Tanzania
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Geography
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Tanzania is the largest of the East African countries. Savannah grassland and semi-desert bush cover more than half of the country. The most fertile areas are the southern and northern highlands, the coastal plain and the area bordering the Great Lakes. The country is rich in wildlife.
There are over 120 ethnic groups in Tanzania - mostly Bantu in origin. No single group dominates. The largest is the the Sukuma (12%), then Makonde (4%), Chagga, Ha, Nyamwezi, Gogo and Hehe (3% each). Swahili is the national language. English is widely used in secondary education and above. Dodoma is the political capital and Dar es Salaam the commercial capital.
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History and Politics
Some of the oldest human remains have been found in Tanzania. The present population derives chiefly from the waves of migration of Bantu and Nilo-Hamitic peoples over the last 1000 years. Trade across the Indian Ocean was the dominant feature of the coast, until Arab invaders developed the slave and ivory trade. European explorers and then missionaries aroused European interest in East Africa. The country was colonised as German East Africa from the 1880s, in spite of heroic resistance from Mkwawa, Chief of the Hehe, and many others. After the First World War, Tanganyika became a British Protectorate. The country achieved independence in 1961 under the presidency of Julius Nyerere and, after union with Zanzibar in 1964, became known as the United Republic of Tanzania.
In the Arusha Declaration of 1967 Nyerere set out the national policy of Ujamaa based on African Socialism, which owed more to traditional culture and Christianity than to Marxism. He aimed at mutual respect for all, eradication of inequalities and of colonial and ethno-centric mentalities, self-reliance and the advancement of the poorest of the poor. He was a committed Roman Catholic and renowned for his integrity and incorruptibility. He resigned in 1985 and died in 1999. Multi-party elections took place for the first time in 1995.
Tanzania was the first country in Africa to have universal primary education, and the literacy rate was higher than that of the USA, but since Nyerere's resignation, primary school enrolment has fallen to 70%, and literacy from 84% to about 70%. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has yet to peak in Tanzania, but already 1.6m are infected and it continues to militate against the achievement of social targets.
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