Country Name
Tanzania, or officially the United Republic of Tanzania.
Location
Tanzania is located in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoros Islands and 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.
Capital
Dodoma.
Reason for Naming the country
The name "Tanzania" was created as a 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 the suffix, "ia" to form Tanzania.
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 comes from "zenji", the name for a local people (said to mean "black"), and the Arabic word "barr", which means coast or shore.
Flag
The Tanzanian flag was adopted on 30 June 1964.
The flag consists of triangles of green and blue, the two triangles are separated by a black stripe, which is bordered by a narrower yellow stripe.
The flag has been inspired by the flags of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, two states, which merged in order and created Tanzania.
The green color refers to the agricultural tradition in this area and
its rich vegetation, the blue reminds the Indian Ocean surrounding Zanzibar, the black color represents the original inhabitants of Tanzania and
the yellow symbolizes the country's mineral wealth.
Language
More than 100 languages are spoken in Tanzania, making it the most linguistically diverse country in East Africa. Among the languages spoken are all four of Africa's language families: Bantu, Cushitic, Nilotic, and Khoisan. There are no official languages in Tanzania, Swahili is the most commonly used language in Tanzania. Swahili was first written in the Arabic script during its earlier period and later adopted the Latin system. English was the language commonly used in the country, The language has been used alongside Swahili since independence as a medium of instruction in schools. Swahili is used in parliamentary debates, in the lower courts, and as a medium of instruction in primary school. English is used in foreign trade, diplomacy, higher courts, and as a medium of instruction in secondary and higher education. Arabic is co-official in Zanzibar.
Religion
The country has two major religious groups, Christians and Muslims. Christianity is the predominant religion with more than half of the Tanzanian population identifying as Christians. Tanzanians generally identify as either Christian or Muslim, though many of these still practice folk beliefs as well. Minority groups such as Traditional Africanists, Buddhists, and Hindus are also present in the country.
Currency
Tanzanian shilling (TZS).
Time Zone
+03:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Unitary dominant-party presidential constitutional republic.
Climate
The climate is subtropical or tropical climate, not too hot because of altitude. On the contrary, the thin coastal stretch is hot and humid throughout the year, especially from November to April. The 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 the coldest period occurs between May and August (15–20 °C or 59–68 °F). The annual temperature is 20 °C (68.0 °F). The climate is cool in high mountainous regions. The best time to visit Tanzania is from June, July to August since it is the coolest, the sunniest, and the driest of the year.
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