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77-540: Currently, the Zambia Railways Line travels from the Victoria Falls border to Chingola via Livingstone , Choma , Mazabuka , Lusaka , Kabwe , Kapiri Mposhi , Ndola and Kitwe for freight services. Passenger services are only offered from Livingstone to Kitwe. The 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) gauge Cape gauge ZR network was built during British colonial rule as part of

154-553: A de jure official language, although the national language is Swahili . English is used in foreign trade, in diplomacy, in higher courts, and as a medium of instruction in secondary and higher education, while Arabic is spoken in Zanzibar . Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the north-east, where Mount Kilimanjaro , the highest mountain in Africa and the highest single free-standing mountain above sea level in

231-425: A height of 128 metres (420 ft) above the lower water mark of the river in the gorge below. It carries a road, railway and footway. The bridge is the only rail link between Zambia and Zimbabwe and one of only three road links between the two countries. The Victoria Falls Bridge did not bring the first train or the first railway to Northern Rhodesia (called Zambia since 1964). To push on with construction of

308-542: A long diversion via the Kazungula Ferry or Chirundu Bridge . The limit was raised after repairs in 2006, but proposals for more fundamental rehabilitation or construction of a new bridge have been aired. The toll on the bridge was abolished in 1906. During the Rhodesian UDI crisis and Bush War , the bridge was frequently closed (and regular passenger services have not resumed successfully). In 1975,

385-529: A major producer of gold around this same period. Economic, social, and religious power was increasingly vested in Kilwa , Tanzania's major medieval city-state. Kilwa controlled a number of smaller ports stretching down to modern-day Mozambique. Sofala became the major gold emporium and Kilwa grew rich off the trade, lying at the southern end of the Indian Ocean Monsoons. Kilwa's major rivals lay to

462-462: A settled agricultural and fishing community from the 6th century CE at the latest. The considerable amount of daub found indicates timber buildings, and shell beads, bead grinders, and iron slag have been found at the site. There is evidence for limited engagement in long-distance trade: a small amount of imported pottery has been found, less than 1% of total pottery finds, mostly from the Gulf and dated to

539-659: A tender in respect of the Zambia Railways Concession. The Consortium was declared the winner with the signing of the Freight Concession Agreement on 14 February 2003. The Concession was to operate for a period of 20 years with a possible extension for a further 10 years. However, in September 2012, the government revoked the concession and Zambia Railways resumed control. There are no current international passenger services of

616-486: A wide variety of animal habitats. On Tanzania's Serengeti plain, white-bearded wildebeest ( Connochaetes taurinus mearnsi ), other bovids and zebra participate in a large-scale annual migration. Tanzania is home to about 130 amphibian and over 275 reptile species, many of them strictly endemic and included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature 's Red Lists of countries. Tanzania has

693-518: A year, TANU had become the leading political organisation in the country. Nyerere became Minister of British-administered Tanganyika in 1960 and continued as prime minister when Tanganyika became independent in 1961. British rule came to an end on 9 December 1961. Elizabeth II , who had acceded to the British throne in 1952, continued to reign through the first year of Tanganyika's independence, but now distinctly as Queen of Tanganyika , represented by

770-567: Is Freeman Mbowe . In Zanzibar, the country's semi-autonomous state, The Alliance for Change and Transparency-Wazalendo is (ACT-Wazalendo) is considered the main opposition political party. The constitution of Zanzibar requires the party that comes in second in the polls to join a coalition with the winning party. ACT-Wazalendo joined a coalition government with the islands' ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi in December 2020 after Zanzibar disputed elections . In November 2020, Magufuli once again

847-526: Is seen as one of the safest and most politically stable on the continent. Tanzania's population comprises about 120 ethnic , linguistic , and religious groups. Christianity is the largest religion in Tanzania , with substantial Muslim and Animist minorities. Over 100 languages are spoken in Tanzania , making it the most linguistically diverse country in East Africa; the country does not have

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924-662: Is the 13th largest country in Africa and the 31st largest in the world, ranked between the larger Egypt and smaller Nigeria. It borders Kenya and Uganda to the north; Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. Tanzania is located on the eastern coast of Africa and has an Indian Ocean coastline approximately 1,424 kilometres (885 mi) long. It also incorporates several offshore islands, including Unguja (Zanzibar), Pemba , and Mafia . The country

1001-472: Is the site of Africa's highest and lowest points: Mount Kilimanjaro , at 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level, and the floor of Lake Tanganyika , at 1,471 metres (4,826 ft) below sea level, respectively. Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the northeast, where Mount Kilimanjaro is located. Three of Africa's Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania. To the north and west lie Lake Victoria , Africa's largest lake, and Lake Tanganyika ,

1078-1128: The Allied forces and were among the 375,000 Africans who fought with those forces. Tanganyikans fought in units of the King's African Rifles during the East African Campaign in Somalia and Abyssinia against the Italians, in Madagascar against the Vichy French during the Madagascar Campaign , and in Burma against the Japanese during the Burma Campaign . Tanganyika was an important source of food during this war, and its export income increased greatly compared to

1155-537: The Kalambo River at the Zambian border, is the second-highest uninterrupted waterfall in Africa. Tanzania is one of the most visited tourist destinations for safaris . The name Tanzania was created as a clipped compound of the names of the two states that unified to create the country: Tanganyika and Zanzibar . It consists of the first three letters of the names of the two states ("Tan" and "Zan") and

1232-586: The Mulobezi Railway , a branch line from Livingstone , built as a private timber line. In the mid-1960s, spurred by the Rhodesian UDI crisis, the newly independent Zambia split its railways off from Rhodesia Railways, and Zambia Railways came into being. Railway Systems of Zambia Limited (RSZ) was a private company incorporated and registered in Zambia. It is a subsidiary of NLPI Ltd, an investment holding company. The NLPI Consortium participated in

1309-582: The Persian Gulf and India have visited the east African coast since early in the first millennium AD. Islam was practiced by some on the Swahili Coast as early as the eighth or ninth century AD. Bantu-speakers built farming and trade villages along the Tanzanian coast from the outset of the first millennium. Archaeological finds at Fukuchani , on the north-west coast of Zanzibar, indicate

1386-518: The Sena railway between Mozambique , Malawi and Zambia , allowing access to the port of Nacala , was first planned in 1982. On the Malawi side of the border, the line to Mchinji was finished in 1984, but a connection to Chipata in Zambia was only opened in 2010. This line remains idle because there are few facilities at Chipata. Victoria Falls Bridge The Victoria Falls Bridge crosses

1463-743: The Sydney Harbour Bridge . The main central arch is a parabolic curve . The bridge was prefabricated in Darlington, England by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company , before being shipped to the port city of Beira in Portuguese -ruled Mozambique , and then transported on the newly constructed railway to the Victoria Falls. It took just 14 months to construct and was completed in 1905. The bridge

1540-571: The Tanzanian capital and major East African port of Dar es Salaam . After being operated jointly by the two nationalised railway systems, the Chinese again took over the running of TAZARA in a joint transport agreement from January 2007, which covered both direct air links to Beijing Capital International Airport and copper ore export. Via Victoria Falls Bridge the Zimbabwe rail network and

1617-728: The UNESCO World Heritage List . From the mid-1980s, the regime financed itself by borrowing from the International Monetary Fund and underwent some reforms. Since then, Tanzania's gross domestic product per capita has grown and poverty has been reduced, according to a report by the World Bank. In 1992, the Constitution of Tanzania was amended to allow multiple political parties. In Tanzania's first multi-party elections, held in 1995,

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1694-595: The Zambezi River just below the Victoria Falls and is built over the Second Gorge of the falls. As the river forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia , the bridge links the two countries and has border posts on the approaches to both ends, at the towns of Victoria Falls , Zimbabwe , and Livingstone , Zambia . The bridge was the brainchild of Cecil Rhodes , part of his grand and unfulfilled Cape to Cairo railway scheme, even though he never visited

