-eign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country's laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating Tanzanian laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Tanzania are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime, prosecutable in the United States.

Children's Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, see the Office of Children's Issues website at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Registration and Embassy Locations: Americans living or traveling in Tanzania are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department's travel registration web site so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security within Tanzania. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy is located at 686 Old Bagamoyo Road, Msasani, Dar es Salaam. The telephone number is [255] (22)266 8001. The direct extension for the Consular Section is x4122. After hours, the Embassy Duty Officer can be reached through the main embassy number. The Consular Section fax number is [255] (22) 266 8274. The email address for American Citizen Services is [email protected]. The Embassy web site is http://tanzania.usembassy.gov.

International Adoption

October 2006

The information in this section has been edited from a report of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Overseas Citizens Services. For more information, please read the International Adoption section of this book and review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Disclaimer: The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and current understanding. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

Patterns of Immigration: Please review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Adoption Authority: Department of Social Welfare Regional C.C.M Building, Lumumba Street P.O. Box 1949 Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Telephone: (+255) 22-218-4281

Eligibility Requirements For Adoptive Parent(s): Under Tanzanian law, an unmarried person must be at least 25 years of age and be at least 21 years older than the child. A single male cannot adopt a female child except by court order which is granted only under exceptional circumstances.

Residency Requirements: In order to adopt a child in Tanzania, the American citizen or citizens must be residents of Tanzania. The Tanzanian Department of Social Welfare considers a person to be resident if that person holds a Resident Permit (Class A, B or C) a Dependent's Pass or an Exemption Permit and lives in Tanzania. This requirement is never waived.

Time Frame: Adoptions may take up to 18 months in Tanzania.

Adoption Agencies and Attorneys: Upon inquiry, the Department of Social Welfare will provide a list of participating adoption agencies and attorneys to adopting parents.

Department of Social Welfare
Regional C.C.M Building, Lumumba
Street
P.O. Box 1949 Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Telephone: (+255) 22-218-4281

Adoption Fees: The Government of Tanzania does not charge a fee for adoption but legal fees can be between $800 and $1,500.

Adoption Procedures: Prospective adoptive parents contact the District Social Welfare Office for an application form for a child for foster care. Prospective adoptive parents must arrange with the District Social Welfare Officer to begin the homestudy process. The homestudy will consist of at least four interviews with the family, including at least one visit to the family's home. The homestudy will evaluate the prospective adoptive parents’ physical, mental and emotional health as well as financial and marital (in the case of married couples) stability.

The District Social Welfare Officer will send the foster care application, homestudy and other relevant supporting documents to the Commissioner for Social Welfare for approval. When the foster care application has been approved by the Commissioner for Social Welfare, the District Social Welfare Officer will identify children who are eligible for adoption and who meet the criteria of the prospective adoptive parents. Once a child has been identified and accepted by the prospective adoptive parents, the District Social Welfare Officer will place the identified child with the prospective adoptive parents for a foster care period of not less than three months.

After the foster care period, the prospective adoptive parents will meet with the District Social Welfare Officer to discuss whether they wish to adopt the child and whether the District Social Welfare Officer intends to approve an application by the prospective parents to adopt. Provided that the District Social Welfare Officer approves the adoption, the District Social Welfare Officer will submit a report and recommendation to the Commissioner of Social Welfare.

If they have not already done so, prospective adoptive parents retain Tanzanian attorney experienced in adoption procedures. The Law Society of Tanganyika should be able to recommend an attorney or a firm of attorneys to the prospective adoptive parents. Also, the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam maintains a list of attorneys that adoptive parents may consult.

The prospective adoptive parent's attorney will assist them in filing a petition to legally adopt their foster child and obtain a court order from the High Court. Close contact should be maintained with the Social Welfare Department during this period, as that agency will submit a report to the Court in its capacity as the court-appointed Guardian ad Litem of the child.

In addition to the High Court Adoption Order, the prospective adoptive parent's attorney should also assist you in obtaining an Adoption Certificate for the adopted child. All children will need a valid passport issued by their country of origin.

Required Documents: No specific documents are required, although it may be prudent to carry documents relating to identity, marital status, family status and financial means. Passports must include valid residency permits.

Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania
2139 R Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202) 939-6125
Fax: (292) 797-7408

U.S. Immigration Requirements: Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult the Department of Homeland Security's, United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. Please see the International Adoption section of this book for more details and review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Embassy of the United States of America
686 Old Bagamoyo Road
Msasani, P.O. Box 9123
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Email: [email protected]
Website:
http://tanzania.usembassy.gov

Additional Information: Specific questions about adoption in Tanzania may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. General questions regarding intercountry adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children's Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/ OCS/CI, SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.

Tanzania

Compiled from the September 2006 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:
United Republic of Tanzania

PROFILE

PEOPLE

HISTORY

GOVERNMENT

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

ECONOMY

FOREIGN RELATIONS

U.S.-TANZANIAN RELATIONS

TRAVEL

PROFILE

Geography

Area: Mainland—945,000 sq. km. (378,000 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than New Mexico and Texas combined. Zanzibar—1,658 sq. km. (640 sq. mi.).

Cities: Capital—Dodoma (legislative), Dar es Salaam (executive). Major metropolises—Arusha, Mwanza, Dodoma, Mbeya, Mtwara, Stonetown, Zanzibar.

Terrain: Varied.

Climate: Varies from tropical to arid to temperate.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective—Tanzanian(s); Zanzibari(s).

Population: Mainland—34.57 million. Zanzibar—1 million (est.).

Religions: Muslim 45%, Christian 45%, indigenous beliefs 10%.

Language: Kiswahili (official), English.

Education: Attendance—74% (primary). Literacy—67%.

Health: Infant mortality rate—98/1,000. Life expectancy—50 years.

Work force: Agriculture—80%; industry, commerce, government—20%.

Government

Type: Republic.

Independence: Tanganyika 1961, Zanzibar 1963. Union formed 1964.

Constitution: 1982.

Government branches: Executive—president (chief of state and commander in chief), vice president, and prime minister. Legislative—unicameral National Assembly (for the Union), House of Representatives (for Zanzibar only). Judicial—Mainland: Court of Appeals, High Courts, Resident Magistrate Courts, district courts, and primary courts; Zanzibar: High Court, people’s district courts, kadhis court (Islamic courts).

Political parties: 1. Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), 2. The Civic United Front (CUF), 3. Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), 4. Union for Multi-party Democracy (UMD), 5. National Convention for Construction and Reform (NCCR-Mageuzi), 6. National League for Democracy (NLD), 7. National Reconstruction for Alliance (NRA) 8. Tanzania Democratic Alliance Party (TADEA), 9. Tanzania Labour Party (TLP), 10. United Democratic Party (UDP), 11. Demokrasia Makini (MAKINI), 12. United Peoples’ Democratic Party (UPDP), 13. Chama cha Haki na Ustawi (CHAUSTA), 14. The Forum for Restoration of Democracy (FORD), 15. Democratic Party (DP), 16. Progressive Party of Tanzania (PPT-Maendeleo), 17. Jahazi Asilia.

Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Political subdivisions: 26 regions (21 on mainland, 3 on Zanzibar, 2 on Pemba).

Economy

GDP: (2004) $10 billion.

Average growth rate: (2004) 6.7%.

Per capita income: (2004) $300.

Natural resources: Hydroelectric potential, coal, iron, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel, diamonds, crude oil potential, forest products, wildlife, fisheries.

Agriculture: (2004) 46.4% of GDP. Products—coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco, cloves, sisal, cashew nuts, maize, livestock, sugar cane, paddy, wheat, pyrethrum.

Industry/manufacturing: (2004) 8.8% of GDP. Types—textiles, agro-processing, light manufacturing, construction, steel, aluminium, paints, cement, cooking oil, beer, mineral water and soft drinks.

Trade: (2004) Exports—$1.33 billion (merchandise exports, 2004) coffee, cotton, tea, sisal, cashew nuts, tobacco, cut flowers, seaweed, cloves, fish and fish products, minerals (diamonds, gold, and gemstones), manufactured goods, horticultural products; services (tourism services, communication, construction, insurance, financial, computer, information, government, royalties, personal and other businesses). Major markets—U.K., Germany, India, Japan, Italy, China and the Far East. Primary imports—petroleum, consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment, used clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals. Major suppliers—U.K., Germany, Japan, India, Italy, U.S., United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Kenya.

PEOPLE

Population distribution in Tanzania is extremely uneven. Density varies from 1 person per square kilometer (3 per sq. mi.) in arid regions to 51 per square kilometer (133 per sq. mi.) in the mainland’s well-watered highlands to 134 per square kilometer (347 per sq. mi.) on Zanzibar. More than 80% of the population is rural. Dar es Salaam is the capital and largest city; Dodoma, located in the center of Tanzania, has been designated the new capital and the Parliament sits there, although action to move the capital has stalled.

The African population consists of more than 120 ethnic groups, of which the Sukuma, Haya, Nyakyusa, Nyamwezi, and Chaga have more than 1 million members. The majority of Tanzanians, including such large tribes as the Sukuma and the Nyamwezi, are of Bantu stock. Groups of Nilotic or related origin include the nomadic Masai and the Luo, both of which are found in greater numbers in neighboring Kenya. Two small groups speak languages of the Khoisan family peculiar to the Bushman and Hottentot peoples. Cushitic-speaking peoples, originally from the Ethiopian highlands, reside in a few areas of Tanzania.

Although much of Zanzibar’s African population came from the mainland, one group known as Shirazis traces its origins to the island’s early Persian settlers. Non-Africans residing on the mainland and Zanzibar account for 1% of the total population. The Asian community, including Hindus, Sikhs, Shi’a and Sunni Muslims, and Goans, has declined by 50% in the past decade to 50,000 on the mainland and 4,000 on Zanzibar. An estimated 70,000 Arabs and 10,000 Europeans reside in Tanzania. Each ethnic group has its own language, but the national language is Kiswahili, a Bantu-based tongue with strong Arabic borrowings.

HISTORY

Tanganyika/Tanzania

Northern Tanganyika’s famed Olduvai Gorge has provided rich evidence of the area’s prehistory, including fossil remains of some of humanity’s earliest ancestors. Discoveries suggest that East Africa may have been the site of human origin.

