The Tanzania Portal

Tanzania, officially theUnited Republic of Tanzania, is a country inEast Africa within theAfrican Great Lakes region. It is bordered byUganda to the northwest;Kenya to the northeast; theIndian Ocean to the east;Mozambique andMalawi to the south;Zambia to the southwest; andRwanda,Burundi, and theDemocratic Republic of the Congo to the west. According to a 2024 estimate, Tanzania has a population of around 67.5 million, making it the most populous country located entirely south of the equator.

Many importanthominid fossils have been found in Tanzania. In the Stone and Bronze Age, prehistoric migrations into Tanzania includedSouthern Cushitic speakers similar to modern dayIraqw people, who moved south from present-dayEthiopia; Eastern Cushitic people who moved into Tanzania from north ofLake Turkana about 2,000 and 4,000 years ago; and theSouthern Nilotes, including theDatoog, who originated from the present-day South Sudan–Ethiopia border region between 2,900 and 2,400 years ago. These movements took place at about the same time as the settlement of theMashariki Bantu from West Africa in theLake Victoria andLake Tanganyika areas. In the late 19th century, the mainland came under German rule asGerman East Africa. This was followed by British rule afterWorld War I when it was governed asTanganyika, with theZanzibar Archipelago remaining a separate colonial jurisdiction. Following their gaining respective independence in 1961 and 1963, the two entities merged in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

Tanzania's population comprises about 120ethnic,linguistic, and religious groups.Christianity is the largestreligion in Tanzania, with substantialMuslim andAnimist minorities. Over 100languages are spoken in Tanzania, making it the most linguistically diverse country inEast Africa. The country does not have ade jure official language, although the national language isSwahili. English is used in foreign trade, in diplomacy, in higher courts, and as a medium of instruction in secondary and higher education.Arabic is widely spoken inZanzibar, reflecting its history as a trading center dominated by Arabs.

Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the north-east, whereMount Kilimanjaro, the highestmountain in Africa and thehighest single free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, is located. Three of theAfrican Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania. To the north and west lie Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, and Lake Tanganyika, the continent's deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish. To the south liesLake Malawi. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the Zanzibar Archipelago just offshore. TheMenai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibar's largest marine protected area. TheKalambo Falls, located on theKalambo River at the Zambian border, is the second-highest uninterrupted waterfall in Africa. Tanzania is one of the most visited tourist destinations forsafaris.

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Uganda–Tanzania War -show another

Articles here focus upon aspects of theUganda–Tanzania War. These are allGood articles that meet a core set of high editorial standards.

TheUganda–Tanzania War of 1978–79 included an air campaign, as the air forces ofUganda andTanzania battled forair superiority and launched bombing raids. In general, the conflict was focused on air-to-ground attacks and ground-basedanti-aircraft fire; only onedogfight is known to have occurred.

TheUganda Army Air Force dominated the air space during the initial Ugandan invasion of northwestern Tanzania, but achieved little due to bad co-ordination with ground forces and a general lack of planning. At the same time, it suffered increasingly heavy losses as pilots deserted, and the Tanzanian anti-aircraft defenses became more effective. The initiative thus switched to theTanzania Air Defence Command which supported the country's counter-offensive into Uganda. In the conflict's later stages, theLibyan Arab Republic Air Force intervened on the side of Uganda, but failed to make a tangible impact. The Uganda Army Air Force was eventually destroyed on 7 April 1979 when Tanzanian ground forces overran its main air base atEntebbe. The remaining Ugandan loyalist air pilots subsequently fled the country or joined theLibyan military. (Full article...)

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