1771-470: The federal capital located in Government City (Dodoma) ; the former capital, Dar es Salaam , retains most government offices and is the country's largest city, principal port, and leading commercial centre. Tanzania is a de facto one-party state with the democratic socialist Chama Cha Mapinduzi party in power. The country has not experienced major internal strife since independence and

1848-644: The governor general . Tanganyika also joined the British Commonwealth in 1961. On 9 December 1962, Tanganyika became a democratic republic under an executive president. After the Zanzibar Revolution overthrew the Arab dynasty in neighbouring Zanzibar , accompanied with the slaughter of thousands of Arab Zanzibaris, which had become independent in 1963, the archipelago merged with mainland Tanganyika on 26 April 1964. The new country

1925-548: The linguistically isolated Hadza and Sandawe hunter-gatherers of Tanzania. The first wave of migration was by Southern Cushitic speakers who moved south from Ethiopia and Somalia into Tanzania. They are ancestral to the Iraqw , Gorowa , and Burunge . Based on linguistic evidence, there may also have been two movements into Tanzania of Eastern Cushitic people at about 4,000 and 2,000 years ago, originating from north of Lake Turkana . Archaeological evidence supports

2002-511: The 150 km Livingstone-Kalomo line was built in advance of completion in September of that year of the Victoria Falls Bridge from the then Southern Rhodesia to Livingstone . The first wagons on the line were hauled by oxen, then a single locomotive was conveyed in pieces by cableway across the gorge where the bridge was being built to start up operations to Kalomo in advance of the main line connection. Another major bridge

2079-579: The 1890s, slavery was abolished. In 1863, the Holy Ghost Mission established an early reception center and depot at Zanzibar. In 1877, responding to appeals of Henry Stanley following his trans-Africa expedition , and permission being given to Stanley by King Mutessa I of Buganda , the Church Missionary Society sent missionaries Edward Baxter and Henry Cole to establish inland missions. In 1885, Germany conquered

2156-465: The 5th to 8th century. The similarity to contemporary sites such as Mkokotoni and Dar es Salaam indicate a unified group of communities that developed into the first centre of coastal maritime culture. The coastal towns appear to have been engaged in Indian Ocean and inland African trade at this early period. Trade rapidly increased in importance and quantity beginning in the mid-8th century and by

2233-753: The Anglo-Belgian agreement of 30 May 1919 where Britain ceded the north-western GEA provinces of Ruanda and Urundi to Belgium. The conference's Commission on Mandates ratified this agreement on 16 July 1919. The Supreme Council accepted the agreement on 7 August 1919. On 12 July 1919, the Commission on Mandates agreed that the small Kionga Triangle south of the Rovuma River would be given to Portuguese Mozambique , with it eventually becoming part of independent Mozambique. The commission reasoned that Germany had virtually forced Portugal to cede

2310-684: The Constitution has a term limit: a president can serve a maximum of two terms. Each term is five years. Every president has represented the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). President Magufuli won a landslide victory and re-election in October 2020. According to the opposition, the election was full of fraud and irregularities. On 17 March 2021, President John Magufuli died in office. Magufuli's vice president, Samia Suluhu Hassan , became Tanzania's first female president. At 947,403 square kilometres (365,794 sq mi), Tanzania

2387-769: The ZR, only of the TAZARA railway . Some tour companies have run special services on the ZR network. The Copperbelt reaches into the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with mines at Lubumbashi and further north-west. The ZR network connects to Lubumbashi via Ndola and Sakania . At one time the Lubumbashi line connected to the Benguela Railway through Angola to Lobito Bay , but

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2464-462: The border with Zambia. The Menai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibar's largest marine protected area. Climate varies greatly within Tanzania. In the highlands, temperatures range between 10 and 20 °C (50 and 68 °F) during cold and hot seasons respectively. The rest of the country has temperatures rarely falling lower than 20 °C (68 °F). The hottest period extends between November and February (25–31 °C or 77.0–87.8 °F) while

