Tanzania is situated on the eastern coast of Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean to the east, Kenya and Uganda to the north, Mozambique to the south, and Malawi, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi to the west. Its name comes from the combination of the names of two former British colonies: mainland Tanganyika and the much smaller islands of Zanzibar and Pemba (hereafter Zanzibar), which merged in 1964 to form Tanzania. The merger with Zanzibar has never been complete—Zanzibar retains considerable autonomy—and continued political difficulties on Zanzibar raise the specter of the merger dissolving at some point.

Tanzania's land area is just over 945,000 square kilometers (365,750 square miles), about twice the size of California. Its coastal regions are tropical in climate, but its western highlands, topped by Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa (5,895 meters; 19,340 feet), exhibit much more temperate conditions. On the north...