Little is known of the history of Tanganyika’s interior during the early centuries of the Christian era. The area is believed to have been inhabited originally by ethnic groups using a click-tongue language similar to that of Southern Africa’s Bushmen and Hottentots. Although remnants of these early tribes still exist, most were gradually displaced by Bantu farmers migrating from the west and south and by Nilotes and related northern peoples. Some of these groups had well-organized societies and controlled extensive areas by the time the Arab slavers, European explorers, and missionaries penetrated the interior in the first half of the 19th century.

The coastal area first felt the impact of foreign influence as early as the 8th century, when Arab traders arrived. By the 12th century, traders and immigrants came from as far away as Persia (now Iran) and India. They built a series of highly developed city and trading states along the coast, the principal one being Kibaha, a settlement of Persian origin that held ascendancy until the Portuguese destroyed it in the early 1500s.

The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama explored the East African coast in 1498 on his voyage to India. By 1506, the Portuguese claimed control over the entire coast. This control was nominal, however, because the Portuguese did not colonize the area or explore the interior. Assisted by Omani Arabs, the indigenous coastal dwellers succeeded in driving the Portuguese from the area north of the Ruvuma River by the early 18th century. Claiming the coastal strip, Omani Sultan Seyyid Said (l804-56) moved his capital to Zanzibar in 1841.

European exploration of the interior began in the mid-19th century. Two German missionaries reached Mt. Kilimanjaro in the 1840s. British explorers Richard Burton and John Speke crossed the interior to Lake Tanganyika in 1857. David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary-explorer who crusaded against the slave trade, established his last mission at Ujiji, where he was “found” by Henry Morton Stanley, an American journalist-explorer, who had been commissioned by the New York Herald to locate him.

German colonial interests were first advanced in 1884. Karl Peters, who formed the Society for German Colonization, concluded a series of treaties by which tribal chiefs in the interior accepted German “protection.” Prince Otto von Bismarck’s government backed Peters in the subsequent establishment of the German East Africa Company.

In 1886 and 1890, Anglo-German agreements were negotiated that delineated the British and German spheres of influence in the interior of East Africa and along the coastal strip previously claimed by the Omani sultan of Zanzibar. In 1891, the German Government took over direct administration of the territory from the German East Africa Company and appointed a governor with headquarters at Dar es Salaam.

Although the German colonial administration brought cash crops, railroads, and roads to Tanganyika, European rule provoked African’s resistance, culminating in the Maji Maji rebellion of 1905-07. The rebellion, which temporarily united a number of southern tribes and ended only after an estimated 120,000 Africans had died from fighting or starvation,

is considered by most Tanzanians to have been one of the first stirrings of nationalism.

German colonial domination of Tanganyika ended after World War I when control of most of the territory passed to the United Kingdom under a League of Nations mandate. After World War II, Tanganyika became a UN trust territory under British control. Subsequent years witnessed Tanganyika moving gradually toward self-government and independence. In 1954, Julius K. Nyerere, a school teacher who was then one of only two Tanganyikans educated abroad at the university level, organized a political party—the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU). TANU-supported candidates were victorious in the Legislative Council elections of September 1958 and February 1959. In December 1959, the United Kingdom agreed to the establishment of internal self-government following general elections to be held in August 1960. Nyerere was named chief minister of the subsequent government.

In May l961, Tanganyika became autonomous, and Nyerere became Prime Minister under a new constitution. Full independence was achieved on December 9, 1961. Mr. Nyerere was elected President when Tanganyika became a republic within the Commonwealth a year after independence.

Zanzibar

An early Arab/Persian trading center, Zanzibar fell under Portuguese domination in the 16th and early 17th centuries but was retaken by Omani Arabs in the early 18th century. The height of Arab rule came during the reign of Sultan Seyyid Said, who encouraged the development of clove plantations, using the island’s slave labor.

The Arabs established their own garrisons at Zanzibar, Pemba, and Kilwa and carried on a lucrative trade in slaves and ivory. By 1840, Said had transferred his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar and established a ruling Arab elite. The island’s commerce fell increasingly into the hands of traders from the Indian subcontinent, whom Said encouraged to settle on the island.

Zanzibar’s spices attracted ships from as far away as the U.S. A U.S. consulate was established on the island in 1837. The United Kingdom’s early interest in Zanzibar was motivated by both commerce and the determination to end the slave trade. In 1822, the British signed the first of a series of treaties with Sultan Said to curb this trade, but not until 1876 was the sale of slaves finally prohibited. The Anglo-German agreement of 1890 made Zanzibar and Pemba a British protectorate. British rule through a Sultan remained largely unchanged from the late 19th century until after World War II.

Zanzibar’s political development began in earnest after 1956, when provision was first made for the election of six nongovernmental members to the Legislative Council. Two parties were formed: the Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP), representing the dominant Arab and “Arabized” minority, and the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), led by Abeid Karume and representing the Shirazis and the African majority.

The first elections were held in July 1957. The ASP won three of the six elected seats, with the remainder going to independents. Following the election, the ASP split; some of its Shirazi supporters left to form the Zanzibar and Pemba People’s Party (ZPPP). The January 1961 election resulted in a deadlock between the ASP and a ZNP-ZPPP coalition.

On April 26, 1964, Tanganyika united with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, this was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania on October 29, 1964.

United Republic of Tanzania

Zanzibar received its independence from the United Kingdom on December 19, 1963, as a constitutional monarchy under the sultan. On January 12, 1964, the African majority revolted against the sultan and a new government was formed with the ASP leader, Abeid Karume, as President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council. Under the terms of its political union with Tanganyika in April 1964, the Zanzibar Government retained considerable local autonomy.

To form a sole ruling party in both parts of the union Nyerere merged TANU with the Zanzibar ruling party, the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) of Zanzibar to form the CCM (Chama cha Mapinduzi-CCM Revolutionary Party), on February 5, 1977. The CCM was to be the sole instrument for mobilizing and controlling the population in all significant political or economic activities. He envisioned the party as a “two-way street” for the flow of ideas and policy directives between the village level and the government. On April 26, 1977, the union of the two parties was ratified in a new constitution. The merger was reinforced by principles enunciated in the 1982 union constitution and reaffirmed in the constitution of 1984.

President Nyerere stepped down from office and was succeeded as President by Ali Hassan Mwinyi in 1985. Nyerere retained his position as Chairman of the ruling party for 5 more years and was influential in Tanzanian politics until his death in October 1999. The current President, Jakaya Kikwete, was elected in December 2005. Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume, the son of Zanzibar’s first president, was elected in 2000, in general elections that were marked by widespread irregularities throughout the Isles. His predecessor, Salmin Amour, was first elected in single-party elections in 1990, then re-elected in 1995 in Zanzibar’s first multi-party elections. These elections also were tainted by widespread irregularities on Zanzibar.

GOVERNMENT

Tanzania’s president and National Assembly members are elected concurrently by direct popular vote for 5-year terms. The president appoints a prime minister who serves as the government’s leader in the National Assembly. The president selects his cabinet from among National Assembly members. The Constitution also empowers him to nominate 10 non-elected members of Parliament, who also are eligible to become cabinet members. Elections for president and all National Assembly seats were held in December 2005.

The unicameral National Assembly has up to 325 members: the Attorney General, the Speaker, five members elected from the Zanzibar House of Representatives to participate in the Parliament, 75 special women’s seats apportioned among the political parties based on their election results, 233 constituents seats from the mainland, and up to 10 members nominated by the president. At present, the president has nominated six members and the Speaker was elected to a constituents seat, so there are 320 Members of Parliament. The ruling party, CCM, holds about 82% of the seats in the Assembly. Laws passed by the National Assembly are valid for Zanzibar only in specifically designated union matters. Zanzibar’s House of Representatives has jurisdiction over all nonunion matters. There are currently 81 members in the House of Representatives in Zanzibar: 50 elected by the people, 10 appointed by the president of Zanzibar, 5 ex officio members, an attorney general appointed by the president, and 15 special seats allocated to women. Ostensibly, Zanzibar’s House of Representatives can make laws for Zanzibar without the approval of the union government as long as it does not involve union-designated matters. The terms of office for Zanzibar’s president and House of Representatives also are 5 years. The semiautonomous relationship between Zanzibar and the union is a relatively unique system of government. Tanzania has a five-level judiciary combining the jurisdictions of tribal, Islamic, and British common law. Appeal is from the primary courts through the district courts, resident magistrate courts, to the high courts, and Court of Appeals. Judges are appointed by the Chief Justice, except those for the Court of Appeals and the High Court who are appointed by the president. The Zanzibari court system parallels the legal system of the union, and all cases tried in Zanzibari courts, except for those involving constitutional issues and Islamic law, can be appealed to the Court of Appeals of the union. A commercial court was established in September 1999 as a division of the High Court.

For administrative purposes, Tanzania is divided into 26 regions—21 on the mainland, 3 on Zanzibar, and 2 on Pemba. Ninety-nine district councils have been created to further increase local authority. These districts are also now referred to as local government authorities. Currently there are 114 councils operating in 99 districts, 22 are urban and 92 are rural. The 22 urban units are classified further as city (Dar es Salaam and Mwanza), municipal (Arusha, Dodoma, Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, Morogoro, Shinyanga, Tabora, and Tanga), and town councils (the remaining 11 communities).

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 9/21/2006

President: Jakaya Mrisho KIKWETE

Vice President: Mohamed Ali SHENI, Dr.

