Population
Population: Mainland, 41 million (2008). Zanzibar--1.2 million.
Religions: Muslim 35%, Christian 63%, other (traditional, Sikh, Hindu, Baha'i) 2%.
Language: Official--Kiswahili and English; national--Kiswahili.
Education: Attendance--73.2% mainland (primary), 71.4% Zanzibar. Literacy--females 67% mainland, 76.8% Zanzibar; males 79.9% mainland, 86% Zanzibar.
Health: Infant mortality rate--68/1,000. Life expectancy--50 years.
Work force: Agriculture--80%; industry, commerce, government--20%.People
Population distribution in Tanzania is extremely uneven. Density varies among arid regions, the mainland's well-watered highlands, and Zanzibar. Most of the population is rural. Dar es Salaam is the capital and largest city; Dodoma, located in the center of Tanzania, has been designated the legislative capital and the Parliament meets there four times a year.
The African population consists of more than 120 ethnic groups, of which the Sukuma, Haya, Nyakyusa, Nyamwezi, and Chaga have more than 1 million members each. The majority of Tanzanians, including such large tribes as the Sukuma and the Nyamwezi, are of Bantu stock. Groups of Nilotic or related origin include the nomadic Masai and the Luo, both of which are found in greater numbers in neighboring Kenya. Two small groups speak languages of the Khoisan family peculiar to the Bushman and Hottentot peoples. Cushitic-speaking peoples, originally from the Ethiopian highlands, reside in a few areas of Tanzania.
Each ethnic group has its own language, but the national language is Kiswahili, a Bantu-based tongue with strong Arabic borrowings.
me a republic within the Commonwealth a year after independence.
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