Tanzania: Geography

Location

Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique

Geographic coordinates

6 00 S, 35 00 E

Map references

Africa — JPG 109Kb or PDF 460Kb

Area

total: 945,087 sq km
note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar
water: 59,050 sq km
land: 886,037 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than twice the size of California

Land boundaries

total: 3,861 km
border countries: Burundi 451 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 459 km, Kenya 769 km, Malawi 475 km, Mozambique 756 km, Rwanda 217 km, Uganda 396 km, Zambia 338 km

Coastline

1,424 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions)

territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

Climate

varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands

Terrain

plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kilimanjaro 5,895 m

Natural resources

hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel

Land use

arable land: 4.24%
permanent crops: 1.02%
other: 94.74% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land

1,550 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards

flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season; drought

Environment - current issues

soil degradation; deforestation; desertification; destruction of coral reefs threatens marine habitats; recent droughts affected marginal agriculture; wildlife threatened by illegal hunting and trade, especially for ivory

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa; 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 in the southwest