Prime Minister: Edward LOWASSA

Pres. of Zanzibar: Amani Abeid KARUME

Min. of Agriculture & Cooperatives: Joseph MUNGAI

Min. of Community Development, Gender, & Children: Sophia SIMBA

Min. of Defense & National Services: Juma KAPUYA

Min. of East African Affairs: Andrew CHENGE

Min. of Education & Vocational Training: Margareth SITTA

Min. of Energy & Mineral Resources: Ibrahim MSABAHA

Min. of Finance: Zakia MEGHJI

Min. of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation: Asha-Rose MIGIRO

Min. of Health & Social Welfare: David MWAKYUSA

Min. of Home Affairs: John CHILIGATI

Min. of Industries, Trade, & Marketing: Nazir KARAMAGI

Min. of Information, Sports, & Culture: Mohamed Seif KHATIBU

Min. of Infrastructure Development: Basil MRAMBA

Min. of Justice & Constitutional Affairs: Mary NAGU

Min. of Labor, Employment, & Youth Development: Jumanne MAGHEMBE

Min. of Lands & Human Settlement: John MAGUFULI

Min. of Livestock Development: Shukuru KAWAMBWA

Min. of Planning, Economy, & Empowerment: Juma NGASONGWA

Min. of Public Safety & Security: Bakari MWAPACHU

Min. of Science, Technology, & Higher Education: Peter MSOLLA

Min. of Tourism & Natural Resources: Anthony DIALLO

Min. of Water: Stephen WASSIRA

Min. of State for Good Governance, President’s Office: Philip MARMO

Min. of State for Political & Public Affairs, President’s Office: Mohammed Seif KHATIB

Min. of State for Public Service Management, President’s Office: Hawa GHASIA

Min. of State for Environment, Vice President’s Office: Mark MWANDOSYA

Min. of State for Union Affairs, Vice President’s Office: Hussein MWINYI

Min. of State for Regional Administration & Local Gov’t, Prime Minister’s Office: Mizengo PINDA

Min. of State for Parliamentary Affairs: Juma AKUKWETI

Attorney General: Johnson MWANYIKA

Governor, Central Bank: Daudi BALLALI

Ambassador to the US: Andrew Mhando DARAJA

Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Augustine Philip MAHIGA

Tanzania maintains an embassy in the United States at 2139 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008; tel. 202-939-6125.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

From independence in 1961 until the mid-1980s, Tanzania was a one-party state, with a socialist model of economic development. Beginning in the mid-1980s, under the administration of President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzania undertook a number of political and economic reforms. In January and February 1992, the government decided to adopt multiparty democracy. Legal and constitutional changes led to the registration of 11 political parties. Two parliamentary by-elections (won by CCM) in early 1994 were the first-ever multiparty elections in Tanzanian history.

In October 2000, Tanzania held its second multi-party general elections. The ruling CCM party’s candidate, Benjamin W. Mkapa, defeated his three main rivals, winning the presidential election with 71% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections, CCM won 202 of the 232 elected seats. In the Zanzibar presidential election, Abeid Amani Karume, the son of former President Abeid Karume, defeated CUF candidate Seif Sharif Hamad. The election was marred by irregularities, especially on Zanzibar, and subsequent political violence claimed at least 23 lives in January 2001, mostly on Pemba island. Also, 16 CUF members were expelled from the Union Parliament after boycotting the legislature to protest the Zanzibar election results.

In October 2001, the CCM and the CUF parties signed a reconciliation agreement which called for electoral reforms on Zanzibar and set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the deaths that occurred in January 2001 on Pemba. The agreement also led to President appointment of an additional CUF official to become a member of the Union Parliament. Changes to the Zanzibar Constitution in April 2002 allowed both the CCM and CUF parties to nominate members to the Zanzibar Electoral Commission. In May 2003, the Zanzibar Electoral Commission conducted by-elections to fill vacant seats in the parliament, including those seats vacated by the CUF boycott. Observers considered these by-elections, the first major test of the reconciliation agreement, to be free, fair, and peaceful. In October 2005, presidential and parliamentary elections were scheduled to take place. However, the death of an opposition vice presidential candidate forced a postponement until December. Zanzibari presidential elections went forward as scheduled. Although there were many administrative improvements over the 2000 elections in Zanzibar, the poll was marred by violence and intimidation. Abeid Amani Karume edged out Seif Sharif Hamad 53% to 46% in an election widely deemed to have had serious irregularities by international observers. In contrast, the December 2005 mainland poll proceeded with few if any problems, and the popular Kikwete won by receiving over 80% of the vote. The ruling CCM party also picked up additional parliamentary seats, leaving the opposition parties fractured and marginalized.

President Kikwete, Vice President Ali Mohamed Shein, Prime Minister Edward Lowassa, and National Assembly members will serve until the next general elections, which have been set for 2010. Similarly, Zanzibar President Karume and members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives also will complete their terms of office in 2010.

ECONOMY

Significant measures have been taken to liberalize the Tanzanian economy along market lines and encourage both foreign and domestic private investment. Beginning in 1986, the Government of Tanzania embarked on an adjustment program to dismantle state economic controls and encourage more active participation of the private sector in the economy. The program included a comprehensive package of policies which reduced the budget deficit and improved monetary control, substantially depreciated the overvalued exchange rate, liberalized the trade regime, removed most price controls, eased restrictions on the marketing of food crops, freed interest rates, and initiated a restructuring of the financial sector.

In July 2003, Tanzania’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement with the International Monetary Fund was extended for an additional three years; it will expire in July 2006. In June 2003, the Tanzanian Government successfully completed a previous three-year PRGF, the successor program to the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF). From 1996-1999, Tanzania had an ESAF agreement. Tanzania also embarked on a major restructuring of state-owned enterprises. The program has so far divested 335 out of some 425 parastatal entities. Overall, real economic growth has averaged about 4% a year, much better than the previous 20 years, but not enough to improve the lives of average Tanzanians. Also, the economy remains overwhelmingly donor-dependent. Moreover, Tanzania has an external debt of $7.5 billion. The servicing of this debt absorbs about 40% of total government expenditures. Tanzania has qualified for debt relief under the enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Debts worth over $6 billion were canceled following implementation of the Paris Club VII Agreement.

Agriculture dominates the economy, providing more than 46% of GDP and 80% of employment. Cash crops, including coffee, tea, cotton, cashews, sisal, cloves, and pyrethrum, account for the vast majority of export earnings. The volume of all major crops—both cash and goods, which have been marketed through official channels—have increased over the past few years, but large amounts of produce never reach the market. Poor pricing and unreliable cash flow to farmers continue to frustrate the agricultural sector.

Accounting for less than 10% of GDP, Tanzania’s industrial sector is one of the smallest in Africa. It was hit hard during the 2002-2003 drought years by persistent power shortages caused by low rainfall in the hydroelectric dam catchment area, a condition compounded by years of neglect and bad management at the state-controlled electric company. Management of the electric company was contracted to the private sector in 2003.

The main industrial activities include producing raw materials, import substitutes, and processed agricultural products. Foreign exchange shortages and mismanagement continue to deprive factories of much-needed spare parts and have reduced factory capacity to less than 30%.

Despite Tanzania’s past record of political stability, an unattractive investment climate has discouraged foreign investment. Government steps to improve that climate include redrawing tax codes, floating the exchange rate, licensing foreign banks, and creating an investment promotion center to cut red tape. In terms of mineral resources and the largely untapped tourism sector, Tanzania could become a viable and attractive market for U.S. goods and services.

Zanzibar’s economy is based primarily on the production of cloves (90% grown on the island of Pemba), the principal foreign exchange earner. Exports have suffered with the downturn in the clove market. Tourism is an increasingly promising sector, and a number of new hotels and resorts have been built in recent years.

The Government of Zanzibar has been more aggressive than its mainland counterpart in instituting economic reforms and has legalized foreign exchange bureaus on the islands. This has loosened up the economy and dramatically increased the availability of consumer commodities. Furthermore, with external funding, the government plans to make the port of Zanzibar a free port. Rehabilitation of current port facilities and plans to extend these facilities will be the precursor to the free port. The island’s manufacturing sector is limited mainly to import substitution industries, such as cigarettes, shoes, and process agricultural products. In 1992, the government designated two export-producing zones and encouraged the development of offshore financial services. Zanzibar still imports much of its staple requirements, petroleum products, and manufactured articles.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Tanzania’s first president, Julius Nyerere also was one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement, and, during the Cold War era, Tanzania played an important role in regional and international organizations, such as the Non-Aligned Movement, the front-line states, the G-77, and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). One of Africa’s best-known elder statesmen, Nyerere was personally active in many of these organizations, and served chairman of the OAU (1984-85) and chairman of six front-line states concerned with eliminating apartheid in Southern Africa. Nyerere’s death, in October 1999, is still commemorated annually. Tanzania enjoys good relations with its neighbors in the region and in recent years has been an active participant in efforts to promote the peaceful resolution of disputes. Tanzania helped to broker peace talks to end the conflict in Burundi; a comprehensive cease-fire was signed in Dar es Salaam on September 7, 2006. Tanzania also supports the Lusaka agreement concerning the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In March 1996, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya revived discussion of economic and regional cooperation. These talks culminated with the signing of an East African Cooperation Treaty in September 1999; a treaty establishing a Customs Union was signed in March 2004. The Customs Union went into effect January 1, 2005 and, in time, should lead to complete economic integration. Tanzania is the only country in East Africa which also is a member of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). In January 2005, Tanzania became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

U.S.-TANZANIAN RELATIONS

The U.S. has historically enjoyed very good relations with Tanzania. When terrorists bombed the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam on August 7, 1998, that relationship became even closer. This act horrified Tanzanians and Americans alike and also drew condemnation from around the world. In the aftermath of the bombing, U.S.-Tanzanian cooperation broadened to include areas such as anti-terrorism and law enforcement. President Benjamin Mkapa visited the U.S. in September 1999 with a delegation of business executives, reflecting the increased level of cooperation on trade and investment issues and Tanzania’s commitment to economic liberalization. But with the election of President Kikwete, the relationship has blossomed into far warmer relations than at any time since Tanzania achieved independence. Kikwete visited the U.S. in May 2006, meeting with Secretary Rice, Vice President Cheney, and briefly, President Bush. Kikwete wants to broaden Tanzanian ties to the U.S. across all spheres, including political, economic, and military, and has been actively engaged in pursuing internal structural reforms to allow that to happen.

The U.S. Government provides assistance to Tanzania to support programs in the areas of health, environment, democracy, and development of the private sector. The U.S. Agency for International Development’s program in Tanzania averages about $20 million per year. The Peace Corps program, revitalized in 1979, provides assistance in education through the provision of teachers.

Peace Corps also is assisting in health and environment sectors. Currently, about 147 volunteers are serving in Tanzania. First Lady Laura Bush visited Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar in mid-July 2005.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

DAR ES SALAAM (E) Address: 686 Old Bagamoyo Road; Phone: (255) 22 2668001; Fax: (255) 22 2668373; Workweek: 7:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m, Monday to Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Friday; Website: usembassy. state.gov.

