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Tanzania is in East Africa on the Indian Ocean.
To the north are Uganda and Kenya; to the west,
Burundi, Rwanda, and Congo; and to the south,
Mozambique, Zambia, and Malawi. Its area is
three times that of New Mexico. Tanzania
contains three of Africa's best-known
lakes—Victoria in the north, Tanganyika in the
west, and Nyasa in the south. Mount Kilimanjaro
in the north, 19,340 ft (5,895 m), is the
highest point on the continent. The island of
Zanzibar is separated from the mainland by a
22-mile channel.
Land
area:
342,100 sq mi (886,039 sq km); total area:
364,898 sq mi (945,087 sq km)1
Population (2007
est.):
38,139,640 (growth rate: 1.8%); birth rate:
37.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 94.5/1000;
life expectancy: 46.1; density per sq mi: 111
Capital (2003
est.):
Dodoma, 164,500. Largest city (2003 est.):
Dar es Salaam, 2,489,800
Monetary unit:
Tanzanian shilling
Languages:
Swahili, English (both official); Arabic; many
local languages
Ethnicity/race:
mainland: native African 99% (includes 95%
Bantu, consisting of well over 100 tribes),
Asian, European, and Arab 1%; Zanzibar: Arab,
native African, mixed
Religions:
mainland: Christian 30%, Islam 35%, indigenous
35%; Zanzibar: more than 99% Islam
Literacy rate:
78% (2003 est
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