A country of east-central Africa on the Indian Ocean. Inhabited since prehistoric times and settled by Bantu peoples by the tenth century, most of the region became a German protectorate in 1891 and passed to the British in 1920 as Tanganyika. Zanzibar, a narrow strip along the coast, was a British protectorate after 1890. Tanganyika achieved independence in 1961 and joined with Zanzibar in 1964 to form Tanzania. Dar es Salaam is the capital (until 2005) and the largest city; Dodoma is the designated capital. Population: 39,400,000.
Tan·za'ni·an adj. & n.
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