Tanzania is an East African country with the Indian Ocean lying along its eastern side. It is bordered in the North going anti-clockwise by Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the DRC, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. Its name is derived from the old Tanganyika and the spice island of Zanzibar, which united in 1964. Dodoma became the capital in 1996 when government offices were transferred there. The old capital, Dar es Salaam is the main commercial city.
There are more than 120 ethnic groups in the population, each with its own language. Many people speak both Swahili and English.

Some of the Earth’s oldest human settlements have been unearthed in Tanzania as well as fossils of early humans thought to be more than 2 million years old, and human footprints dating back more than3.6 million years have been found. Some ten thousand years ago the area was inhabited by Khoisan hunter-gatherers, who were joined by Cushitic speaking peoples from the North between three and five thousand years ago. These people introduced agriculture and cattle farming. About two thousand years ago iron-working skills were introduced by Bantu people who arrived from western Africa. Over the first thousand years CE Arab and Persian trading settlements were established along the Indian Ocean coastline and these flourished by the 15th Century with trade in Ivory, Gold and Spices stretching as far as China and India. The area came under Portuguese control in the first years of the 16th Century, was a German colony from 1880 to 1919 and then became a British mandate. Tanganyika became independent in 1961 and joined with Zanzibar three years later.

In the northeast of Tanzania lies Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro and further west Africa’s largest stretch of water, Lake Victoria, and the deepest, Lake Tanganyika. In the far southwest is Lake Nyasa. The central part of the country is made up of a large plateau with mountain ranges in the East, North and South forming part of the Great Rift Valley. It is very humid along the Indian Ocean coastline, where the island of Zanzibar lies just offshore. There are many well-known National Parks in the country including the famous Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater.

Tanzania’s economy depends heavily on agriculture, which employs 90% of the country’s workforce and 85% of her exports. Because of the topography, only 4% of the country is cultivated. There are vast amounts of unexploited mineral deposits, including gold, of which there is estimated to be reserves of more than half a million ounces. Commercial production of Natural Gas commenced in 2004, most of it being converted into electricity. This has helped supplement the country’s power grid, most of which comes from hydroelectric schemes. These suffered major setbacks in 2006 because of the drought.

If you’re traveling to Tanzania as a tourist, the best way to get around the country is by 4 x 4 with a good road clearance. Driving around the country on four wheels is a challenging activity, but when in town lock the vehicle and don’t leave any valuables in sight. Thieves have been known to steal mirrors, paneling, spare tires and anything that is not either engraved with the license plate number or is bolted to the vehicle's body. The beaches in Tanzania are some of the world’s best. With long stretches of pristine white coral sand and crystal clear water inside the reefs.