#africafacts

Things You Didn’t Know About Tanzanian Culture ✨

Tanzania is rich with culture, traditions, and warm hospitality! Here are some amazing facts you might not know 👇

1. Africa is not a country. Please, please, please get this right. There are 54 countries and one "non-self-governing territory" (Western Sahara) in Africa. South Africa is a country, not the southern part of a country called "Africa." Similarly, West Africa and East Africa are regions of the continent, each containing many countries. In fact, there is a popular culture and media analysis website that takes its name from the common misconception that Africa is a country.

2. The map of Africa has changed — a lot. Before colonialism, Africa comprised thousands of autonomous groups with distinct languages and customs. By the early 20th century — the end of the "scramble for Africa" — colonists had taken control of every part of the continent except modern-day Ethiopia and Liberia. The national borders created by colonists were largely arbitrary. Many of today's ethnic and tribal disputes have their roots in these somewhat randomly assigned borders, which forced rival civilizations to coexist.

3. Africa is a land of many tongues. There is incredible linguistic richness. Arabic is the most common language, spoken by roughly 170 million people. Next are English (130 million), French (115 million), Swahili (100 million), Berber (50 million), Hausa (50 million), Portuguese (20 million) and Spanish (10 million). By some estimates there are more than 2,000 languages, many of them thousands of years old.