Week Two: Tanzania, The Basics

Habari!

Before you travel to a new country, it's always good to learn some vocabulary in the local language (like we learned Swahili last week) and to learn some basic facts about the country itself.

Below, I've put together some facts about Tanzania.

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FACT #1: 

Tanzania is the 31st largest country in the world. 

If you took California and doubled it, Tanzania would still be a little bit bigger!

FACT #2:

Tanzania is home to two extreme elevations -- from 0 ft above sea level  to 19,340 feet.

Its lowest point is the Indian Ocean...the highest? Mt. Kilimanjaro!

I took this picture the day right before we got in the car and headed to the base to start climbing!
 It took four days to get to the top. 

FACT #3: 

The current population of Tanzania is about 48 million people. 

However, 22 million (45%) of the population are YOUNGER than 14 years old! That's a lot of kids!

0-14 years: 44.8% (male 10,913,552/female 10,715,034)

15-24 years: 19.4% (male 4,689,483/female 4,694,663)

25-54 years: 29.3% (male 7,095,382/female 7,060,506)

55-64 years: 3.5% (male 721,769/female 959,008)

65 years and over: 2.9% (male 610,252/female 802,293) (2013 est.)

This kid was pretty crafty -- he turned a bottle + bottle caps into a toy car!

FACT #4:

Most mothers have FIVE kids on average. 

Some families are smaller and some are larger, but most families are bigger than those in the United States.

One of my students Teddy, posing with her baby brother!

FACT #5:

Only 26.7% of the population of Tanzania live in cities. 

Almost 3/4 of Tanzanians live in rural areas. 

A house made of mud and branches down the road from where I lived

FACT #6:

Only 68% of the population is literate, which means they are able to read and write in either Swahili or English. 

However, 15% more boys are literate than girls, because some families in Tanzania don't think that girls should go to school or stay in school as long as boys. Luckily, this is starting to change.  

 In the United States, 86% of the population is literate, but the same amount of girls and boys can read. 

Here is one of my Form1 classrooms. These students are all around 13-15 years old. 

FACT #7:

1/3 of the population in Tanzania lives on less than $1 a day. 

That's about 16 million people living on not a lot of money. While I was in Tanzania, I was living on $5-6 a day.

FACT #8:

There are over 27.2 million cell phones in Tanzania, but only 161,000 landlines. 

This is because while many Tanzanians live without electricity, cell phones can stay charged for days, and can be charged using solar power! 

This is Furaha (his name means "Happy") and his shop had the only solar charger in the village. I would charge my phone a lot with him! 

FACT #9:

Tanzania has a lot of different natural resources, including gold, diamonds, natural gas, nickel, coal, iron and other gemstones such as Tanzanite, which can only be found in Tanzania. 

A Tanzanite and diamond ring!

FACT #10: 

Tanzania will be celebrating its 50th anniversary as a country in 2014!

While Tanganyika gained independence in 1961, it wasn't until 1964 that the United Republic of Tanzania was born; bringing together Tanganyika and Zanzibar to form one nation. 

Some of my students at school singing the national anthem

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So, there we have it. Ten facts about Tanzania, and a picture to go with each one! 

Do you have any other questions about Tanzania?

Next week, I'll be sharing some interesting landmarks in Tanzania; from the tallest mountain in Africa to the source of the Nile river. 

Baadaye!

Marisa

Tanzanian Challenges for the Week:

1. If someone was living on $1 a day, how much money might they be making a year? What if you were living on $5 a day? 

What could you buy in the US for just $1? 


2. Being 'literate' means you are able to read and write. Put your literacy to use this week by going to the library and checking out a couple of books to read!