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The country known as Tanzania
today was formed by a merger in 1964 of the former British colonies of Tanganyika
which gained independence in 1961 and the island of Zanzibar which gained its
independence in 1963. With a population of 58.01 million (2019), Tanzania is recorded as being one of the oldest populated
areas on Earth with hominid fossils discovered there dating back some two
million years. Julius Nyerere was Tanzania's
first president and he took Tanzania down the route of nationalising many
industries including the banking sector. By the late 1970s with its economy
ailing, Tanzania turned to China for assistance which was duly provided at the
cost of using imported Chinese labour. At this time Tanzania's economy
was further weakened by a costly military intervention to oust President Idi
Amin from neighbouring Uganda.
Nyerere retired in 1985 to be replaced by
Zanzibar President Ali Mwinyi. A new constitution was introduced in 1992 with
multi party elections in 1995 making Benjamin Mkapa president; a presidency that
promoted a free market economy attracting much needed inward investment. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli was the fifth president of Tanzania, serving from 2015 until his death on 17th March 2021. He left behind a deeply polarized nation as he wielded the considerable power of Tanzania's executive to shut down critical voices and did not tolerate dissent and was suceeded by his vice-preident, Samia Suluhu Hassan, who became Tanzania's first woman president and third female head of government of an East African Community (EAC) country.
Whilst today Tanzania enjoys
relative political stability, it still faces many challenges not least its
high levels of poverty with many of its citizens living under the poverty
line. Tanzania is in 163rd place out of 189 countries and territories in
2019 when ranked in terms of life expectancy, literacy, access to knowledge and
the living standards of a country. The average age in the country
is just 18 years old and life expectancy 65.02 years (2018). One in every six
children die before their fifth birthday and over three million children do not
attend school, with two million children orphaned through AIDS/HIV. As with many countries in the region, Tanzania is facing up
to the challenges of climate change with the World Bank reporting "More than 80%
of the population of Tanzania relies directly on agriculture for their
livelihoods; a 10% reduction in rainfall would in effect make most of Tanzania
unsuitable for maize." In other parts of the country,
where trees and vegetation have been cleared to make room for homes for
Tanzania's rapidly increasing population, flooding is becoming a major issue
with no where for the rainfall to run off. Such floods have left dozens
dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Although a destination of choice for volunteers and tourists alike, travellers are advised to avoid travelling by ferry given the high number of disasters claiming hundreds of lives due to poor safety and, like in most of east Africa, long distance buses are often involved in accidents which can be fatal. Please be aware that as from 1s June 2019 plastic bags have been banned for environmental reasons and, during the rainy seasons from the end of March until May and then from October to the middle of December, exceptionally heavy rainfall and strong winds can occur. There are also increasing concerns about terrorist attacks in Tanzania (especially close to the Tanzanian border with the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique) by groups linked with Islamic extremism.
Tanzania Profile: Volunteer in Tanzania
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Tanzania Profile: Dodoma Profile
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Tanzania Profile: Maasai Children
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Tanzania Profile: Child Sponsor Tanzania
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Tanzania Profile: Tanzania Map
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Tanzania Profile: Mount Kilimanjaro Webcam
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Tanzania Profile: Tanzania News
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