Amazing Facts You Never Knew About Tanzania

How much do you know about Tanzania? If not much, you'll be amazed by these facts.

1. The most expensive wood in the world comes from the African Blackwood, called "mpingo" in Swahili. The African Blackwood tree grows in Tanzania. It is dubbed "the music tree" as it is the primary material used in making woodwind musical instruments such as clarinets. The tree takes 75 to 100 years to grow to a harvestable size. A kilogram of unprocessed African Blackwood costs about $10,000. "Mpingo" is also used in making elegant furniture.

2. Tanzania, South Africa and Zambia share the same national anthem. In Tanzania, it is titled "Mungu Ibariki Africa" or "God Bless Africa". In South Africa the anthem goes by the name "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika". The song was composed by Enoch Mankayi Sontoga.

3. Tanzania has the largest concentration of wild animals per square kilometer in the world, with more than 4 million wild animals.

4. Tanzania is one of the homes of the largest land crab - the coconut crab. The coconut crab is reportedly one of the most delicious crabs in the world. It can be found on Chumbe Island of Zanzibar. The coconut crab (up to 1 m long) is also the largest arthropod. It lives mostly on land and only returns to sea to lay its eggs.

5. Tanzania is home to the world's largest volcanic crater or volcanic depression. It is called Ngorongoro crater and has a diameter of 19 kilometers and a 600 meter depth.

6. Bongo flava also known as Tanzanian hip hop is a musical genre that developed in Tanzania in the 1990s, as a derivative of American hip hop blended with afrobeat, dancehall, R&B, reggae, and local Tanzanian styles like taraab and dansi. Today's most popular Bongo flava artists include the likes of Diamond Platnumz, Harmonize, Rayvanny, Vanessa Mdee, Mzungu Kichaa, Lady Jaydee and Nature.

Diamond Platnumz

7. The shortest war in history was fought in Zanzibar, Tanzania, in 1986 between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar. The former emerged victorious in the 45 minute war.

8. Tanzania is home to Africa's highest mountain - Mount Kilimanjaro. Mount Kilimanjaro's summit is about 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) from its base, and 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level. The first ascent of the mountain was done by German geologist Hans Meyer, Ludwig Purtscheller and a local called Lauwo, in October 1889. South Africa's Bernard Goosen was the first person to climb the mountain and reach its peak on a wheelchair.

9. 32.02% of Tanzania's lands are dedicated to wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. It ranks 25th in Index Mundi's terrestrial protected areas country ranking.

10. Tanzania was known as Tanganyika before it merged with Zanzibar in 1964.

Other facts about Tanzania

Official name: United Republic of Tanzania

Form of Government: Constitutional republic

Capital: Dodoma (de jure/legislative capital)

Largest City: Dar es Salam

Area: 947,303 km²

Population: 55,572,201 (2016 estimate)

Official language(s): Swahili, English

Currency: Tanzanian shilling (TZS)

Literacy rate: 77.89%

President: John Magufuli

Life Expectancy: 65.68 years (2016)

Religion: Christianity, Islam, animist minorities

Poverty rate: 49.1% (World Bank, 2011)

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