2541-529: The bridge was complete. For more than 50 years, the bridge was crossed regularly by passenger trains as part of the principal route between the then Northern Rhodesia , southern Africa and Europe. Freight trains carried mainly copper ore (later, copper ingots) and timber out of Northern Rhodesia, and coal into the country. The age of the bridge and maintenance problems have led to traffic restrictions at times. Trains cross at less than walking pace and trucks were limited to 30 t, necessitating heavier trucks making

2618-489: The bridge was the site of unsuccessful peace talks when the parties met in a train carriage poised above the gorge for nine and a half hours. In 1980, freight and road services resumed and have continued without interruption except for maintenance. Today, one of the Victoria Falls Bridge's main attraction are historical guided tours focusing on the construction of the bridge and include a walking tour under

2695-513: The centuries-long Bantu expansion . The Bantu peoples brought with them the west African planting tradition and the primary staple of yams . They subsequently migrated out of these regions across the rest of Tanzania between 2,300 and 1,700 years ago. Eastern Nilotic peoples, including the Maasai , represent a more recent migration from present-day South Sudan within the past 500 to 1,500 years. The people of Tanzania have been associated with

2772-807: The close of the 10th century Zanzibar was one of the central Swahili trading towns. Growth in Egyptian and Persian shipping from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf revitalised Indian Ocean trade , particularly after the Fatimid Caliphate relocated to Fustat (Cairo). Swahili agriculturalists built increasingly dense settlements to tap into trade, these forming the earliest Swahili city-states. The Venda-Shona Kingdoms of Mapungubwe and Zimbabwe in South Africa and Zimbabwe , respectively, became

2849-405: The coldest period occurs between May and August (15–20 °C or 59–68 °F). Annual temperature is 20 °C (68.0 °F). The climate is cool in high mountainous regions. Tanzania has two major rainfall periods: one is uni-modal (October–April) and the other is bi-modal (October–December and March–May). The former is experienced in southern, central, and western parts of the country, and

2926-520: The conclusion that Southern Nilotes , including the Datoog , moved south from the present-day South Sudan / Ethiopia border region into central northern Tanzania between 2,900 and 2,400 years ago. These movements took place at approximately the same time as the settlement of the iron-making Mashariki (Eastern) Bantu from West Africa in the Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika areas, as part of

3003-501: The continent's deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish. To the southwest lies Lake Nyasa . Central Tanzania is a large plateau, with plains and arable land. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the Zanzibar Archipelago just offshore. Kalambo Falls in the southwestern region of Rukwa is the second highest uninterrupted waterfall in Africa, and is located near the southeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika on

3080-492: The country's president. The president of Tanzania and the members of the National Assembly are elected concurrently by direct popular vote for five-year terms. The vice-president is elected for a five-year term at the same time as the president and on the same ticket. Neither the president nor the vice-president may be a member of the National Assembly. The president appoints a prime minister from among

3157-465: The declaration, banks and many large industries were nationalised. Tanzania was also aligned with China, which from 1970 to 1975 financed and helped build the 1,860-kilometre-long (1,160 mi) TAZARA Railway from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Kapiri-Mposhi, Zambia. Nonetheless, from the late 1970s, Tanzania's economy took a turn for the worse, in the context of an international economic crisis affecting both developed and developing economies. In 1978,

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3234-525: The equator. Many important hominid fossils have been found in Tanzania. In the Stone and Bronze Age, prehistoric migrations into Tanzania included Southern Cushitic speakers who moved south from present-day Ethiopia; Eastern Cushitic people who moved into Tanzania from north of Lake Turkana about 2,000 and 4,000 years ago; and the Southern Nilotes , including the Datoog , who originated from