Last Updated: 2/1/2007

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet : January 12, 2007

Country Description: Tanzania is a developing East African nation noted for both its history of stability and its astounding natural beauty. A robust tourist industry provides all levels of tourist amenities, although higher-end facilities are concentrated mainly in the cities and selected game parks. The United Republic of Tanzania was formed in 1964 with the union of the mainland country of Tanganyika and the Zanzibar archipelago, which comprises the islands of Unguja and Pemba. Unguja is the much larger and more populous of the two islands and it is commonly referred to as Zanzibar, as is its main city. Zanzibar enjoys an autonomous status in many areas of governance and has a separate legal system from the mainland. The legislative capital of Tanzania is Dodoma. The U.S. Embassy is in Tanzania’s largest city, Dar es Salaam, the location of most government offices, and the commercial center of the country.

Entry/Exit Requirements: A passport and visa are required for travel to Tanzania. U.S. citizens with valid passports may obtain a visa either before arriving in Tanzania or at any port of entry staffed by immigration officials. U.S. passports should be valid for a minimum of six months beyond the date the visa is obtained, whether it is acquired beforehand or at the port of entry. Also, foreigners are required to show their passports when entering or exiting Zanzibar. Visitors are required to have a valid yellow fever inoculation stamp on their international health cards.

Travelers are reminded to safeguard their U.S. passports while in Tanzania. Passport loss can lead to delays in departing the country and can cause disruption of travel. Tanzanian authorities require that travelers who are not in possession of the visa and entry stamps obtained upon admission to Tanzania visit the immigration office prior to departure to regularize their status. Persons attempting to depart the country without proper documentation may be subject to fines or delays in departure.

Visit the Embassy of Tanzania’s website at http://www.tanzaniaembassyus.org for the most current visa information.

Safety and Security: Terrorist incidents in the recent past highlight the continuing threat posed by terrorism in East Africa and the capacity of terrorist groups to carry out such attacks. On August 7, 1998, terrorists bombed the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, Kenya. On November 28, 2002, terrorists bombed a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, approximately 50 miles north of the Kenya-Tanzania border, and unsuccessfully attempted to shoot down an Israeli charter plane departing Mombassa Airport. U.S. citizens should be aware of the risk of indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets including usual gathering places of tourists and Westerners. At all times, travelers should maintain a high level of security vigilance. They should avoid political rallies and related public gatherings. In the past, peaceful demonstrations have turned violent with little or no warning as riot police clashed with demonstrators.

The population in Zanzibar is majority Muslim and holds traditional values. Some Zanzibar newspapers have warned that women who dress immodestly may be subject to harassment. American citizens are advised to dress modestly and to refrain from intemperate public behavior.

The area near Tanzania’s borders with Rwanda and Burundi has been the site of minor military clashes, and refugee flows across the borders into Tanzania continue. There have been a number of incidents of criminal and violent activity in the region. Travelers to this area should exercise caution. U.S. officials, in keeping with UN security procedures, request police escorts on parts of the Rusomo to Kahama road near the Rwandan border because of an increase in armed bandit attacks.

Inter-city transportation routes between major destinations such as Arusha and Dar es Salaam are serviced by a variety of carriers that offer differing levels of safety and comfort. U.S. citizens who travel by bus are urged to select carriers who use modern equipment and to avoid utilizing vehicles that are in obvious disrepair. Americans on long-haul bus routes in Tanzania have been victims of “druggings” in which drug-laced food and drink are used to sedate unsuspecting passengers so their belongings can be stolen easily. Travelers are cautioned not to accept food or beverages from fellow passengers. In-town transportation is best accomplished using taxis or hired drivers from a reputable source. Travelers should be wary of using the ubiquitous microbuses (dala-dalas), which are frequently overcrowded, poorly maintained, a common site of petty theft, and whose operation is generally unsafe.

A continuing concern is Tourè Drive on Msasani Peninsula in Dar es Salaam. It is the beach front road leading from the Sea Cliff Hotel into town and provides an inviting view of the ocean. However, there are regular reports of daytime muggings, pick-pocketing, and theft from cars. This road continues to be an area of concern for any time of day, on foot, or in vehicles. U.S. government personnel are expressly advised to avoid walking or running along Tourè Drive.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Internet website where the current Travel Warnings and Public Announcements, including the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, can be found. Up-to-date information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada, or for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

Crime: Crime is a serious problem in Tanzania, and visitors should be alert and cautious. Street crime in Dar es Salaam is common and includes mugging, vehicle theft, “smash and grab” attacks on vehicles, armed robbery, and burglary. Thieves and pickpockets on buses and trains steal from inattentive passengers.

Crime involving firearms is becoming more common. A series of robberies involving increasing levels of violence has occurred along the coast and on Zanzibar. Robbers have held up tour buses and dive boats at gunpoint. In July 2004, a group of volunteer conservation workers was attacked on Pemba Island. Two of the group suffered gunshot wounds. Pedestrians on beaches and footpaths, both in isolated areas and in popular tourist venues, are often targeted for robbery or assault. This is especially true on Zanzibar and in Dar es Salaam and its environs. Visitors should limit the amount of cash they carry and leave valuables, such as passports, jewelry and airline tickets, in a hotel safe or other secure place. Cameras are highly coveted by thieves, and should be guarded carefully. Because of the potential for fraud, credit cards should only be used in reputable tourist hotels. Sexual assaults involving tourists are also an increasing concern. Travelers are warned to avoid walking alone after dark.

Carjacking has occurred in both rural and urban areas. Visitors are advised to drive with doors locked and windows rolled up. Travelers are urged not to stop between populated areas and to travel in convoys if possible.

Information for Victims of Crime: The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, contact family members or friends and explain how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed.

Medical Facilities and Health Information: Medical facilities are limited and medicines are sometimes unavailable, even in Dar es Salaam. There are hospitals on Zanzibar that can treat minor ailments. For any major medical problems, including dental work, travelers should consider obtaining medical treatment in Nairobi or South Africa where more advanced medical care is available.

Cholera is prevalent in many areas of Tanzania, and several strains of malaria are endemic. Malaria suppressants are advised, and travelers are strongly advised to carry malaria suppressants with them. Visitors should consult their physicians before traveling to learn about prophylaxis and the possible side effects of various available medications.

In addition, other personal protective measures, such as the use of insect repellents, help to reduce malaria risk. Travelers who become ill with a fever or flulike illness while traveling in a malaria-risk area and up to one year after returning home should seek prompt medical attention and tell the physician their travel history and what anti-malarial medications they have been taking. For additional information on malaria, protection from insect bites, and anti-malarial drugs, please visit the CDC travel health website at http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/.

Tap water in Tanzania is unsafe to drink. Travelers are strongly urged to use bottled water for drinking and food preparation.

The HIV infection rate in the population is around seven percent. The infection is even more prevalent among prostitutes and their clients. Travelers should be aware of the related health and legal risks.

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747) or via the CDC’s internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization’s (WHO) website at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Tanzaniais provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

Road and traffic conditions in Tanzania differ markedly from those found in the United States and present hazards that require drivers to exercise continual alertness and caution.

Traffic in Tanzania moves on the left. Drivers and pedestrians alike must maintain vigilance, looking both ways before turning or crossing a road.

Drivers are advised against nighttime travel. Roadways are often not marked and many lack both streetlights and shoulders. Pedestrians, cyclists, and animals are often encountered on unlit roads after dark, as are slow-moving trucks and cars traveling without lights. Carjacking and other related crimes are more common during the nighttime hours. Traveling in rural areas after dark is strongly discouraged.

Although a number of inter-city highways are periodically repaved and maintained, maintenance schedules are erratic and even good roads may deteriorate precipitously in periods of inclement weather. During the rainy season (late March to mid-June), many roads in Tanzania, both urban and rural, are passable only with four-wheel-drive vehicles.

In urban areas, it is common to find main arterial roads paved and maintained, while secondary streets are severely rutted and passable only with high-clearance vehicles. Traffic lights are often out of order, and care should be exercised at any traffic intersection, whether controlled or not, as many drivers disregard signals. Excessive speed, unpredictable driving habits, and the lack of basic safety equipment on many vehicles pose serious traffic hazards.

Tanzanian law requires all motor vehicle operators to be in possession of a valid driver’s license. Persons staying in Tanzania for six months or less may use a valid U.S. driver’s license after validation by local traffic authorities, or an international driver’s license. Persons intending to remain in Tanzania for more than six months are required to obtain a Tanzanian driver’s license. All vehicles are required to carry third-party liability insurance.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service between the United States and Tanzania, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed Tanzania’s Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards. For more information, travelers may visit the FAA’s internet website at http://www.faa.gov.

Special Circumstances: Every year, thousands of Americans have a truly awe-inspiring experience in Tanzania enjoying its natural wonders. However, these activities do have inherent risks. A handful of tourists are mauled or killed by wild animals. Climbers are injured or killed in rockslides or succumb to altitude sickness or hypothermia. Safaris and mountain expeditions in general require sustained physical exertion and can aggravate existing chronic health problems. In the past year, eight Americans have died while on safari in accidents or from natural causes related to the exertion of the trip or environmental factors. Most tour operators offer structured, safe excursions into parks, the mountains, and other wildlife areas. Travelers must also play a responsible role in maintaining their safety. Travelers are reminded to maintain a safe distance from animals and to remain in vehicles or other protected enclosures when venturing into game parks. Persons with chronic health problems should weigh the risks before joining an extended trip in the African wilderness. Climbers should familiarize themselves with the signs of altitude sickness and heed the advice of the professionals organizing the ascents.

U.S. citizens should carry a copy of their U.S. passport with them at all times, so that, if questioned by local officials, they have readily available proof of identity and U.S. citizenship. Travelers and U.S. citizens resident in Tanzania are strongly urged to maintain legal immigration status while in Tanzania to avoid difficulties with local immigration authorities. U.S. citizens who are arrested or detained have the right to have the U.S. Embassy notified of their situation and should request that notification be made, if it is not done.

Credit cards may be used at some major hotels, but are not widely accepted in Tanzania. In the larger urban areas, ATM machines are usually available at major banks. Travelers are advised to check with their home banking institution regarding international ATM use. Travelers should bring sufficient cash or traveler’s checks for their trip if they will be spending time outside of the large cities.

Photography of military installations is forbidden. Individuals have been detained and/or had their cameras and film confiscated for taking pictures of hospitals, schools, bridges, industrial sites, and airports. Installations that are prohibited from being photographed are not always marked.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country’s laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating Tanzanian laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Tanzania are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime, prosecutable in the United States.

Children’s Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, see the Office of Children’s Issues website at http://travel.state.gov/family/family_1732.html.

Registration/Embassy Location: Americans living or traveling in Tanzania are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration website so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security within Tanzania. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy is located 686 Old Bagamoyo Road, Msasani, Dar es Salaam. The telephone number is [255](22)266 8001. The direct extension for the Consular Section is x4122. After hours, the Embassy Duty Officer can be reached through the main embassy number. The Consular Section fax number is [255](22) 266 8274. The email address for American Citizen Services is [email protected]. The Embassy website is http://tanzania.usembassy.gov.

International Adoption : October 2006

The information below has been edited from a report of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Overseas Citizens Services. For more information, please read the International Adoption section of this book and review current reports online at www.travel.state.gov/family.

Disclaimer: The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and current understanding. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

Patterns of Immigration: Please review current reports online at www.travel.state.gov/family.

Adoption Authority:
Department of Social Welfare
Regional C.C.M Building
Lumumba Street
P.O. Box 1949
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Telephone: (+255) 22-218-4281

Eligibility Requirements for Adoptive Parent(s): Under Tanzanian law, an unmarried person must be at least 25 years of age and be at least 21 years older than the child. A single male cannot adopt a female child except by court order which is granted only under exceptional circumstances.

Under U.S. immigration law, at least one of the adopting parents must be a U.S. citizen in order to petition for the immigration of an adopted child. A legal permanent resident couple or a single legal permanent resident cannot petition for the immigration of an adopted child to the U.S.

Residency Requirements: In order to adopt a child in Tanzania, the American citizen or citizens must be residents of Tanzania. The Tanzanian Department of Social Welfare considers a person to be resident if that person holds a Resident Permit (Class A, B or C) a Dependent’s Pass or an Exemption Permit and lives in Tanzania. This requirement is never waived.

Time Frame: Adoptions may take up to 18 months in Tanzania.

Adoption Agencies and Attorneys: Upon inquiry, the Department of Social Welfare will provide a list of participating adoption agencies and attorneys to adopting parents.

Department of Social Welfare
Regional C.C.M Building, Lumumba Street
P.O. Box 1949
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Telephone: (+255) 22-218-4281

Adoption Fees: The Government of Tanzania does not charge a fee for adoption but legal fees can be between $800 and $1,500.

Adoption Procedures: Before prospective adoptive parents can apply to adopt a child, they must first apply to the Department of Social Welfare to foster the child for a period of no less than three months. After the foster care period has been successfully completed, an adoption petition can be lodged. After the foster care period, the prospective adoptive parents will meet with the District Social Welfare Officer to discuss whether they wish to adopt the child and whether the District Social Welfare Officer intends to approve an application by the prospective parents to adopt. Provided that the District Social Welfare Officer approves the adoption, the District Social Welfare Officer will submit a report and recommendation to the Commissioner of Social Welfare.

If they have not already done so, prospective adoptive parents retain Tanzanian attorney experienced in adoption procedures. The Law Society of Tanganyika should be able to recommend an attorney or a firm of attorneys to the prospective adoptive parents. Also, the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam maintains a list of attorneys that adoptive parents may consult.

The prospective adoptive parent’s attorney will assist them in filing a petition to legally adopt their foster child and obtain a court order from the High Court. Close contact should be maintained with the Social Welfare Department during this period, as that agency will submit a report to the Court in its capacity as the court-appointed Guardian ad Litem of the child.

In addition to the High Court Adoption Order, the prospective adoptive parent’s attorney should also assist you in obtaining an Adoption Certificate for the adopted child. All children will need a valid passport issued by their country of origin. Please see the International Adoption section of this book for more details and review current reports online at www.travel.state.gov/family.

Documentary Requirements: No specific documents are required, although it may be prudent to carry documents relating to identity, marital status, family status and financial means. Passports must include valid residency permits.

Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania:
2139 R Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202) 939-6125
Fax: (292) 797-7408

U.S. Immigration Requirements: Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult the Department of Homeland Security’s, United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. Please see the International Adoption section of this book for more details and review current reports online at www.travel.state.gov/family.

Embassy of the United States of America:
686 Old Bagamoyo Road
Msasani, P.O. Box 9123
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.tanzania.usembassy.gov.

Additional Information: Specific questions about adoption in Tanzania may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. General questions regarding intercountry adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children’s Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.

Tanzania

Culture Name

Tanzanian

Orientation

Identification. It is said that the mainland portion of what is now Tanzania was named by a British civil servant in 1920, from the Swahili words tanga (sail) and nyika (bright arid plain). Thus what was known formerly as German East Africa became Tanganyika Territory. In 1964, Tanganyika was joined with Zanzibar, an offshore archipelago of islands, to form the present United Republic of Tanzania. Because of a unique combination of historic and cultural factors, Tanzanians share strong feelings of national pride and cohesion. This sense of nationalism has served to keep the country at peace for over two decades, while most of its neighbors have been involved intermittently in catastrophically destructive civil and cross-border wars. Tanzanians have been able to resolve most internal problems without resorting to violence because of a shared language, the lack of political or economic dominance by any ethnic group, and the strong leadership provided by Julius Nyerere (1922–1999), the first president of Tanzania. At the same time, however, repressive, corrupting influences emanating from the colonial, socialist, and capitalist eras have fostered among many Tanzanians an attitude of dependency and fatalistic resignation that helps keep the country one of the poorest in the world.

Location and Geography. Covering approximately 365,000 square miles (945,000 square kilometers)—an area about one and one-half times the size of Texas, Tanzania lies on the east coast of Africa, just south of the equator. It shares borders with Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and the Indian Ocean. Tanzania also shares three great lakes—Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi—with its neighbors. The country is comprised of a wide variety of agro-ecological zones: low-lying coastal plains, a dry highland plateau, northern savannas, and cool, well-watered regions in the northwest and south. The 120 ethnic groups that inhabit Tanzania have adapted to a wide range of geophysical and climatic conditions. The specific habits, customs, and life-views of each group have been influenced by tribal traditions and alliances, European invasions, population movements over the centuries, and introduced and endemic diseases. In the late 1990s, the central political administration was moved from Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast to the more centrally located city of Dodoma, which lies in the middle of the central plateau. Because of Dodoma's dry climate, relative lack of economic development, and small size, however, the port of Dar es Salaam remains the urban center of national importance.

Demography. The current population in Tanzania is approximately 30 million, comprised of indigenous peoples and Pakistani, Indian, Arab, and European subpopulations. There are heavy population concentrations in the urban centers (including Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Tabora, and Mbeya), in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, and along the coast of Lake Malawi.

Linguistic Affiliation. While each ethnic group speaks its own local language, almost all Tanzanians are also fluent in the national language, Swahili (Kiswahili in Swahili), a coastal Bantu language strongly influenced by Arabic. The second official language is English, a vestige of the British colonial period. Most Tanzanians with postsecondary educations speak both official languages fluently in addition to their tribal language. Nyerere encouraged the adoption of Swahili for all Tanzanians in a concerted and successful effort to enable people from different parts of the country to communicate with one another and to encourage them to identify themselves as one people. The use of a single common language has greatly facilitated trade, political debate, nationalism, information dissemination, and conflict resolution.

Symbolism. Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, and the magnificent wild animals (including lions, elephants, rhinoceros, giraffes, leopards, and cheetahs, to name only a few) draw millions of tourists to the country every year. The landscape and animals are valued national treasures, symbolized on coins and as brand names for manufactured products. Severe depredations by poachers from both inside and outside the country, however, continue to threaten the survival of many species. The torch of freedom (uhuru ) and the figure of a soldier (representing the sacrifice of veterans and the war dead) are also common symbols throughout the country. Elegant ebony carvings of both representational and modern design, a specialty of the Makonde people of southeast Tanzania, are prized by collectors around the world.

History and Ethnic Relations

Tanzania was cradle to some of the earliest hominids on earth, made famous by the discoveries of Louis and Mary Leakey at Olduvai Gorge. Bantu-speaking peoples migrated to eastern Africa at the same time that trade between Arabic-speaking peoples and coastal populations was initiated in the first century b.c.e. By the twelfth century, Arab trading posts were well established along the coast and on some islands.

Although Vasco da Gama landed on the East African coast in 1498, it was not until 1506 that the Portuguese fully controlled trade on the Indian Ocean. The Arabs had been trading along the coastline for centuries when Sa'id ibn Suttan moved his capital from Oman to Zanzibar in 1840 to take advantage of the slave markets. During the early nineteenth century, Arab slave and ivory traders began to penetrate deeper into the interior of what was to become Tanzania.

In 1890, Zanzibar became a British protectorate while the mainland became part of German East Africa. The period of German rule was extremely heavy-handed; when the Africans fought back during the Maji-Maji rebellion of 1905, tens of thousands were killed. After the defeat of Germany in World War I (1914–1918), German East Africa was made a League of Nations Mandated Territory, called Tanganyika, controlled by the British. Following World War II, Tanganyika became a United Nations trusteeship of Great Britain. Adhering to a policy of "indirect rule," the British government used indigenous political systems to implement their control, thereby resulting in much less open hostility than occurred during the time of German rule.

