Tanzania Facts
Tanzania is a popular East African destination for visitors; it has many natural attractions including Zanzibar, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater. Tanzania is a large country and its infrastructure isn’t great so it takes time to get around. Tanzanians have a very friendly reputation and other than petty theft, violent crime is quite rare.
Location: Tanzania is located in East Africa bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique, see map.
Area: 945,087 sq km, a little more than twice the size of California.
Capital City: Dodoma (but the commercial capital and largest city is Dar es Salaam).
Population: Around 39 million people live in Tanzania.
Language: Kiswahili or Swahili (official), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar) and many local languages.
Religion: Mainland – Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, and indigenous beliefs 35%. Zanzibar, more than 99% Muslim
Climate: Tanzania lies just south of the equator and on the whole enjoys a tropical climate. There are two rainy seasons, generally the heaviest rains (called Masika) usually fall from mid-March to May and a shorter period of rain (called mvuli) from November to mid-January. The dry season, with cooler temperatures, lasts from May to October.