mainland - Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 35%; Zanzibar - more than 99% Muslim
Languages
French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages
Exports
cotton, gold, livestock
External Debt
$3,192,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar 438.77 (2008 est.), 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004) note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Western Africa, southwest of Algeria
Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique
Area
1,240,192 km sq
947,300 km sq
Coastline
0 km
1,424 km
Climate
subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February)
varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands
