The Physical Environment
Tanzania comprises 884,000 sq km of land and offshore islands, on Africa's East Coast, extending westward to the Rift Valley. The territory also includes 61,000 sq km of water on the bordering lakes Victoria, Tanganyika and Nyasa. The Country covers 10% of the area of the United States of America or approximately the same size as British Columbia.
People
Tanzania's population of over 34 million represents a diversity of ethnic groups. Since independence in 1961, the Government has striven with a high degree of success, to weld the peoples into a unified nation under "Ujamaa" policy. The success of this policy is demonstrated by the peaceful change in top government leadership since independence in 1961. The population is about equally divided between Christians, Moslems and African traditional religions.
History
Since earliest times, Tanzania has been inhabited by African tribes who migrated back and forth in search of a livelihood. Bantu groups became established around 500A.D. Soon after, the Arabs established trading ties to Zanzibar and the adjacent mainland where they monopolized the trade in ivory and slaves. European colonization on the mainland began in 1885, when the German Empire acquired the Tanganyika mainland. Shortly afterwards, the British established a protectorate over Zanzibar. In 1922 , the League of Nations granted a mandate to Great Britain over Tanganyika. This status was maintained until independence in 1961. Zanzibar attained independence in 1963. Zanzibar and Tanganyika united in 1964 to for the United Republic of Tanzania.
Logistical Environment
See Figure 4 pg. 21 (Ministry_Doc.pdf)
Download the entire file: Ministry_Doc.pdf (129MB)
Tanzania's location in East Africa endows the country with important geographical advantages. The topography is relatively gentle and no major geographical barriers exist. There are few extremes of climate and process water is availbe in most parts of the country. The country's seaboard places it in an advantageous position for shipping connections with the rest of the world. Roads and power supply have been under a process of rehabilitation and development.
