Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 35 00 E |
Map references | Africa |
Area | total: 947,300 sq km land: 885,800 sq km water: 61,500 sq km note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar |
Area - comparative | more than six times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than twice the size of California |
Land boundaries | total: 4,161 km border countries (8): 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 |
Coastline | 1,424 km |
Maritime claims | 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 | highest point: Kilimanjaro (highest point in Africa) 5,895 m lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 1,018 m |
Natural resources | hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones (including tanzanite, found only in Tanzania), gold, natural gas, nickel |
Land use | agricultural land: 43.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 14.3% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 2.3% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 27.1% (2018 est.) forest: 37.3% (2018 est.) other: 19% (2018 est.) |
Irrigated land | 1,840 sq km (2012) |
Total renewable water resources | 96.27 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
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 |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021