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Tanzania Facts & Worksheets

Tanzania is a country in East Africa known primarily for its rich, ancient fossils and its large ethnic diversity.

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Tanzania is a country in East Africa known primarily for its rich, ancient fossils and its large ethnic diversity. It borders a variety of African countries as well as the Indian Ocean and the Comoro Islands to the east. It is home to around 57 million people.

See the fact file below for more information on the Tanzania or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Tanzania worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORY OF TANZANIA

  • Tanzania is home to some of the oldest hominid (family of primates including modern humans) settlements on the planet.
  • The area known as the “Cradle of Mankind” (found in northern Tanzania in the Olduvai Gorge) is home to prehistoric fossils and stone tools, including Acheulian stone tools (hand axes associated with homo erectus and homo heidelbergensis species).
  • A prominent archaeologist who spent time in Tanzania was Louis Leakey, pictured right.
  • In 1959, a near-complete skull of an early hominid called “Eastern Man” was found in the gorge by Mary Leakey, Louis’ wife. It was thought to be over 1.8 million years old.
  • Later in 1978, Mary discovered the oldest known hominid footprints nearby in Laetoli, and these were an estimated 3.6 million years old.
  • Other fossils from the Early Stone Age have been uncovered in the area, and are estimated to be 3.6 – 3.8 million years old.
  • The Mumba Cave in northern Tanzania has been known to hold old fossils as well as evidence of modern human behaviour between the Middle Stone Age and the Later Stone Age.
  • Historians believe Tanzania was populated with hunter-gatherer communities between 4,000 to 3,000 years ago.
  • From there, there were several waves of Migration to Tanzania by people within Africa, such as from Somalia and Ethiopia, and Bantu-speaking people from West Africa, and from further beyond, such as Greece, Rome, Phoenicia, Arabia, Persia, and India, up until the 15th century. These migrations brought skills such as ironworking, agriculture, and political organization.

GEOGRAPHY OF TANZANIA

  • Tanzania is the 13th largest country in Africa by size; within it are several lakes, parks, mountains, grasslands, and volcanoes.
  • Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa’s highest point) is located here as well.
  • Tanzania is also home to the Great Rift Valley, large salt lakes, several conservation areas and parks, the Serengeti National Park, Lake Victoria, and the Olduvai Gorge.
  • Tanzania has an equatorial climate with lots of variations due to the topography of the country.
  • Nearly 40% of Tanzania’s land is protected for conservation purposes – this includes 16 national parks, one of which being the site of Jane
    Goodall’s ongoing study of chimpanzee behaviour, which began in 1960.
  • Tanzania has been deemed as having the “finest safari…and wildlife found anywhere on the planet” and includes species such as a variety of primates, giraffes, lions, flamingoes, zebras, buffalo, hippos, impala,
    elephants, thousands of bird species, cheetahs, hyenas, antelope, and many more; some estimates say that there are 430 species living in Tanzania, with over four million animals!
  • Due to the abundance of lakes and rivers, a variety of plant life can be seen in Tanzania as well, including coconuts, bananas, citrus, and cloves within the 10 types of soils in the country.

CULTURE AND ECONOMY OF TANZANIA

  • Tanzania’s economy is largely based on agriculture and agricultural production; about ⅖ of the country’s population is engaged in some form of agricultural work.
  • The major crops grown in Tanzania are corn, rice, sorghum, bananas, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and wheat; this list also includes coffee, cotton, cashew nuts, tea, and tobacco.
  • Following economic and trade issues in the 1980s, Tanzania has continued to implement measures to create a mixed economy and reduce the prevalence of unofficial markets and smuggling.
  • Tanzania’s mines are filled with diamonds, gold, kaolin, and various gemstones as well as large deposits of coal in the southwest part of the country.
  • The principal industries in Tanzania include food processing, cigarette production, and textiles; the country mostly exports gold, coffee, cashew nuts, and cotton.
  • Tanzania has a multiethnic and multiracial population with a variety of traditions and customs.
  • Many unique features have been recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
  • Folktales, poems, and songs are mainly sung or spoken; books are expensive and hard to find in Tanzania.
  • Football is very popular in Tanzania; other popular sports include basketball, boxing, volleyball, and rugby.
  • The cuisine in Tanzania varies by region; popular snacks include coconut bars, samosa, and kebab, and staple foods in the country include rice, grilled meat, porridge, fish, and cassava.
  • A lot of Tanzanian cuisine has been influenced by Indian cuisine due to large communities of Indians migrating to Tanzania.

Tanzania Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Tanzania across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Tanzania worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Tanzania which is a country in East Africa known primarily for its rich, ancient fossils and its large ethnic diversity. It borders a variety of African countries as well as the Indian Ocean and the Comoro Islands to the east. It is home to around 57 million people.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Tanzania Facts
  • Spotlight on: The Leakeys
  • The Bantu Expansion
  • Wildlife Collage
  • Tanzania Wordsearch
  • The Cuisine of Tanzania
  • Animal Comparison
  • Tanzania’s Contemporary History
  • Tanzania Crossword
  • Tingatinga Art
  • Opinion Piece

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Link will appear as Tanzania Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, May 4, 2020

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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