Tanzania has been spared the
internal strife that has blighted many African states.
Though it remains one of the poorest
countries in the world, with many of its people living below the World Bank
poverty line, it has had some success in wooing donors and investors.
Tanzania assumed its present form in
1964 after a merger between the mainland Tanganyika and the island of Zanzibar,
which had become independent the previous year.
Unlike many African countries, whose
potential wealth contrasted with their actual poverty, Tanzania had few
exportable minerals and a primitive agricultural system. In an attempt to
remedy this, its first president, Julius Nyerere, issued the 1967 Arusha
Declaration, which called for self-reliance through the creation of cooperative
farm villages and the nationalisation of factories, plantations, banks and
private companies.
At
a glance
- Politics: Tanzania has enjoyed stability. Multi-party politics was introduced in 1992
- Economy: Annual growth rate has averaged 6.7% since 2006, one of the best in sub-Sahara Africa. Power supplies are erratic and fall short of demand. Gold earnings have been rising, and the find of a major offshore gas field is promising
- International: Tanzania hosts thousands of refugees from conflict in the neighbouring Great Lakes region
- Environment: Experts fear a planned highway threatens the Serengeti game park, Tanzania's biggest draw for tourism
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