Tanzania is rich in age-old cultures and traditions, stemming from the unification of Tanganyika (the mainland) and the Zanzibar.

Tanzania is home to sprawling cities, large plains filled with wildlife and the world’s second-deepest lake, Lake Tanganyika. It also includes the Zanzibar Archipelago, several islands in the Indian Ocean. East Africa’s largest country, Tanzania is inhabited by more than 62 million people in an area of 365,000 square miles. Rich in food, culture and historic sites, it is no surprise that Tanzania receives one million visitors annually. 

The United Republic of Tanzania is the union of Tanganyika (the mainland) and the Zanzibar islands, which merged on April 26, 1964. Tanganyika became independent from the British in 1961 and Zanzibar gained  freedom through a revolution in 1964. Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous territory with its own parliament and president. 

60% of the Tanzania’s population are Christians, 30% are Muslim and 10% practice traditional Indigenous beliefs or have no religious affiliation. There are 129 ethnic groups in Tanzania, which has made the country linguistically diverse. All Tanzanian primary school children are taught in Swahili. Upon graduating and entering secondary school, students are instructed in English. The language shift adds additional challenge to  secondary school, resulting in many students failing or dropping out. 

The Maasai tribe, one of the youngest tribes to have settled in East Africa, is an Indigenous ethnic group in Tanzania. These semi-nomadic people live near the Ngorongoro ecosystem and the Serengeti National Park. The Ngorongoro ecosystem is a national conservation area expanding 3,200 square miles. It has a variety of landscapes, including savanna woodlands, volcanic craters, lakes, mountains, swamplands and rivers. The Serengeti National Park is Northwest of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and it’s the only place in Africa where animal migrations still take place. 

There are approximately 800,000 Maasai in Tanzania. They are known for their bright colored wardrobe and jewelry. For the Massai, the jewelry represents wealth, status and place in life. The shape, color and pattern have special significance. Men and women wear a beaded pendant corresponding to their age class. Every 10 years marks a new age class, and all the children born in the following decade will wear the same kind of pendant to indicate their generation.

The Maasai tribe is a patriarchal society and a Maasai man can have more than one wife. All marriages are arranged by the elders without consulting the bride or her mother. Polygamy is an ideal achieved by most older men. As a result of the age gap at the time of marriage, most women become widows and are not allowed to remarry. Once married, men and women have firm roles. Men care for the cattle while women do most of the physical work in the village from building houses, fetching water, tending to children and cooking meals.

The Tanzanian national dish is Ugali. It’s a dish that frequents the dinner table due to its affordability and ease of cooking. It consists of maize flour (cornmeal) and water, which are combined and cooked slowly to reach a dough-like consistency. When finished cooking, it  is left to set before eating. It is consumed by breaking off a chunk and mashing it into a small ball in the palm of your hand, which is then dipped into the main dish and eaten. Ugali can be served with almost any main dish, but is popularly eaten with nyama choma (grilled meat) or mchuzi, a kind of soup or stew.

Geographically, mainland Tanzania has one of the most varied landscapes in the world. It contains Africa’s highest point, Mount Kilimanjaro (19,341 ft) and the second-largest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Tanganyika, which is also the lowest point in all of Africa. Tanzania also has many national parks, including the well-known Serengeti National Park. The vast plain is inhabited by more than one million animals and nearly 500 species of birds. The Tanzanian landscape also includes coastal plains, river deltas, mangrove swamps, tropical rainforests and savannahs. 

Zanzibar island is on the Indian ocean, lying 22 miles off the coast of East Central Africa. Coconut palms and other vegetation cover the land surface. The first immigrants to Zanzibar were Africans; the next were the Persians, who landed in the 10th century. Their influence was left in the gradual consolidation of villages and rural populations into what came to be recognized as two peoples, the Hadimu and the Tumbatu. This African-Persian population converted to Islam and adopted many Persian traditions. Even today, most of Zanzibar’s African population calls itself “Shirazi” (a descendant of someone from the Iranian city of Shiraz). Arabs had the deepest influence on Zanzibar, because the island’s position made it a perfect port for Arabs conducting oceangoing commerce. Arabs from Oman became especially important as they began establishing colonies of merchants and landowners in Zanzibar and, eventually, became the aristocracy of the island. Today, Zanzibar is a tourist attraction for many visiting from the mainland of Tanzania. 

Life expectancy in Tanzania has improved in the past few decades. Today Tanzanians have a life expectancy of 66 years of age, compared to 57 years of age in the mid-2000s. However, the country still faces significant health challenges. Malaria contributes to the deaths of many young children and HIV is the primary cause of death in adults. Tanzania also struggles to combat drug trade, forced labor and sex trafficking. In addition, high population growth, slow and uneven job creation, low levels of education and limited access to educational and employment opportunities have hindered the inclusiveness of economic growth and keep the country in poverty. An estimated 67.9% of the Tanzanian population live below the poverty line, with poverty being the highest in rural areas holding 80% of the impoverished people. The country has had some positive outcomes in the last decade—Tanzania has lowered its poverty by 3.2% in 11 years. This was achieved by increasing the accessibility of basic needs and improving government infrastructure.  

Home to a variety of landscapes, wildlife and numerous tribes, Tanzania is identified as one of UNESCO’s leading countries with 7 UNESCO sites. In addition, it has been titled “Africa’s Leading Destination” by the World Travel Awards. Through international recognition, tourism can alleviate poverty, giving families a way to support themselves. 

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Jennifer is a Communications Studies graduate based in Los Angeles. She grew up traveling with her dad and that is where her love for travel stems from. You can find her serving the community at her church, Fearless LA or planning her next trip overseas. She hopes to be involved in international humanitarian work one day.