Emergence of the Nation. The birth of nationhood may be attributed to the earlier independence of other African nations along with a growing sense of unity and a need to become independent from the British colonial government. Independence was achieved without bloodshed. Julius Nyerere was elected president of the Tanganyika African Association, later renamed the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), in 1953. African officials elected to TANU in 1958 and 1959 constituted the administration for internal self-government in May 1961. On 9 December 1961, Tanganyika was proclaimed an independent nation. In 1963, Zanzibar was granted independence from Great Britain, and in 1964 an Act of Union was signed between Tanganyika and Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

National Identity. The national identity is influenced by several factors. One of the most important integrating forces is the use of the national lingua franca—Swahili, a language spoken and revered by nearly all Tanzanians. Swahili is a compulsory subject in schools, and some 83 percent of the population are literate. Equally important, of course, is Tanganyika's independence and subsequent unification with Zanzibar to form the United Republic. Perhaps the most important influence on a sense of national identity was the development of Tanzanian socialism. The creation of Nyerere, Tanzanian socialism was codified in the Arusha Declaration of 1967.

Both the symbolic and practical cornerstone of Tanzanian socialism was ujamaa, a Swahili word meaning "family" or "familyhood." The core structure of ujamaa is the traditional extended family and clan structure of most ethnic groups, which provides a framework for mutual assistance and cooperation. It was believed this structure would provide the foundation for socialist production. In practice, the forced resettlement of rural populations into ujamaa villages was met with great local opposition, and Tanzanian socialism has largely proven to be an economic failure. The concept of ujamaa and mutual assistance, however, did infiltrate the national ethos; they are represented, for example, in elaborate ebony carvings of intertwined figures, standing upon or grasping one another in expression of mutual support and social collectivity.

National resources also contribute to a sense of national identity. For example, at 19,340 feet (5,895 meters), Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point on the African continent. This beautiful, now quiet volcano is located near Arusha, the major tourist city in the nation. Wildlife safaris to the Serengeti Plain and the world's largest caldera, Ngorongoro Crater, are initiated from this city. Few Tanzanians, however, are wealthy enough to afford such luxuries, and many never see the wildlife Westerners associate so closely with Africa. Finally, Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world and source of the Nile, is an important symbolic and natural resource—although it is shared with Uganda and Kenya.

Ethnic Relations. Within the borders of Tanzania co-exist approximately 120 ethnic groups speaking languages representing all four major African language groups. These include Khoisan, or "click"speaking hunter-gatherers, Nilotic-speaking pastoralists (such as the Maasai), Cushitic speakers, and Bantu speakers; the latter predominate in terms of population size. The largest ethnic groups include the Sukuma (over three million), and the Chagga, Haya, and Nyamwezi (over one million each). Despite the tremendous cultural and linguistic diversity among Tanzanians, ethnic groups are united by the use of a common language—Swahili—and a sense of national identity. The growing number of refugees (from neighboring Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda in particular) do not appear to have caused serious ethnic tensions, but they have become a serious strain on the economy and the local environment.

Urbanism, Architecture, and the Use of Space

The architecture of urban coastal centers reflects the long, rich history of Tanzania. Ruins of Arab mosques, cemeteries, and house structures can be found at sites such as Kaole, just south of Bagamoyo. Tombs embedded with Chinese ceramics dating to the twelfth century reflect the trade between distant civilizations. Nineteenth-century stone houses on narrow streets characterize Bagamoyo, which was one of the main endpoints of the East African slave trade.

Founded in the 1860s by Sultan Seyyid Majid of Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, which most likely means "house of peace or salvation," is the main commercial center. Looking out over the Indian Ocean, the sails of dhow fishing vessels are dwarfed by transoceanic cargo ships gliding into the port. Architectural styles reflect Arab, German, and British influence and occupation. Major buildings include elaborate mosques and churches, such as the German-style Lutheran Church. One of the largest public gathering locations in all Tanzanian cities and towns is the marketplace, where meat, produce, housewares, and a variety of miscellaneous items are sold. In addition, football (soccer) stadiums are important areas where people convene in Dar es Salaam and in all large urban areas. One of the most visible monuments in the center of Dar es Salaam is the Askari, or "soldier," which was unveiled in 1927 and commemorates the loss of African troops during World War I. The most significant monument is the Uhuru, or "freedom," torch commemorating Tanganyika's independence from Great Britain in 1961.

Suburban dwellings, most of which are built along a grid pattern, include the swahili house, a rectangular structure made of either stone with a corrugated roof or earth on a wooden frame with a thatch roof. This type of house is found all along the coast.

About 90 percent of Tanzania's people live in rural settings. Each ethnic group has a unique traditional house structure, ranging from the round, beehive-shaped house of the Haya, who live on the western shore of Lake Victoria, to the long, rectangular houses made of wood and thatch of the Gogo people in central Tanzania. Each ethnic group's traditional house structure has a corresponding cultural logic that determines the use of space. For example, the Haya traditional house is surrounded by a banana plantation; an area in front of the house used for relaxation and food drying is kept free of debris by daily sweeping. The interior of the house is divided into separate use areas, some reserved for men; some for women, children, and cooking; some for animals; and one for honoring ancestors.

Traditional houses are being replaced increasingly by rectangular, "European"-style houses made from a variety of materials, including brick, wood, earth, and thatch. Unlike in traditional houses, cooking areas have been moved outside.

Food and Economy

Food in Daily Life. For most Tanzanians, including those who live in urban areas, no meal is complete without a preferred staple carbohydrate—corn, rice, cassava, sorghum, or plantains, for example. Plantains are preferred in the northwest, ugali (a thick mash of corn or sorghum) in the central and southwestern regions, and rice in the south and along the coast. The staple is accompanied by a fish, beef, goat, chicken, or mutton stew or fried pieces of meat, along with several types of vegetables or condiments, commonly including beans, leafy greens resembling spinach, manioc leaves, chunks of pumpkin, or sweet potatoes. Indian food (such as chapatis, a flat bread; samosas, vegetable or meat-filled pastries; and masala,a spiced rice dish), is widely available in all urban areas.

Breakfast preferences depend on income levels and local tradition: bread, sweet rolls or biscuits (mandazi ), coffee or tea (sometimes with spices, sugar, and/or milk), buttermilk, and chicken broth are the most common foods. Finger foods sold on the streets include fried plantains and sweet potatoes, charcoal-roasted corn on the cob (with no butter or salt), small bags of peanuts and popcorn, pieces of dried or fried fish, samosas, bread, fruit, dates, hard candy, gum, and mishikaki, or shish kebabs of beef or goat grilled over a charcoal fire. In local bars selling homemade brews or bottled spirits and pop, it is common to eat roasted meat—beef or goat; often the meat will be flavored with hot peppers, salt, and fresh lime juice.

Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. Without exception, all ceremonial occasions demand the preparation of enormous platters of food, such as pilau, a spiced rice, potato, and meat dish that caters to local tastes and culinary traditions. It is considered very shameful for guests to leave hungry from a ceremonial meal or dinner party. Except among religions that forbid it, alcohol is also an integral—and sometimes highly symbolic—part of ceremonies. Local beers and spirits derived from bananas, corn, rice, honey, or sorghum are served alone or alongside manufactured alcoholic beverages. Konyagi, a ginlike spirit, is brewed commercially in Tanzania as are a variety of beers and soft drinks. Certain beers produced in neighboring countries—Primus, from Burundi, for example—are also popular.

Basic Economy. Agriculture provides the mainstay of the Tanzanian economy, still employing close to four-fifths of the economically active population. Farmers grow food for subsistence and for sale. Minerals, precious metals, fish, timber, and meat are also important products.

Land Tenure and Property. Although Tanzania is one of the least densely populated countries in eastern Africa, control and access to productive lands has become an increasingly contentious issue. Following independence, national laws were enacted to provide the state with ownership of all lands, granting citizens use rights only through short- and long-term leases. At the local level, however, different sets of traditional tribal laws pertain. Since the demise of socialism and the penetration of the market economy, customary or tribal claims to land have clashed with the national laws. Throughout Tanzanian history, few customary laws have permitted women, who perform the bulk of agricultural labor in the country, to own land. While national laws have been modified to enable women to buy or inherit property, these changes challenge—and are often overruled at the local level—by customary laws. Many analysts believe that enhanced access to and control of land by women would result in significant increases in agricultural production.

Commercial Activities. Agricultural and manufactured products are sold both retail and wholesale. The informal economy in Tanzania is significant, petty hawkers making up the bulk of traders. Second hand clothing, household goods, cloth, and foodstuffs dominate the informal trade. Forced licensing and taxation of small-scale businesspeople has caused some friction between the government and citizens, leading on multiple occasions to demonstrations and local resistance.

Major Industries. Most of the industrial production is geared toward local commodities. Important industries include food processing and the manufacture of textiles, alcoholic beverages, and cigarettes. Other industrial activities include oil refining, and the manufacture of cement, gunnysacks, fertilizer, paper, glass, ceramics, and agricultural implements. Because of the relatively unspoiled game parks and only rare incidents of insecurity, tourism is a growing industry.

Trade. The most important commodities include cotton, fish and shrimp, coffee, cashew nuts, cloves (grown mainly on the offshore islands), tea, beans, precious stones, timber, sisal, sugar, pyrethrum, coconuts, and peanuts. Textiles, clothing, shoes, batteries, paper, and cement are examples of products commonly sold to neighboring countries. Throughout most of the country, however, production and marketing are severely constrained by very poor infrastructure, from roads and railroads to communication and power networks. During the socialist period, many products of inferior quality—from hardware to bicycles—were imported from China and other socialist countries. Today, a much wider variety of higher quality items from many countries around the world are available in shops and markets, although their high prices often prohibit all but the wealthy from purchasing them.

Division of Labor. Customary divisions of labor generally relegate the heaviest physical labors (for example, clearing of fields, cutting trees) to men and lighter tasks to women. Similarly, few women work with machines and other highly valued productive assets. Children as young as three or four learn to help their parents with household and field chores, although girls often shoulder a much greater work burden than boys, a pattern that often repeats itself as children grow into adulthood.

Professional positions are usually occupied by individuals who have had post secondary school education. Successful businesspeople may or may not have formal education, but often have relatives, friends, or patrons who helped finance the establishment of their business.

Social Stratification

Classes and Castes. Tanzanian society is divided along many lines. The traditional elite includes descendants of kings and paramount chiefs, who, after independence, lost their traditional titles. The modern elite includes many individuals in the government, successful businesspeople, and highly educated individuals. With the advent of the HIV-AIDS epidemic and the decrease in social services, the poorest families are no longer able to care for all of their children and relatives. Beggars in urban areas and street children have become more visible and are often victims of police brutality.

Symbols of Social Stratification. Economic stratification became more pronounced during the German and British colonial periods, when certain ethnic groups or individuals who were favored for particular physical traits or skills were able to profit from a special relationship with the colonial hierarchy. Ownership of one or more automobiles, expensive hairstyles and Western clothing, large, Western-style houses with modern amenities, perfect command of English and/or other nonnative languages, and frequent travel are all markers of the upper classes. At the other extreme, many of the poorest Tanzanians are severely malnourished and clothed in rags, living constantly on the edge. The market economy has encouraged individual success, proliferation of Western goods, and systemic corruption, causing the gap between the rich and the poor to widen even further.

Political Life

Government. Modeled after the government of Great Britain, the United Republic of Tanzania developed a parliamentary system of government soon after independence. The highest positions include the president, prime minister, and chief justice. A term limit for the presidency was set at five years in 1984. In addition, two vice presidents were established to balance power between the mainland and Zanzibar. If the president is from the mainland, for example, one of the vice presidents must be from Zanzibar to help minimize the excessive influence of individuals.

Leadership and Political Officials. Called Mwalimu or "respected teacher," Julius Nyerere was president of Tanzania for more than two decades (1964–1985). Widely revered throughout Africa and the world for his honesty, integrity, and wisdom, Mwalimu Nyerere was largely responsible for the enduring stability of the new nation. He is perhaps most noted for his attempts to help negotiate an end to violence in other African nations, including South Africa and Burundi. The former president and father of the nation died on October 14, 1999, at the age of 77. The impact of his loss to the nation and the continent is just beginning to be felt. Nyerere was succeeded by Ali Hassan Mwinyi, a Zanzibari native, who served two terms (1985–1995).

Tanzania implemented a one-party political system for many years after independence. In 1977, the Tanganyika African National Union was merged with representatives of the Zanzibari Afro-Shirazi Party to form the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) or the "Party of Revolution," with Nyerere as chairman. The CCM ruled unopposed until the first multiparty elections were held in 1995 when Benjamin William Mkapa was elected president.

Many Tanzanian government officials are noted for their dedication and austerity, although corrupting influences of the market economy have become more prevalent over time. In a general sense, the authority of government officials at all levels is respected by local citizens, regardless of ethnic affiliation. This respect is demonstrated by greeting officials with a shaking of right hands, often while laying the left hand under one's right arm. This is also the proper way to receive a gift. Women and girls often bend down slightly on one knee (a modified curtsy) to greet officials and elders.

Social Problems and Control. Tanzania has been less afflicted by large-scale social problems than its neighbors. Social conflicts due to religious differences have been relatively minor, although recent tensions between Muslims and Christians threaten to destabilize the unity between Zanzibar and the mainland. On 7 August 1998, terrorist bombings of the American Embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, Kenya, killed 81 people and injured hundreds more. Although the individuals responsible have not yet been identified, it has been suggested that organized Muslim fundamentalists outside of Tanzania may have planned the attack. In addition, there is long-standing tension between Asians (e.g., Indians and Pakistanis), who own most of the businesses in Tanzania, and indigenous Tanzanians.

Theft is a serious social problem, especially in larger cities and towns. If a criminal act is witnessed by the public, often a crowd will punish the thief with a beating. With the exception of the military and police, very few people have access to guns. There is some evidence that Tanzanian ports are assuming an increased role in the shipment of illegal drugs destined for American and European markets. Some use of illegal drugs among the local population has surfaced, but the full extent is unknown.

Military Activity. The Tanzanian People's Defense Force includes the army, navy, and air force; in 1998/1999, military expenditures were about $21 million. The most important military activity occurred in 1978–1979, after Uganda attempted to annex part of the Kagera Region in northwest Tanzania. Under the direction of Idi Amin Dada, Ugandan troops invaded the region, but were repelled by the Tanzanian army—at great expense to the nation. The war is vividly portrayed in local songs, and a monument commemorating the loss of Tanzanians stands in Bukoba, the Kagera Region's administrative headquarters.

Social Welfare and Change Programs

The dismal economic failure of Nyerere's socialist system in Tanzania opened up the country to the influences of international banking organizations that intervened—ostensibly to save the economy. Loans to rebuild the economy after the socialist period were conditioned upon cost-cutting structural adjustment programs that severely reduced the size of the government as well as the number and quality of social support systems. As a result, many Tanzanians have resorted to basic survival strategies, assisted in many parts of the country by foreign aid programs and church organizations.

Nongovernmental Organizations and Other Associations

With the support of several Scandinavian countries, the high level of development assistance in Tanzania began in the 1970s and 1980s, and spawned a dramatic growth of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Many of these NGOs collaborate with international organizations (the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, for instance) and U.S. and European private voluntary organizations (CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children, and Doctors without Borders, for example) to implement a wide variety of projects in health, water and sanitation, agriculture, and microenterprise. Dozens of humanitarian aid programs—which rely on the availability and expertise of local NGOs—support an estimated 800,000 refugees currently in Tanzania who have fled conflict and political instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. NGO staff positions provide a very important avenue of employment for highly educated Tanzanians who are finding it difficult to secure civil service positions in a government downsized by structural adjustment. Increasingly, NGOs are competing with one another for limited development and relief funds.

Gender Roles and Statuses

Division of Labor by Gender. In many rural areas of Tanzania, tribal customs advocate a gender division of labor: women and girls take care of the household chores, small children, and livestock, and plant and weed the agricultural fields. Men prepare land for cultivation, care for large livestock, market produce, and make the important financial and political decisions for the family. As girls and women throughout the country have gained access to more formal education, however, they are challenging the customary division of labor. Similarly, where conditions of extreme poverty obligate male heads of households to migrate in search of work, women in these communities have taken over some of the hard physical labor. In many modern households in Tanzania, wives and husbands are challenging and questioning one another's changing roles. The disruptive effects of alcohol abuse, AIDS, and materialism have also placed great strains on relationships within and among families.

The Relative Status of Women and Men. Among the lower socioeconomic strata, with few exceptions, women have a lower standard of living than do men. Generally speaking, boys are valued more than girls. Only women descended from ruling tribal families, successful businesswomen, or women politicians enjoy privileges equal to that of men. Among the formally educated there are conflicts between husbands and wives regarding the appropriate roles and responsibilities of each. When an activity undertaken by a woman becomes successful, her husband or a male relative will try to take control of the activity or the money it has generated, especially in rural areas.

Marriage, Family and Kinship

Traditional systems of social organization are still of great significance in the daily lives of Tanzanians. Kinship systems provide networks for support and become visible during all major life-cycle ceremonies.

Marriage. In general, traditional marriage customs vary by ethnic group. The practice of clan exogamy—or marriage outside of the clan or group—is typical, however, of almost all ethnic groups. Traditional customs call for marriages to be arranged by the parents of the bride and groom, although such arrangements are becoming less common, particularly in urban settings. In patrilineal ethnic groups (those in which descent is traced through males), traditional marriage customs often include the presentation of a dowry or bride price to the wife's family by the bridegroom. The dowry may include livestock, money, clothing, locally brewed beer, and other items. The amount of the dowry is determined through negotiations between the families of the engaged. Preparations for marriage may take months. For those wealthy enough to afford it, marriage may include a separate dowry ceremony and, several months later, a church wedding followed by traditional ceremonies. Although many ethnic groups and Muslims allow polygyny (having more than one wife), the practice is decreasing in popularity, in part because of the influence of Christianity and the expense of maintaining several households.

Domestic Unit. The basic family structure is extended, although the pressures of development have led increasingly to nuclear family units, particularly in urban areas. In most cases, the man is the supreme head of the household in all major decisions. A wife earns respect through her children and, indeed, is not considered to be a fully mature woman until she has given birth to a healthy child. In most ethnic groups, she is recognized by her eldest child's name and called, for example, "Mama Kyaruzi," after her eldest child of the same name. Children eat separately, often with their mothers.

The market economy has placed significant pressure on the stability of the domestic unit and the extended family. Educated, wealthy family members are often called upon to provide resources to other family members for their education and general welfare. In many areas deaths due to AIDS have placed additional strain on the extended family.

Inheritance. Tanzanian laws of inheritance vary according to ethnic group. There are also significant differences between national and customary laws of inheritance, which are settled in the court system. Generally speaking, boys and men are favored over girls and women in customary ethnic laws, in part to keep clan holdings together. (When women in patrilineal ethnic groups marry in Tanzania, they tend to live with or near their husband's family.) Nevertheless, the customary subdivision of land holdings—even just among sons—has already led to serious fragmentation of land in areas where arable land is scarce.

In some groups, widows and divorcees are not adequately provided for through customary laws and must fend for themselves or be cared for by their children. This discrimination is being challenged by lawyers, affected individuals, and organized groups.

Kin Groups. Clanship systems are common in most ethnic groups. While the majority of ethnic groups are patrilineal, recognizing descent through male ancestors, there are some matrilineal groups (where descent is traced through females) in Tanzania: the Kaguru in the east-central part of the country, for example. In practice the structure and function of clans differs significantly from one ethnic group to another. In some cases, they form well-recognized groups while in others they are dispersed. In general, an elder, or group of elders, is often responsible for settling disputes within the clan and for conducting various ceremonies to venerate the ancestors.

Socialization

Infant Care. Throughout the nation, children are raised with the strong influence of parents as well as close relatives, friends, and neighbors. Using a kanga, a brightly colored rectangular cloth with elaborate designs, mothers carry babies close to their bodies in a sling, even while working in the fields, at home, or in shops. An essential multipurpose item of women's apparel, the kanga can also be used as a shawl, head cover, skirt, or dress. Daughters at very young ages begin helping their mothers care for their younger siblings.

Child Rearing and Education. Until the age of five or so for boys, and until adolescence for girls, children have the most contact with their mothers, sisters, and other female relatives. Both boys and girls attend school if the parents can afford the fees. If there is not sufficient money for both to attend, the boy is usually favored, and the girl remains home to help her mother until she gets married and moves away. Students are supposed to respect their teachers, and corporal punishment is still practiced in Tanzanian schools.

Among some ethnic groups, puberty ceremonies for boys and girls are practiced. Marking the transition to adulthood, such elaborate ceremonies may involve circumcision of boys and several kinds of genital surgery on girls. Unsterile surgical procedures performed on girls may have severe health consequences.

Development programs have recently begun to make more use of the performing arts to deliver public service messages (about AIDS prevention and the importance of breast-feeding, for example).

Higher Education. As fees for schooling have risen, families are finding it difficult to send their children to secondary schools. The wealthy send their older children to boarding schools both within and outside the country, although they worry that the materialistic influences of the modern world and lack of family supervision will negatively influence their children.

Etiquette

Tanzanians are proud of their disciplined upbringing. The ability to keep control of one's temper and emotions in public is highly valued. Young men and women in rural areas are not supposed to show mutual affection in public in daylight, although this rule is often broken in urban centers. Boys and men, however, are commonly seen in public holding hands as a sign of friendship or camradarie. In many rural areas, women are not supposed to smoke, talk in a raised voice, or cross their legs while sitting or standing. Traditionally, elders are honored and respected by the rest of the community, although youth are increasingly challenging such customs as arranged marriages.

Although the use of silverware is increasing, traditional customs prescribe eating all foods, including rice and meat sauces, with the right hand. Children who attempt to eat with their left hands are disciplined appropriately at very early ages. This custom is related to the perceived symbolic purity of the right hand, compared to the left hand which is often used for cleaning after using the toilet.

Religion

Religious Beliefs. Religious freedom is a virtue that has contributed to Tanzania's long, relatively peaceful history since the nation's independence. All religious holidays receive equal public recognition. Many world religions played a part in the nation's history.

Islam began to be practiced as early as the twelfth century when Arab traders set up posts along the coast and on Zanzibar and Pemba Islands. The influence of Islam and Arab culture is strongly reflected in the Swahili language. Arab traders brought their religion to some interior settlements, but their proselytizing did not match the impact of the Christian missionaries during the German and British colonial periods in the first half of the twentieth century. Long before the influence of Islam or Christianity, indigenous belief systems shaped the cosmology of each ethnic group. The influence of these beliefs is still very strong; they are often practiced alone or alongside of the major religions.

Virtually 100 percent of the people in Zanzibar are Muslim; on the mainland, about 40 percent are Christian, 35 percent are Muslim, and 20 percent follow indigenous religions. Among Asian minorities, the Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist faiths are practiced. Christian sects include Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Orthodox. Both Christian and Islamic religions provide access to educational opportunities and often to some of the best medical care. Wealthy Muslims make their pilgrimage to Mecca, but this is a minority of the overall Muslim population.

Religious holidays include Christmas (25 December); and Good Friday, Easter Monday, Idd-ul-Fitr, Islamic New Year, and the Prophet's Birthday (all of which fall on different dates every year). Idd-ul-Fitr is a Muslim festival and public holiday that is celebrated on the sighting of the new moon at the end of the calendar year. The exact date varies according to the new moon's position.

Religious Practitioners. Native Tanzanians preside in all positions in major religions. In indigenous belief systems among some ethnic groups, certain people assume religious functions that often include healing. These indigenous religious practitioners differ significantly according to ethnic group. For example, in some cases among the Haya, the omufumu ("healer" in the Kihaya language) uses herbs and spiritual power to diagnose and cure illnesses. Acting spirit mediums, the Wazee ("Ancestors" or "Old ones" in Swahili) "come in to the omufumu's head" and speak through him or her. The Wazee have the ability to travel great distances and bring about a therapeutic cure, such as the recovery of stolen objects or even success in soccer matches. In some parts of the country, an indigenous religious practitioner, such as the omufumu in parts of northwest Tanzania, will survey a "football" or soccer field before a match to remove any object placed there to influence the course of the game by an opposing team.

Death and the Afterlife. Death is a part of daily life for Tanzanians. In regions hit hard by the AIDS epidemic, families are often not able to afford the time or resources to follow traditional mourning and burial customs, which differ by religion and ethnic group.

Among many ethnic groups, the "ancestors" assume an extremely important role. Ancestor spirits are remembered through various rituals and are believed to exert significant influence on daily life. For example, at drinking occasions, some people pour a small libation of beer onto the ground in respect of the ancestors. In other cases, a small vessel of beer is left in a special location as an offering to the ancestors. In still other cases, sacrifices of a chicken or goat, for example, are made to the ancestors in ceremonies that vary according to ethnicity.

Medicine and Health Care

Similar to people in other poor, tropical nations, Tanzanians are challenged by numerous health problems, including parasitic, intestinal, nutritional, venereal, and respiratory diseases. In the mid-1990s, life expectancy at birth was forty-two years for men and forty-five years for women.

Malaria, commonly referred to as the "Tanzanian flu," remains the leading cause of illness and death. Transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, the parasite Plasmodium falciparum has become increasingly resistant to treatment. It is especially severe among children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems. Other common diseases include schistosomiasis, sleeping sickness, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, and pneumonia. There are an estimated 150,000 cases of leprosy.

Public health problems are further exacerbated by the nation's poverty, which makes proper food storage and the provision of adequate waste disposal and safe drinking water difficult to achieve. Nevertheless, technologically appropriate solutions to these and other public health problems, such as improved ventilated pit latrines, are increasingly being implemented.

The Arusha Declaration for Tanzanian Socialism prepared the way to extend primary health care to the rural population. This led to the establishment of some three thousand rural health facilities and seventeen regional government hospitals. Although community health workers have been somewhat successful in alleviating health problems, the lack of medical supplies, facilities, and physicians continues to make confronting illness a primary survival issue.

The third poorest nation in the world, Tanzania has decreased its spending on health care significantly in recent years, largely because of higher levels of foreign debt repayment. The measles immunization rate, for example, has fallen from an estimated 86 percent to about 60 percent in recent years.

Health problems have been exacerbated by AIDS which emerged in Tanzania in the mid-1980s. In 1998, the estimated HIV seroprevalence rate was 49.5 percent among high-risk populations in major cities and 13.7 percent among low-risk groups. In rural areas, the estimated HIV seroprevalence was 34.3 percent and 16.6 percent among high- and low-risk groups, respectively. AIDS has placed tremendous strain on an already challenged health care system; in some parts of the country, underlying HIV infection may be the primary reason for hospital admissions.

It has been projected that Tanzania's economy will decrease 15–25 percent by 2010 as a result of the AIDS epidemic. The number of children orphaned due to deaths associated with AIDS is very high. The staggering number of AIDS-related deaths among young adults has placed serious strain on the extended family and the elderly, who are often called upon to care for the resulting orphans.

All Tanzanian ethnic groups have highly sophisticated indigenous healing systems that help circumvent the inadequate supply of Western drugs and biomedical health services. The mganga, or "traditional healer" in Swahili, plays an extremely important role in health care, and treats chronic and infectious illnesses. In many cases, herbal remedies have established pharmaceutical efficacy. In addition, the mganga may also be called upon to treat social and "psychological" problems as well as problems not commonly perceived as "illnesses" by people outside of Africa, such as difficulty finding a lover, difficulty conceiving a child, or lack of success in business affairs. Predicated on a holistic approach to health, traditional healers treat body, mind, and spirit as an integrated system, often in the communal sense of the "social body." Faith healing among some Christian sects as well as various Islamic healing practices are also common.

Although infectious diseases are the most visible health problems in Tanzania, social problems related to alcohol abuse are increasingly being recognized. Low-alcohol-content (approximately 5 percent) beers made from grains, fruits, palm sap, and honey play a vital role in almost all ethnic groups. Traditional beers are commonly consumed as part of nearly all ceremonies as well as being used in offerings to ancestors. While still used for these purposes, beer and other alcoholic beverages began to be sold as commodities in the postcolonial period, contributing greatly to social problems.

Secular Celebrations

The major state holidays are New Year's Day (1 January); Zanzibar Revolution Day (12 January); Union Day (26 April); International Workers' Day (1 May); Saba Saba (7 July, commemorating the establishment of TANU); Peasants' Day (8 August); and Independence Day (9 December). All holidays are celebrated with large amounts of food and alcohol at the appropriate time. The middle classes use days off to take outings with their families, watch soccer matches, or travel to see relatives.

The Arts and Humanities

The formal development of the humanities and arts in Tanzania has been constrained by a severe lack of government and private funding. Tourists, the local elite, and expatriates support most of the fine artists, foremost among them the Makonde ebony carvers. While not as well known as Congolese or Senegalese singers, Tanzanian musicians are beginning to make their mark in the music world.

Literature. Because most of the local languages in Tanzania are expressed orally rather than in written form, little other than dictionaries and collections of idioms and fables collected by missionaries or local and foreign researchers have been published. The national language of Kiswahili, however, has a very old and rich history. Stories, novels, poetry, epics, textbooks, children's literature, and historical treatises are widely available around the country.

Graphic Arts. A thriving tourist industry supports thousands of artisans in Tanzania, the most famous being the Makonde carvers of ebony from the extreme southeast corner of the country. Other tourist items include paintings and greeting cards of landscapes, local peoples, and wildlife; intricately woven baskets; soapstone, ceramic, and malachite carvings and jewelry; woven or printed wall hangings, and decorative and functional objects formed from banana leaves and coconut hulls.

Performance Arts. Individual tribes are characterized in part by distinctive theatrical performances, dances, and music—for example, the Snake Dance performed by the Sukuma people in the north-central part of the country. Some of these groups are invited to Dar es Salaam to honor the president, ministers, or foreign dignitaries. Occasionally, private or state funding is found to send them to foreign capitals to perform. While not as well known as Congolese, Malian, or Senegalese singers, Tanzanian musicians are beginning to make their mark in the music world. Theater, dance, and music skits on radio and television are also being used by churches, state agencies, and development organizations to relay public service messages about such topics as AIDS, corruption, vaccination campaigns, and contraception.

The State of the Physical and Social Sciences

Lack of funding has also constrained the development of the physical and social sciences in Tanzania. Like Makerere University in Uganda, the University of Dar es Salaam was once one of the leading centers of critical socialist thought in Africa. While it still attracts some of the world's foremost thinkers and philosophers, the university currently suffers from substandard infrastructure, an inadequate library, and poorly paid but internationally recognized professors.

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—Robert G. Carlson and Marion Pratt