3311-506: The falls and died before construction of the bridge began. Rhodes is recorded as instructing the engineers to "build the bridge across the Zambezi where the trains, as they pass, will catch the spray of the Falls". It was designed by George Andrew Hobson of consultants Sir Douglas Fox and Partners, assisted by the stress calculations of Ralph Freeman , who was later the principal designer of

3388-679: The fast-flowing river (she survived). The bridge was originally referred to as the Great Zambesi or Zambezi Bridge, later becoming known as the Victoria Falls Bridge. The Location of the bridge and surrounding area by Openstreetmap Tanzania Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to

3465-430: The growing concern of the negative impacts of climate change and climate variability on the country's social, economic and physical environment. Tanzania contains around 20% of the species of Africa's enormous warm-blooded animal populace, found over its 21 National parks, reserves, 1 conservation area, and 3 marine parks. Spread over a zone of in excess of 42,000 square kilometres (16,000 sq. mi) and shaping around 38% of

3542-474: The largest lion population in the world. Tanzania had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.13/10, ranking it 54th globally out of 172 countries. Tanzania is a one-party dominant state with the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party in power. From its formation until 1992, it was the only legally permitted party in the country. This changed on 1 July 1992, when the constitution

3619-493: The latter is found in the north from Lake Victoria extending east to the coast. The bi-modal rainfall is caused by the seasonal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone . Climate change in Tanzania is resulting in rising temperatures with a higher likelihood of intense rainfall events (resulting in flooding) and of dry spells (resulting in droughts). Climate change is already impacting

3696-402: The line did not operate from the 1970s, until reopening in 2018. As most of its major export routes ran through then apartheid controlled South Africa , Zambia needed an alternate export route for its copper. In 1976, Chinese construction crews completed the 1,860-kilometer-long Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) which runs from Kapiri Mposhi (200 km north of the Zambia capital Lusaka ), to

3773-482: The main deck. On the Zambian side there is a small museum about the bridge which is free to enter and contains a café selling refreshments. Also located on the bridge is the Shearwater 111 metres (364 ft) bungee jump including a bungee swing and zip-line. Concerns about safety of the attraction were raised in late 2011 after the bungee's cord snapped and a young Australian woman fell 24 metres (79 ft) into

3850-494: The nation's area. Tanzania has 21 national parks, plus a variety of game and forest reserves, including the Ngorongoro Conservation Area , however the local human population still has an impact on the environment. In western Tanzania, Gombe Stream National Park is the site of Jane Goodall 's ongoing study of chimpanzee behaviour, which started in 1960. Tanzania is highly biodiverse and contains

3927-452: The neighbouring Uganda, under the leadership of Idi Amin, invaded Tanzania . This disastrous invasion would culminate in Tanzania invading Uganda with the aid of Ugandan rebels and deposing Idi Amin as a result. However, the war severely damaged Tanzania's economy. Through the 1980s, conservation oriented national parks such as Serengeti and Kilimanjaro , with Mount Kilimanjaro as the tallest freestanding summit on Earth, were included on

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4004-599: The north, in modern-day Kenya, namely Mombasa and Malindi. Kilwa remained the major power in East Africa until the arrival of the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century. Claiming the coastal strip, Omani Sultan Said bin Sultan moved his capital to Zanzibar City in 1840. During this time, Zanzibar became the centre for the east African slave trade . Between 65 and 90 per cent of the Swahili population of Zanzibar

4081-506: The northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda , Burundi , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro , Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. According to the 2022 national census, Tanzania has a population of around 62 million, making it the most populous country located entirely south of

4158-402: The oldest continuously inhabited areas on Earth. Traces of fossil remains of humans and hominids date back to the Quaternary era. The Olduvai Gorge , in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area , a UNESCO World Heritage Site , features a collection with remnants of tools that document the development and use of transitional technology . The indigenous populations of eastern Africa are thought to be

4235-399: The ports in Mozambique ( Beira , Maputo ) and the South African Railways of South Africa can be reached. The condition of the 100-year-old bridge restricts traffic. Up to the mid-1960s, passenger and sleeper services ran from Ndola to Bulawayo , Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia ), connecting with a sleeper service to Cape Town and the Union Castle shipping line to Southampton , UK . This

