Tanzania

Official title: United Republic of Tanzania ( a union of Tanganika and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba

Capital city: Dodoma (the former capital was Dar es-Salaam)

Official language: Kiswahili and English

Currency: Tanzanian shilling (Tsh) = 100 senti

Cash crops for export: Tea, coffee, sugarcane, sisal, rubber, pyrethrum, cashew nuts, Spices and cloves from Zanzibar.

Food crops: Maize, millet, sorghum, rice, cassava, groundnuts (peanuts), coconuts, yams, vegetables, plantains, bananas, livestock, poultry and fresh fish.

Total land area: Approximately 945,000 sq km

"The Spice Isle"

Most of mainland Tanzania consists of a plateau of which the Great Rift Valley is a dominant feature. To the north near the border with Kenya, is Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, and on the border with Uganda, the largest lake in Africa, Lake Victoria. Offshore are several islands including Zanzibar, the Spice Island, and Pemba. Zanzibar has lured travelers to its exotic shores for centuries.

Under the Arabs in the mid-19th century, the island became the most important trade center on the East African coast - supplying much of the world's cloves. It was also infamous for being the largest slaving entrepot of Africa's east coast.