Country's Full Name: United Republic of Tanzania or Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania

Brief History: Remnants of 10,000 years back humans were found in Tanzania. Khoisan speaking, Cushitic speaking and Nilotic speaking were the three primary inhabitants of this country. Spice and slaves were the two requirements for the sailors to navigate and make colonies. Persians and Arabs came, making the trade outpost in the seventh century. Tanzania has two constituents Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Germans administered Tanganyika until the First World War. With the intervention of League of Nations British took its control. Zanzibar was under the British control through a Sultan until the Second World War. The monarchy in Zanzibar was removed after a public revolt. Both territories joined on April 26, 1964 to form a single nation called as Tanzania.

What is the country known for: Tanzania is better known as land of Kilimanjaro.
Tanzania has greater lakes Tanganyika, Victoria and Rukwa, Malawi.
Jungle safari can be taken with several national parks established to protect the wild life.
Make a visit to the crater Ngorongoro.

Main Industries:
Industries: Agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine); diamond, gold, and iron mining, salt, soda ash; cement, oil refining, shoes, apparel, wood products, fertilizer.
Agricultural products: Coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), cashew nuts, tobacco, cloves, corn, wheat, cassava (tapioca), bananas, fruits, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats.
Natural resources: Hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel.

Main Trading Partners:
Export Partners (2006): China 8.9%, India 8.8%, Netherlands 6.2%, Japan 5.4%, Zambia 4.7%, UAE 4.3%, Germany 4.2%. Commodity: gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton. Commodities: gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton. Trade: $1.831 billion f.o.b.
Import Partners (2006): South Africa 10%, China 9.6%, Kenya 8%, India 6.9%, UAE 6.1%, US 4%. Commodities: consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, crude oil. Commodities: consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, crude oil. Trade: $3.18 billion f.o.b.

Major Cities: Dodoma (capital): population164, 500; Dar-es-Salaam: population 2,489,800.

Location: The country is located in Eastern Africa sharing the common borders with Mozambique, Kenya, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi and Congo. The water is shared with Indian Ocean.
29o and 41o East, Latitude 1o and 12o South

Size: It is the largest country in Eastern Africa.
Total: 945,087 sq km
Land: 886,037 sq km
Water: 59,050 sq km
Slightly larger than twice the size of California.

Time Zone: UTC/GMT 3 hours.

Type of Government: Tanzania is multi-party unicameral parliament. The National Assembly or Burge members serve for five-year-term. There are 274 members, where 232 members are elected by popular vote, 37 women candidates are elected by the President and remaining 5 are elected from Zanzibar.

President: Jakaya Kikwete (since 21 December 2005);
Vice-President: Dr. Ali Mohammed Shein (since 5 July 2001)

National Holidays:

2010
1 Jan New Year's Day.
12 Jan Zanzibar Revolution Day.
26 Feb Birth of the Prophet.
2 Apr Good Friday.
5 Apr Easter Monday.
26 Apr Union Day.
1 May International Labour Day.
7 Jul Saba Saba (Industry's Day).
8 Aug Nane Nane (Farmer's Day).
11 Aug Eid al-Fitr (Ramadan).
14 Oct Nyerere Day.
16 Nov - 17 Nov Eid al-Adha.
9 Dec Independence and Republic Day.
25 Dec Christmas Day.
26 Dec Boxing Day.

Note
Muslim festivals are timed according to local sightings of various phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximations. During the lunar month of Ramadan that precedes Eid al-Fitr, Muslims fast during the day and feast at night and normal business patterns may be disrupted slightly, especially along the coast and on the islands. Zanzibar and Pemba are fairly conservative and during this time it is considered highly impolite to eat, drink or smoke in public during daylight hours. Some disruption may continue into Eid al-Fitr itself. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Kebir (Eid al-Adha) may last anything from two to 10 days, depending on the region.

Population and Breakdown:
July 2007 estimate: 39,384,223

0-14 years: 43.9% (male 8,666,227/female 8,624,387)
15-64 years: 53.3% (male 10,330,727/female 10,649,507)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 491,252/female 622,123)

Median age: total 17.7 years (male 17.4 years/female 17.9 years)
Life expectancy: 50.71 years (male 49.41 years/female 52.04 years)

Religion: Mainland: Christian 30%, Islam 35%, indigenous 35%; Zanzibar: more than 99% Islam.
Ethnicity: Mainland: native African 99% (includes 95% Bantu, consisting of well over 100 tribes), Asian, European, and Arab 1%; Zanzibar: Arab, native African, mixed

Language: Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages

Local Customs: Whatever their living conditions, Tanzanians wear clean clothes. Women should avoid wearing shorts and shoulders need to be covered.
Don't handshake with the opposite sex.

Best Time to go: It all depends on you. If you are not a rain enthusiast avoid the rainy season. Tanzania experience heavy rainfall between March to May and November to January, avoid this season. The rain also brings malaria, water borne diseases, mud clogged roads and discomfort.
You may visit between June and September for a comfortable stay with minimal rain. If you are climber and want to climb Kilimanjaro; visit between August to October, January to March.

Currency:
1 US Dollar = 1,277.61 Tanzanian Shilling
1 Tanzanian Shilling (TZS) = 0.0007827 US Dollar (USD)
1 British Pound = 2,575.68 Tanzanian Shilling
1 Tanzanian Shilling (TZS) = 0.0003882 British Pound (GBP)
1 Euro = 1,772.37 Tanzanian Shilling
1 Tanzanian Shilling (TZS) = 0.0005642 Euro (EUR)

Customs Regulations:
One liter of liquor
200 cigarettes
50 cigars or 250g of tobacco
250ml of perfume

Tipping: Tipping is not compulsory in Tanzania. The tips can be given if you are pleased with the services to the maximum of 10%. In restaurants/hotels a small tip box is placed. A tip into this box is equally distributed among all employees.

Mountain climbing: 10% of total cost.