tanzania

• country in eastern africa
the united republic of tanzania is a country in eastern africa, consisting of the former country of tanganyika and the islands of zanzibar and pemba. tanganyika was a german colony from 1884 until the first world war, and was then administered by britain until independence in 1961. dr julius nyerere was president from 1962 until 1985. in 1964 tanganyika and zanzibar, a british protectorate from 1890 until 1963, merged to form tanzania. it was a one-party state from 1965 until 1992, when the ruling revolutionary party of tanzania (ccm) voted to legalize opposition parties. ali hassan mwinyi became president of tanzania at the retirement of julius nyerere in 1985. tanzania is a member of the commonwealth and the organization of african unity. it exports coffee and cotton. zanzibar is the world's main producer of cloves. offshore oil and gas industries are being developed. large foreign debts and high inflation are major economic problems.