4312-412: The pre-war years of the Great Depression . Wartime demand, however, caused increased commodity prices and massive inflation within the colony. In 1954, Julius Nyerere transformed an organisation into the politically oriented Tanganyika African National Union (TANU). TANU's main objective was to achieve national sovereignty for Tanganyika. A campaign to register new members was launched, and within

4389-404: The present-day South Sudan–Ethiopia border region between 2,900 and 2,400 years ago. These movements took place at about the same time as the settlement of the Mashariki Bantu from West Africa in the Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika areas. In the late 19th century, the mainland came under German rule as German East Africa , and this was followed by British rule after World War I when it

4466-433: The production of iron and steel. The Pare people were the main producers of sought-after iron for peoples who occupied the mountain regions of north-eastern Tanzania. The Haya people on the western shores of Lake Victoria invented a type of high-heat blast furnace , which allowed them to forge carbon steel at temperatures exceeding 1,820 °C (3,310 °F) more than 1,500 years ago. Travelers and merchants from

4543-413: The railway north as fast as possible, Cecil Rhodes insisted that the Livingstone to Kalomo line be laid before the bridge was finished. Then a locomotive was conveyed in pieces across the gorge by the temporary electric cableway used for the transportation of the bridge materials and nicknamed the 'Blondin' by the construction engineers. The locomotive was re-assembled and entered service months before

4620-416: The regions that are now Tanzania (minus Zanzibar) and incorporated them into German East Africa (GEA). The Supreme Council of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference awarded all of GEA to Britain on 7 May 1919, over the strenuous objections of Belgium. The British colonial secretary , Alfred Milner , and Belgium's minister plenipotentiary to the conference, Pierre Orts  [ fr ] , then negotiated

4697-410: The rest of the continent, notably its immediate neighbour, Kenya. Furthermore, since its independence, Tanzania has displayed more political stability than most African countries, particularly due to Nyerere's ethnic repression methods. In 1967, Nyerere's first presidency took a turn to the left after the Arusha Declaration , which codified a commitment to socialism as well as Pan-Africanism . After

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4774-422: The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi won 186 of the 232 elected seats in the National Assembly, and Benjamin Mkapa was elected as president. The presidents of Tanzania since Independence have been Julius Nyerere 1962–1985, Ali Hassan Mwinyi 1985–1995, Benjamin Mkapa 1995–2005, Jakaya Kikwete 2005–2015, John Magufuli 2015–2021, and Samia Hassan Suluhu since 2021. After the long tenure of president Nyerere,

4851-411: The sectors in Tanzania of agriculture, water resources, health and energy. Sea level rise and changes in the quality of water are expected to impact fisheries and aquaculture. Tanzania produced a National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) in 2007 as mandated by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change . In 2012, Tanzania produced a National Climate Change Strategy in response to

4928-485: The state of Tanzania, President Nyerere emphasised a need to construct a national identity for the citizens of the new country. To achieve this, Nyerere provided what is regarded as one of the most successful cases of ethnic repression and identity transformation in Africa. With more than 130 languages spoken within its territory, Tanzania is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Africa. Despite this obstacle, ethnic divisions remained rare in Tanzania when compared to

5005-405: The suffix "-ia." The name Tanganyika is derived from the Swahili words tanga "sail" and nyika "uninhabited plain, wilderness", creating the phrase "sail in the wilderness". It is sometimes understood as a reference to Lake Tanganyika . The name of Zanzibar derives from Zanj , the name of a local people (said to mean "black"), and Arabic barr "coast" or "shore." Tanzania is one of

5082-435: The triangle in 1894. The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919, although the treaty did not take effect until 10 January 1920. On that date, the GEA was transferred officially to Britain, Belgium, and Portugal. Also on that date, "Tanganyika" became the name of the British territory. In the mid-1920s, the British implemented a system of indirect rule in Tanzania. The Maji Maji Rebellion , between 1905 and 1907,

