Tanzania

Some of the earliest traces of humanity have been found in Tanzania, at Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli, where ancient footprints and tools record the deep roots of our species. Along the coast, Swahili city-states such as Kilwa grew wealthy on Indian Ocean trade, and Zanzibar became a centre of the spice and, tragically, the slave trade. The mainland came under German and then British rule, gaining independence as Tanganyika in 1961 and uniting with Zanzibar in 1964 to form Tanzania.

Tanzania's landscape is among the most spectacular in Africa. The snow-capped cone of Mount Kilimanjaro rises near the northern border, while the Great Rift Valley cuts through the country, dotted with lakes and the Ngorongoro Crater. The Serengeti plains host one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth, the annual migration of millions of wildebeest and zebra. Tanzania also borders three of Africa's great lakes, including Lake Victoria, and meets the warm Indian Ocean along its coast.

The flag of Tanzania is divided by a black diagonal band, edged in gold, running from the lower hoist to the upper fly, separating a green triangle from a blue one. The green represents the land and its vegetation, the blue the lakes, rivers, and the Indian Ocean, the black the people of Tanzania, and the gold the country's mineral wealth. The design dates to the union that created the country in 1964.

Tanzania is religiously diverse and known for a tradition of tolerance among its faiths. Christianity and Islam each claim large shares of the population, with Christians more numerous on much of the mainland and Islam dominant on the coast and overwhelmingly so on Zanzibar, a legacy of centuries of Indian Ocean trade. Traditional African beliefs also persist. This mix has generally coexisted peacefully, an important feature of a country built from diverse peoples.

Tanzanian food blends African staples with Indian, Arab, and coastal Swahili influences. On the mainland the staple is ugali, a stiff maize porridge eaten with stews of meat, beans, or vegetables, and grilled meat known as nyama choma is a favourite. The coast and Zanzibar offer fragrant Swahili cooking rich with coconut, spices, and seafood, reflecting the islands' long history as a centre of the spice trade. Chai, spiced tea, is widely enjoyed.

Agriculture is the foundation of Tanzania's economy, employing a large majority of its people. Maize is the main food crop, while coffee, cashew nuts, cotton, tea, and tobacco are important exports. Zanzibar is famous for its cloves and other spices. Much farming is done by smallholders on modest plots, and the sector, together with the country's spectacular wildlife and landscapes that draw tourists, forms the bedrock of national livelihoods.

Tanzania's place among the cradles of humankind, and the wealthy Swahili trading world of its coast, mark its deep history. The Maji Maji Rebellion against German colonial rule was a major, tragic episode of resistance. After independence, the country's first leader, Julius Nyerere, pursued a distinctive policy of African socialism and self-reliance, set out in the Arusha Declaration, and oversaw the peaceful union of the mainland and Zanzibar that created the nation.

Tanzania has a population of around 67 million people, one of the most diverse in Africa, with some 120 ethnic groups. Crucially, the spread of Swahili as a national language has helped bind this diversity into a strong sense of unity and given the country a reputation for stability. The population is largely rural, though cities are growing fast, above all the commercial hub of Dar es Salaam, while the official capital is the more central Dodoma.