What is the capital of Tanzania?
Country Name | Tanzania |
Full Country Name | United Republic of Tanzania |
Local - Long | Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania |
Local - Short | Tanzania |
Former Name | United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar |
Etymology- history of name | the country's name is a combination of the first letters of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the two states that merged to form Tanzania in 1964 |
Government Type | presidential republic |
Capital Name | Dodoma; note - officially changed in 1996; serves as the meeting place for the National Assembly; de facto the capital remains in Dar es Salaam, the country's largest city and commercial center, and the site of the executive branch offices and diplomatic representation |
Capital - geographic coordinate | 6 48 S, 39 17 E |
Capital Time Difference | UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
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 |
Who is the president of Tanzania?
Executive Branch: |
chief of state: President Samia Suluhu HASSAN (since 19 March 2021); note - President John MAGUFULI died on 17 March 2021; vice president (vacant); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Samia Suluhu HASSAN (since 19 March 2021); note - President John MAGUFULI died on 17 March 2021; vice president (vacant); Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa MAJALIWA (since 20 November 2015) has authority over the day-to-day functions of the government, is the leader of government business in the National Assembly, and is head of the Cabinet 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 28 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 internal matters; election held on 25 October 2015 was annulled by the Zanzibar Electoral Commission and rerun on 20 March 2016; President Ali Mohamed SHEIN reelected; percent of vote - Ali Mohamed SHEIN (CCM) 91.4%, Hamad Rashid MOHAMED (ADC) 3%, other 5.6%; the main opposition party in Zanzibar CUF boycotted the 20 March 2016 election rerun |
Citizenship Criteria: |
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 |
Legal System: | English common law; judicial review of legislative acts limited to matters of interpretation |
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
Legislative Branch: |
description: unicameral National Assembly or Parliament (Bunge) (393 seats; 264 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 113 women indirectly 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 (82 seats; 50 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 20 women directly elected by proportional representation vote, 10 appointed by the Zanzibar president, 1 seat for the House speaker, and 1 ex-officio 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 either October 2020 or March 2021); note the Zanzibar Electoral Commission annulled the 2015 election; repoll held on 20 March 2016 election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CCM 55%, Chadema 31.8%, CUF 8.6%, other 4.6%; seats by party - CCM 253, Chadema 70, CUF 42, other 2; composition as of September 2018 - men 245, women 145, percent of women 37.2% Zanzibar House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - NA |
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 10 justices) 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; judges may serve until mandatory retirement at age 65 subordinate courts: Resident Magistrates Courts; Kadhi courts (for Islamic family matters); district and primary courts |
Regions or States: | 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 |
Political Parties and Leaders: |
Alliance for Change and Transparency (Wazalendo) or ACT [Zitto KABWE] Alliance for Democratic Change or ADC [Miraji ABDALLAH] Civic United Front (Chama Cha Wananchi) or CUF [Ibrahim LIPUMBA] National Convention for Construction and Reform-Mageuzi or NCCR-M [James Francis MBATIA] National League for Democracy Party of Democracy and Development (Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo) or Chadema [Freeman MBOWE] Revolutionary Party (Chama Cha Mapinduzi) or CCM [John MAGUFULI] Tanzania Labor Party or TLP [Augustine MREMA] United Democratic Party or UDP [John Momose CHEYO] |
International Law Organization Participation: | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
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 Elsie Sia KANZA (since 1 December 2021) chancery: 1232 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 884-1080, [1] (202) 939-6125, [1] (202) 939-6127 FAX: [1] (202) 797-7408 email address and website: ubalozi@tanzaniaembassy-us.org https://tanzaniaembassy-us.org/ |
Diplomatic Representation from US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael A. BATTLE Sr. (since 27 February 2023) embassy: 686 Old Bagamoyo Road, Msasani, P.O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam mailing address: 2140 Dar es Salaam Place, Washington, DC 20521-2140 telephone: [255] (22) 229-4000 FAX: [255] (22) 229-4721 email address and website: DRSACS@state.gov https://tz.usembassy.gov/ |