Tanzania is a country in Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique. It includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba and Zanzibar and is about twice the size of California. Its climate varies from tropical along its coast to temperate in its highlands

It is the largest and most populous East African country; population distribution is extremely uneven, but greater population clusters occur in the northern half of the country and along the east coast. Its population of 55,451,343 speaks 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) and many local languages

The population is made up of Christian 61.4 percent, Muslim 35.2 percent, folk religion 1.8 percent, other 0.2 percent and unaffiliated 1.4 percent. Zanzibar is almost entirely Muslim

Shortly after achieving independence from Britain in the early 1960s, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the United Republic of Tanzania in 1964. In 1995, the country held its first democratic elections since the 1970s. Zanzibar maintains semiautonomy and participates in national elections; popular political opposition on the isles led to four contentious elections since 1995, in which the ruling party claimed victory

Tanzania is a presidential republic with Dar es Salaam as the administrative capital and Dodoma as the legislative capital. Dodoma was designated the national capital in 1996 and serves as the meeting place for the National Assembly; Dar es Salaam remains the de facto capital, the country’s largest city and commercial center, and the site of the executive branch offices and diplomatic representation; the government contends it will complete the transfer of the executive branch to Dodoma by 2020

Tanzania has achieved high growth rates based on its vast natural resource wealth and tourism with GDP growth in 2009-17 averaging 6 percent to 7 percent per year. Dar es Salaam used fiscal stimulus measures and easier monetary policies to lessen the impact of the global recession and in general, benefited from low oil prices. Tanzania has largely completed its transition to a market economy, though the government retains a presence in sectors such as telecommunications, banking, energy and mining

The economy depends on agriculture, which accounts for slightly less than one-quarter of gross domestic product and employs about 65 percent of the work force, although gold production in recent years has increased to about 35 percent of exports. All land in Tanzania is owned by the government, which can lease land for up to 99 years

Tanzania is a source, transit and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. The exploitation of young girls in domestic servitude continues to be Tanzania’s largest human trafficking problem

The terrorist group al-Shabaab aims to attract Tanzanian recruits to support terrorist operations in Kenya and Somalia.

SOURCE: CIA World Factbook