5159-399: The vision of the Cape-Cairo railway but the economic spur was to access the mines of Central Africa. The railway started as part of Rhodesia Railways , the company which ran the railways of Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia as an integrated operation, which was one of the largest employers and enterprises in both countries. The railway arrived in the future Zambia early in 1905 when

5236-467: The world, is located. Three of the African Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania. To the north and west lie Lake Victoria , Africa's largest lake, and Lake Tanganyika , the continent's deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish. To the south lies Lake Malawi . The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the Zanzibar Archipelago just offshore. The Menai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibar's largest marine protected area. The Kalambo Falls , located on

5313-432: Was amended. It has held power since independence in 1961, and is the longest-serving ruling party in Africa. John Magufuli won the October 2015 presidential election and secured a two-thirds majority in parliament. The main opposition party in Tanzania since multiparty politics in 1992 is called Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) ( Swahili for "Party for Democracy and Progress"). The leader of Chadema party

5390-412: Was an uprising of several African tribes in German East Africa against the colonial authorities, in particular because of forced labour and deportation of certain tribes. It was the subject of a bloody repression, which combined with famine caused 300,000 deaths among the population, out of a Tanganyikan population of about four million. During World War II , about 100,000 people from Tanganyika joined

5467-426: Was declared the winner for his second term as president. Election fraud was suspected. The national electoral commission announced that Magufuli received 84%, or about 12.5 million votes and the top opposition candidate, Tundu Lissu received 13%, about 1.9 million votes. In March 2021, it was announced that Magufuli had died whilst serving in office, meaning that his vice president, Samia Suluhu Hassan , became

5544-519: Was enslaved. One of the most infamous slave traders on the East African coast was Tippu Tip , who was the grandson of an enslaved African. The Nyamwezi slave traders operated under the leadership of Msiri and Mirambo . According to Timothy Insoll , "Figures record the exporting of 718,000 slaves from the Swahili coast during the 19th century, and the retention of 769,000 on the coast." In

5621-624: Was governed as Tanganyika , with the Zanzibar Archipelago remaining a separate colonial jurisdiction. Following their respective independence in 1961 and 1963, the two entities merged in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. Tanganyika joined the British Commonwealth and Tanzania remains a member of the Commonwealth as a unified republic. Today, the country is a presidential constitutional republic with

5698-598: Was officially opened by Professor Sir George Darwin , son of Charles Darwin and President of the British Association (now the British Science Association ), on 12 September 1905. The American Society of Civil Engineers has designated the bridge as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark . Constructed from steel, the bridge is 198 metres (650 ft) long, with a main arch spanning 156.50 metres (513.5 ft), at

5775-654: Was required to cross the Kafue River and the 427 m long Kafue Railway Bridge , the longest on the Rhodesia Railways or Zambian Railways network, was completed in 1906. The line reached Broken Hill ( Kabwe ) in 1906 and Ndola in the Copperbelt in 1909 (connecting to Sakania in the Belgian Congo ), some 20 years before the first large-scale copper mines opened there. Zambia Railways operates

5852-484: Was the main travel route between south-central Africa and Europe before the Jet age . The journey from Ndola to Cape Town took five days. Ndola-Bulawayo passenger services ended when Zambia suspended all services across the Victoria Falls Bridge in response to Rhodesia's UDI crisis. Freight services were occasionally resumed up to the line re-opening in 1980, but successful passenger services have not resumed. A rail link to

5929-691: Was then named the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar . On 29 October of the same year, the country was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania ("Tan" comes from Tanganyika and "Zan" from Zanzibar). The union of the two hitherto separate regions was controversial among many Zanzibaris (even those sympathetic to the revolution) but was accepted by both the Nyerere government and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar owing to shared political values and goals. Following Tanganyika's independence and unification with Zanzibar leading to

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