Shortly after achieving independence from Britain in the early 1960s, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964.
Today Tanzania is a country of 45 million people, a multi-party democracy, with a land area larger that Nigeria. Tourism is an important revenue earner. There are 16 national parks including the well known Serengeti Game Park, Tanzania’s biggest draw for tourists, Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, Lake Victoria, and many others.
Tanzania hosts thousands of refugees from conflict in the neighboring Great Lakes region.