Geography

Tanzania is one of the Eastern African countries, a slightly larger than twice the size of California, it includes the islands of Pemba, Zanzibar and Mafia. It borders with Kenya and Uganda to the north, there are Rwanda, Burundi, and The Republic of Congo to the West, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south, and borders the Indian Ocean to the East. The weather is equatorial and tropical, Tanzania being only 5 degrees below the equator. The lowest elevation is 0m and the highest point is 5895m (over 19000ft) which is at Mt. Kilimanjaro also marked as the highest point in Africa.

People and Language

The population of Tanzania is currently estimated to be over 35 million people. The main language spoken in Tanzania is Swahili which originated from Bantu, which forms about 95% of the population. English is also widely spoken, used as an administrative and commerce language and as media of instruction in higher education. Although the main popolation comprises of the natives, there is a great mix of Europian, Asian and Arab influence.

Economy and Politics

Tanzania acquired its independence from the British on December 9th 1961(Tanganyika at that time) and in 1964 the mainland and the islands formed the Republic of Tanzania. Since independence Tanzania had been under one political party system until 1995, when the first government election comprising of multiparty was done. Unlike many states in the continent, Tanzania has maintained a stable political atmosphere. Despite the great political stability, Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world with economy mainly dependent on agriculture, light industrial, mining and a small percentage of tourism.

Health and Education

Tanzania is among the struggling nations in the matters of health and education of her people.There are very few health facilities that are well and adequate to service the demanding needs of health issues that need attention. A clinic in a rural area serves as a hospital with very limited resources. It is estimated that only slightly over a third of the rural population have access to clean drinking water, and one has to go a long way to get a bucket of water. Over the recent years there has been a great primary school enrollment rate of about a three quarters of the children aged enough to enroll. Despite the high turn out rate few can afford to pursue and education goal beyond primary school, and to speak of university level, that is a dream come true to only tens of thousands of the population per year. Increasing efforts are being done to elevate the health and education level in Tanzania through profit and non-profit organizations, and Shinda Basic School is at grassroot to address this basic but very vital need of the community.

Tanzania National Parks and Natural resources

Tanzania is the home of the worlds best natural national parks. The northern part of the country is the most visited with Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara, Tarangire and Arusha National park. Tanzania also prides to be the home of the snow cup roof of Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro, rising about about 19,000ft. Selous gamel Reserve is the largest game park in the world speading about 30,000 sq miles to the east and south of Tanzania. Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika, the largest and deepest lakes make a significant part of cold water sources in Tanzania, nourishing the neighoring regions with their cold water fish.

It's hard to talk about Tanzania without taking about TANZANITE, this rare precious stone comes in a variety of dazzling colors from Mererani in Arusha.

We look forward to seeing you visit Tanzania soon. Travel East Africa Corporation a sponsor company for Rafiki Trust will prove to be a good start of information about safari and Mt. Kilimanjaro climbing adventures. Please come see Tanzania with us.