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People
Cultural Legacy
According to archeological evidence unearthed by Louis and Mary Leakey at Olduvai Gorge and in the Manonga Valley, Tanzania may be humanity's place of origin. Skeletal remains found at these sites are among the oldest ever found. However, it was not until approximately 500 C.E. that Bantu peoples, the ancestors of the majority of the modern population, began entering the area.
While Arab contact with the coast of East Africa dates back to the early Christian era, coastal settlement and the introduction of Islam took place between 800 and 900 C.E. Around 1200 C.E. the Omanis settled in Zanzibar; in collaboration with some of the coastal peoples of the mainland, they set up an extensive slave trade, with parties of slavers raiding communities in the interior and driving people to local markets at such inland centers as Tabora.
The European encounter with Eastern Africa began in the 15th century and was beaten back in the 16th and 17th centuries only to re-emerge-this time to stay-at the beginning of the 19th century.
Cultural Demography
The indigenous population within Tanzania consists of more than 120 ethnic groups, none of which comprises more than 15 percent of the population. The larger groups, those having more than one million people, are Sukuma, Haya, Nyakyusa, Nyamwezi and Chagga. Most of these large ethnic groups belong to the Bantu ethno-linguistic group. Other major groups include the nomadic Maasai and Luo, who are Nilotic peoples, and are found in greater numbers in the neighboring country of Kenya. In addition there are small Khoisan-speaking peoples, as well as Cushitic-speaking peoples, originally from the Ethiopian highlands.
Of the non-African population within Tanzania, the Shirazis, who trace their origins to the original Persian settlers, have lived on Zanzibar Island for centuries. In addition, there are numerically small but economically significant populations of East Asian Indians, Arabs and Europeans in Tanzania.
Part of Tanzania's success in avoiding the ethnic divisions that have riven its neighbors, has been the strong emphasis on Kiswahili as a national language. Kiswahili is etymologically a Bantu language that has adopted many Arabic terms and conventions. As with most languages, Kiswahili has various sub-dialects, with several scattered throughout the country. On Zanzibar Island for example, the sub-dialect of Kiswahili spoken there is known as Kiunguja. However, the emphasis on Kiswahili has not prevented the spread of English. English is considered a quasi-official language and is the primary language of commerce, administration and higher education. Because of the uneven quality of instruction in most schools, English ability still lags far behind Kiswahili virtually everywhere in Tanzania. Arabic is also widely spoken in the coastal region and select urban areas.
In terms of religion, Christianity and Islam are the predominant religions, although indigenous beliefs and other faiths, such as Hinduism, are also commonly practiced.
Population
Today, the population of Tanzania is estimated at about 42 million. Outside the urban areas, which hold just 27 percent of the population, most of the country is sparsely populated with the exception of heavily populated and intensively cultivated main agricultural areas. The birth rate for Tanzania is 38.16 per 1,000, population growth was measured at 1.83 percent, and aggregate life expectancy is 51 years of age. The infant mortality rate is 70.46 deaths per 1,000 live births.
The average literacy rate is 70 percent, although this number belies the gender disparity. Males have a higher rate of literacy than females.
Human Development
About 5.1 percent of GDP in this country is spent on health expenditures. About 6.8 percent of GDP is spent on educational expenditures.
One notable indicator used to measure a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main areas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a ranking of 169 countries, the HDI places Tanzania in the low human development category, at 148th place. Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief at Countrywatch.com; see Bibliography for research sources.
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