Country name:
conventional long form: United Republic of Tanzania
conventional short form: Tanzania
local long form: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania
local short form: Tanzania
former: United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar
note: the country's name is a combination of the names of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the two states that merged to form Tanzania in 1964
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Dodoma; note - officially changed in 1996; serves as the meeting place for the National Assembly; the executive branch offices and diplomatic representation remain in Dar es Salaam, the largest city and commercial capital
geographic coordinates: 6 48 S, 39 17 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
30 regions; Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Geita, Iringa, Kagera, Kaskazini Pemba (Pemba North), Kaskazini Unguja (Zanzibar North), Katavi, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Kusini Pemba (Pemba South), Kusini Unguja (Zanzibar Central/South), Lindi, Manyara, Mara, Mbeya, Mjini Magharibi (Zanzibar Urban/West), Morogoro, Mtwara, Mwanza, Njombe, Pwani (Coast), Rukwa, Ruvuma, Shinyanga, Simiyu, Singida, Tabora, Tanga
Independence:
26 April 1964; Tanganyika became independent on 9 December 1961 (from UK-administered UN trusteeship); Zanzibar became independent on 10 December 1963 (from UK); Tanganyika united with Zanzibar on 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; renamed United Republic of Tanzania on 29 October 1964
National holiday:
Union Day (Tanganyika and Zanzibar), 26 April (1964)
Constitution:
several previous; latest adopted 25 April 1977; amended many times, last in 2012; note - in 2012, the Tanzania Constitutional Review Commission was formed, and in June 2013, completed the first draft of a new constitution and a second version in December; a 640-member Constituent Assembly, formed in February 2014, passed a new constitution draft in October; a national referendum planned for April 2015 has been postponed (2015)
Legal system:
English common law; judicial review of legislative acts limited to matters of interpretation
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Tanzania; if a child is born abroad, the father must be a citizen of Tanzania
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: President John MAGUFULI (since 5 November 2015); Vice President Samia SULUHU (since 5 November 2015); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President John MAGUFULI, Dr. (since 5 November 2015); Vice President Samia SULUHU (since 5 November 2015); note - Prime Minister Majaliwa Kassim MAJALIWA (since 20 November 2015) has authority over the day-to-day functions of the government and is the leader of government busines in the National Assembly
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among members of the National Assembly
elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 25 October 2015 (next to be held in October 2020); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: John MAGUFULI elected president; percent of vote - John MAGUFULI (CCM) 58.5%, Edward LOWASSA (CHADEMA) 40%, other 1.5%
note: Zanzibar elects a president as head of government for matters internal to Zanzibar; election held on 25 October 2015 was annulled by the Zanzibar Electoral Commission
Legislative branch:
description: unicameral National Assembly or Parliament (Bunge) (357 seats; 239 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 102 women directly elected by proportional representation vote, 5 indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the Zanzibar House of Representatives, 10 appointed by the president, and 1 seat reserved for the attorney general; members serve a 5-year term); note - in addition to enacting laws that apply to the entire United Republic of Tanzania, the National Assembly enacts laws that apply only to the mainland; Zanzibar has its own House of Representatives or Baraza La Wawakilishi (81 seats; 50 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 15 women directly elected by proportional representation vote, 10 appointed by the Zanzibar president, 5 seats reserved for government appointed regional commissioners, and 1 seat for the attorney general; elected members serve a 5-year term)
elections: Tanzania National Assembly and Zanzibar House of Representatives elections last held on 25 October 2015 (next National Assembly election to be held in October 2020; next Zanzibar election NA; note the Zanzibar Electoral Commission annulled the 2015 election; no date for repoll announced as of early November)
election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA
Zanzibar House of Representatives - election annulled
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Court of Appeal of the United Republic of Tanzania (consists of the chief justice and 14 justices); High Court of the United Republic for Mainland Tanzania (consists of the principal judge and 30 judges organized into commercial, land, and labor courts); High Court of Zanzibar (consists of the chief justice and NA judges)
judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal and High Court justices appointed by the national president after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission for Tanzania, a judicial body of high level judges and 2 members appointed by the national president; Court of Appeal and High Court judges appointed until mandatory retirement at age 60 but can be extended; High Court of Zanzibar judges appointed by the national president after consultation with the Judicial Commission of Zanzibar; judge tenure NA
subordinate courts: Resident Magistrates Courts; Kadhi courts (for Islamic family matters); district and primary courts
Political parties and leaders:
Civic United Front or CUF (Chama Cha Wananchi [Seif Shariff HAMAD, Secretary General]
National Convention for Construction and Reform - Mageuzi or NCCR-M [James Francis MBATCA]
Party of Democracy and Development or CHADEMA (Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo) [Freeman MBOWE]
Revolutionary Party or CCM (Chama Cha Mapinduzi) [John MAGUFULI]
Tanzania Labor Party or TLP [Augustine MREMA]
United Democratic Party or UDP [John Momose CHEYO]
Note: in March 2014, four opposition parties (CUF, CHADEMA, NCCR-Mageuzi, and the National League for Democracy) united to form Umoja wa Katiba ya Wananchi (Coalition for the People's Constituion) or UKAWA; during local elections held in October, 2014, UKAWA entered one candidate representing the three parties united in the coalition
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Economic and Social Research Foundation or ESRF
Free Zanzibar
Tanzania Media Women's Association or TAMWA
Tanzania Private Sector Foundation or TPSF
Twaweza
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, EAC, EADB, EITI, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Wilson MASILINGI (since 17 September 2015)
chancery: 1232 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6125
FAX: [1] (202) 797-7408
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mark Bradley CHILDRESS (since 22 May 2014)
embassy: 686 Old Bagamoyo Road, Msasani, Dar es Salaam
mailing address: P. O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam P. O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam
telephone: [255] (22) 229-4000
FAX: [255] (22) 229-4970 or 4971
Flag description:
divided diagonally by a yellow-edged black band from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is blue; the banner combines colors found on the flags of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; green represents the natural vegetation of the country, gold its rich mineral deposits, black the native Swahili people, and blue the country's many lakes and rivers, as well as the Indian Ocean
National symbol(s):
Uhuru (Freedom) torch, giraffe; national colors: green, yellow, blue, black
National anthem:
name: "Mungu ibariki Afrika" (God Bless Africa)
lyrics/music: collective/Enoch Mankayi SONTONGA
note: adopted 1961; the anthem, which is also a popular song in Africa, shares the same melody with that of Zambia, but has different lyrics; the melody is also incorporated into South Africa's anthem
NOTE: The information regarding Tanzania on this page is re-published from the 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Tanzania Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Tanzania Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 27-Apr-16