Population
In 2019, Tanzania had a population density of 60
residents per km2; however, the population is
very unevenly distributed. According to
Countryaah, most of the country is quite
sparsely inhabited, but some areas, for example. The slopes
of Kilimanjaro and on Lake Malawi show large population
concentrations. Parts of the highlands in central Tanzania
and the areas south of Lake Victoria are also relatively
densely populated.
In 2019, 34 percent of the population lived in cities, of
which Dar es-Salaam (3.4 million residents, 2012), Mwanza
(640,600) and Zanzibar (539,900) were the largest. During
the 1990s, the country received refugees from Rwanda and
Burundi. It is estimated that there are 270,000 refugees in
the country.
Tanzania's population is characterized by great ethnic
diversity. In the national census in 1987 (the last one to
include ethnic affiliation), 130 different African ethnic
groups were registered. They make up 99 percent of the
population; only 1 percent are Asians, Europeans and Arabs.
However, the boundaries between the groups are dynamic and
the group terms are often contextually dependent and
therefore varied. More than 95 percent of the population are
Bantu people. In the northern parts of the country, besides
Bantu, there are also groups of Nilotic and Kushite and
Khoisan people.
The largest nilotic groups are livestock massages
(300,000) in the Arusha region and luo (210,000) in the
northwestern part of the Mara region, which subsist on
agriculture and livestock, combined with fishing on Lake
Victoria. Iraqw in the Arusha region, also farmers and
herdsmen, is the largest Cushitic group (462,000). Small
minorities are sandawe (20,000) in the Kondo district, where
they live on agriculture, and hadza (1,000) on Lake Eyasis,
which in part still provides themselves as hunters and
collectors. On the steppes south of Arusha there is okiek, a
small group of aci-speaking hunters and collectors (maximum
500). The Khoisan groups sandawe and constitute small
minorities.
The Bantu groups in the eastern and southeastern parts of
the country are mainly farmers. In the hinterland, on the
drier high plateau and in the area south and east of Lake
Victoria, livestock management in combination with
agriculture is of great importance in the economy. The
largest linguistically and culturally related group consists
of sukuma (6.7 million) and nyamwezi (1.7 million). Other
large bantugrupper is Makonde (1.2 million), Chaga (1
million) and haya (1.9 million) in the northwest Tanzania,
have (1.3 million) in Western Tanzania, hehe (1.2 million)
and GoGo (2 million).
Most bantu groups were previously organized in the
chiefdom of varying territorial extent. More centralized
political systems existed, especially in the northwestern
part of the country. During the latter part of the
nineteenth century, local kings and warlords emerged as the
Nyamwezikungen Mirambo and the king Makwaia, who temporarily
came to dominate large areas.
Except in eastern and southeastern Tanzania where
matrilineal kinship systems dominate, the social
organization of most other groups in the country is
patrilinear. Traditions that prescribe both male and female
circumcision are found in the northern and eastern parts of
the country but, with a few exceptions, are lacking in other
parts.
Language
In Tanzania, about 130 native languages are spoken,
representing all four major language families in Africa.
However, the vast majority belong to the Niger-Congo
languages. The two most significant of these are the related
sukuma and nyamwezi, which are spoken by one sixth of the
population.
The other language families - the Nilo-Saharan,
Afro-Asiatic and Khoisan languages - are represented by
languages spoken by a total of 6%. English and Swahili are
official languages. Swahili has the status of a national
language and is prioritized in the official language policy.
See also Population and Ethnography above.
Religion
Information on religious affiliation in Tanzania is
uncertain, as these are no longer included in the census.
During colonial times, Christianity quickly became
established in large parts of the interior. Today, an
estimated 60% of Tanzania's population is Christian. Among
these, the Catholic Church is the largest with about 25% of
the population as members, while Protestants are estimated
to be about 20%. The first Protestant church, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, has about 10% of
its population as members. About 5% of the population is
members of Baptist-Pentacostal communities. In addition,
there are a number of smaller Christian groups, including
Methodists, Greek Orthodox, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons,
Anglicans, and Presbyterians.
The Muslims constitute almost a third of the population.
Of these, about 85% are Sunni and the rest are Shia
groupings of Asian origin. Islam is strongest in the coastal
area, especially on Zanzibar and other islands, where there
have been Muslims since Muhammad's century. In Zanzibar,
almost all Muslims are. For shaping African socialism
ujamaa, Muslims played a prominent role.
The country also has supporters of traditional indigenous
African religion. It is estimated that around 10% of the
population devotes to this. In addition, there are small
groups of Buddhists, Hindus and Baha'is.
The Constitution and other laws guarantee freedom of
religion. In some areas, Tanzania has a parallel legal
system, where Sharia can be applied to Muslims in family law
matters. In Zanzibar there is a system of kadhid courts,
which consists of judges trained in Islamic law who
adjudicate on issues related to divorce, custody of
children, inheritance and other matters covered by Islamic
law. Tanzania's Muslim Council is striving to introduce
cadhid courts on the mainland.
The public school is allowed to teach about religion, but
religious education is not included in the curriculum. A
number of private schools and universities are affiliated
with religious institutions, both Islamic and Christian.
The following days are national religious holidays:
mawlid (Prophet Muhammad's birth), Good Friday, Easter
Sunday, Id al-fitr, Id al-hajj (Id al-adha), and Christmas
Day.
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