World Factbook
Tanzania
Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
885,800 sq km
note
note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar
water
61,500 sq km
total
947,300 sq km
Climate
varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands
Terrain
plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south
Land use
other
5.3% (2023 est.)
forest
50.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
44.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 15.2% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 2.3% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 27.1% (2023 est.)
Location
Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique
Coastline
1,424 km
Elevation
lowest point
Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point
Kilimanjaro (highest point in Africa) 5,895 m
mean elevation
1,018 m
Irrigated land
1,840 sq km (2012)
Map references
Africa
Land boundaries
total
4,161 km
border countries
Burundi 589 km; Democratic Republic of the Congo 479 km; Kenya 775 km; Malawi 512 km; Mozambique 840 km; Rwanda 222 km; Uganda 391 km; Zambia 353 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
12 nm
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season; drought volcanism: limited volcanic activity; Ol Doinyo Lengai (2,962 m) has emitted lava in recent years; other historically active volcanoes include Kieyo and Meru
Geography - note
Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa and one of only three mountain ranges on the continent that has glaciers (the others are Mount Kenya in Kenya and the Ruwenzori Mountains on the Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo border); Tanzania is bordered by three of the largest lakes on the continent: Lake Victoria (the world's second-largest freshwater lake) in the north, Lake Tanganyika (the world's second-deepest) in the west, and Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) in the southwest
Natural resources
hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones (including tanzanite, found only in Tanzania), gold, natural gas, nickel
Area - comparative
more than six times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than twice the size of California
Geographic coordinates
6 00 S, 35 00 E
Population distribution
the largest and most populous East African country; population distribution is extremely uneven, but greater population clusters occur in the northern half of country and along the east coast, as shown in this population distribution map
Major lakes (area sq km)
salt water lake(s)
Lake Rukwa - 5,760 sq km
fresh water lake(s)
Lake Victoria (shared with Uganda and Kenya) - 62,940 sq km; Lake Tanganyika (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Zambia) - 32,000 sq km; Lake Malawi (shared with Mozambique and Malawi) - 22,490
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Indian Ocean drainage
Zambezi (1,332,412 sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
Congo (3,730,881 sq km), (Mediterranean Sea) Nile (3,254,853 sq km)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Nile (shared with Rwanda [s], Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt [m]) - 6,650 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth