However, during that time thoughts have been turning to the country we will be exploring in less than four months. Tanzania.
- Full name: United Republic of Tanzania
- Population: 47.6 million (UN, 2012). UK population: 62.8 million (UN 2012)
- Capital: Dodoma (official), Dar es Salaam (commercial)
- Largest city: Dar es Salaam
- Area: 945,087 sq km (364,900 sq miles). UK area 242,514 sq km (93,638 sq miles). So Tanzania is almost four times larger than the UK
- Major languages: English, Swahili
- Major religions: Christianity, Islam
- Life expectancy: 58 years (men), 60 years (women) (UN). UK life expectancy: 78 years (men), 82 years (women) (UN)
- Monetary unit: 1 Tanzanian shilling = 100 cents
- Main exports: Gold, sisal, cloves, coffee, cotton, cashew nuts, minerals, tobacco
- GNI per capita: US $540 (World Bank, 2011). UK GNI per capita: US $37,780 (World Bank, 2011)
- Internet users: by June 2012, 5.6 million Tanzanians were online (Internetworldstats.com). That’s around 12% of the population. Conversely, there were 52.7 million internet users in the UK by December 2011 - nearly 85% of the population (Internetworldstats).
- Tanzania has been spared the internal strife that has blighted many African states. Though it remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with many of its people living below the World Bank poverty line, it has had some success in wooing donors and investors.
- Tanzania assumed its present form in 1964 after a merger between the mainland Tanganyika and the island of Zanzibar, which had become independent the previous year.
- Tourism is an important revenue earner; Tanzania's attractions include Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, and wildlife-rich national parks such as the Serengeti.
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| View from the slopes of Kilimanjaro. Above the clouds. |
Neil Jones
