Facts
Tanzania is a country located in central East Africa. To find out more about where Tanzania is, see our Maps page.
The current head of state is President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, elected in 2005. Since 1996, the official capital of Tanzania has been Dodoma, where parliament and some government offices are located. Between independence and 1996 the major coastal city of Dar es Salaam had been the country's political capital. Today Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city of Tanzania and the location of most government institutions. It is the major seaport for the country and its landlocked neighbours.
The name Tanzania is an amalgamation of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The two states united in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which later the same year was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania.
Arusha[Hide]
Arusha is a prosperous town (population 400,000) and a leading tourist centre, being close to Mount Kilimanjaro. It is 70 km from the Kenyan border. Arusha is the headquarters for the East African Community and is the seat of several international agencies including the Commonwealth Health Secretariat, the Rwanda Tribunal of the United Nations and the African Wildlife Foundation.
Despite its proximity to the equator, Arusha's elevation of 1400m on the southern slopes of Mount Meru keeps temperatures down and alleviates humidity. Cool dry air is prevalent for much of the year. The temperature ranges between 13 and 30 degrees Celsius with an average around 25 degrees. It has distinct wet and dry seasons, and experiences an eastern prevailing wind from the Indian Ocean, a couple of hundred miles east.
The primary industry of the region is agriculture, with large vegetable and flower producers sending high-quality produce to Europe. Small-scale agriculture was badly hit by the coffee crisis of recent years and is now largely subsistence farming. Arusha has several factories including a brewery, tyre and fibreboard plant, and a large pharmaceutical plant. Arusha is Tanzania's rugby home with the national team playing its international matches there. Tuishime School is located in Arusha, 7km from the town centre.