Tanzania 🇹🇿
Tanzania is a country in Africa with a population of 65,497,748. Its capital is Dodoma. The official currency is TZS, and the main languages are Swahili, English.
Quick facts
- Capital: Dodoma
- Continent: Africa
- Population: 65,497,748
- Area: 945,087 km²
- Density: 69.3 people per km²
- Currency: TZS
- Languages: Swahili, English
- ISO code: TZ
Where Tanzania sits
Tanzania 🇹🇿 is one of 54 countries in Africa, with its capital at Dodoma. It covers 945,087 square kilometres — 30th in the world — and is home to about 65,497,748 people, 22nd globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Tanzania compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Tanzania sits closest to France and United Kingdom. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Nigeria and Venezuela.
At 69.3 people per square kilometre it is somewhat above the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Swahili is an official language in 3 countries here, among them Kenya and Uganda. The TZS is used by Tanzania and no one else.
To see Tanzania next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Tanzania
In 1974 the government announced that the capital would move from Dar es Salaam on the coast to Dodoma, nearer the centre of the country. Dar es Salaam is still the largest city and port, so it is the answer most people guess by mistake.
The flag of Tanzania: green, yellow, black and blue
🇹🇿 The flag is a yellow-edged black stripe running diagonally from the bottom left to the top right, with a green triangle above and a blue triangle below. The colours come from the flags of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Green stands for the land's plants, gold for its minerals, black for the Swahili people, and blue for the lakes, rivers and the Indian Ocean.
Region and neighbours
Tanzania is a large country in East Africa, on the Indian Ocean, which includes the Zanzibar islands. It shares land borders with 8 countries: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
- Kenya 🇰🇪 — capital Nairobi
- Uganda 🇺🇬 — capital Kampala
- Rwanda 🇷🇼 — capital Kigali
- Burundi 🇧🇮 — capital Gitega
- Democratic Republic of the Congo 🇨🇩 — capital Kinshasa
- Zambia 🇿🇲 — capital Lusaka
- Malawi 🇲🇼 — capital Lilongwe
- Mozambique 🇲🇿 — capital Maputo
Three facts about Tanzania
- Mount Kilimanjaro, 5,895 m high, is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world.
- The name Tanzania was made by joining the names of the two states that united in 1964: Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
- Three of Africa's Great Lakes are partly in Tanzania, including Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake.
Sources: Wikipedia: Tanzania, Wikipedia: Flag of Tanzania, Wikipedia: Dodoma, Wikipedia: Kilimanjaro, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Tanzania
- African capitals quiz — match Tanzania to Dodoma
- African flags quiz — spot the Tanzania flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Tanzania
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Tanzania those are:
- Africa map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Africa flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Africa capitals quiz — match it to Dodoma
- Tanzania capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Tanzania
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Tanzania
- Capital of Tanzania: Dodoma — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 54 countries of Africa
Nearby countries
- Algeria 🇩🇿 — capital Algiers
- Angola 🇦🇴 — capital Luanda
- Benin 🇧🇯 — capital Porto-Novo
- Botswana 🇧🇼 — capital Gaborone
- Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 — capital Ouagadougou
- Burundi 🇧🇮 — capital Gitega
- Cabo Verde 🇨🇻 — capital Praia
- Cameroon 🇨🇲 — capital Yaoundé
- Central African Republic 🇨🇫 — capital Bangui
- Chad 🇹🇩 — capital N'Djamena
- Comoros 🇰🇲 — capital Moroni
- Congo 🇨🇬 — capital Brazzaville
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Tanzania flag?
The flag of Tanzania is a yellow-edged black stripe running diagonally from the bottom left to the top right, with a green triangle above and a blue triangle below. The colours come from the flags of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Green stands for the land's plants, gold for its minerals, black for the Swahili people, and blue for the lakes, rivers and the Indian Ocean.
Which countries border Tanzania?
Tanzania shares land borders with Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
How can I remember the capital of Tanzania?
In 1974 the government announced that the capital would move from Dar es Salaam on the coast to Dodoma, nearer the centre of the country. Dar es Salaam is still the largest city and port, so it is the answer most people guess by mistake.