TANZANIA (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania)

Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. German rule began in mainland Tanzania during the late 19th century when Germany formed German East Africa. This was followed by British rule after World War I. The mainland was governed as Tanganyika, with the Zanzibar Archipelago remaining a separate colonial jurisdiction. Following their respective independence in 1961 and 1963, the two entities merged in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. The countries had joined the British Commonwealth in 1961 and Tanzania is still a member of the Commonwealth as one republic. 

Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the north-east, where Mount Kilimanjaro is located. Three of Africa's Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania. To the north and west lie Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, and Lake Tanganyika, the continent's deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish. To the south lies Lake Malawi. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the Zanzibar Archipelago just offshore. The Menai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibar's largest marine protected area. The Kalambo Falls, located on the Kalambo River at the Zambian border, is the second highest uninterrupted waterfall in Africa. Over 100 different languages are spoken in Tanzania, making it the most linguistically diverse country in East Africa. The country does not have a de jure official language.

Approximately 38 percent of Tanzania's land area is set aside in protected areas for conservation. Tanzania has 16 national parks, plus a variety of game and forest reserves, including the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In western Tanzania, Gombe Stream National Park is the site of Jane Goodall's ongoing study of chimpanzee behaviour, which started in 1960. Tanzania is highly biodiverse and contains a wide variety of animal habitats. On Tanzania's Serengeti plain, white-bearded wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus mearnsi), other bovids and zebra  participate in a large-scale annual migration. Tanzania is home to about 130 amphibian and over 275 reptile species, many of them strictly endemic and included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red Lists of countries.

The story of the postage stamps and postal history of Tanzania begins with German East Africa, which was occupied by British forces during World War I. After the war, the territory came under British rule, was named Tanganyika and issued stamps under that name until after a union with Zanzibar in 1964. The first issue of Tanzania proper was a set of four commemorative stamps marking the union, issued 7 July 1964. Inscribed "UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANGANYIKA & ZANZIBAR", two values depict a map of the coast from Tanga to Dar-es-Salaam along with Zanzibar and Pemba, while other two show hands holding a torch and spear.

The first definitive series inscribed Tanzania was issued 9 December 1965, and consisted of a set of 14 values ranging from 5 cents to 20 shillings, depicting a variety of scenes, symbols, and wildlife. The stamps of Tanzania were also valid in Kenya and Uganda (until 1976), and so Tanzania did not typically issue its own commemoratives. A definitives series issued 9 December 1967 featured various fish, and series of 15 stamps from 3 December 1973 depicted butterflies. Four of these values were surcharged 17 November 1975.

In 1976 and 1977, Tanzania issued eight commemorative sets that shared design with the stamps of Kenya, and after that it issued its own designs. Stamp-issuing policy was relatively restrained in the 1980s, with about 7-8 special issues each year, typically of four stamps each, and a definitive series of mammals in 1980, but by the end of the decade the postal administration had begun putting out large numbers of issues aimed solely at stamp collectors, with averages of over 100 types annually. Tanzania is a client of the Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation.

Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika (KUT) is the name on British postage stamps made for use in the British colonies of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika. The stamps were circulated between 1935 and 1963 by the joint postal service of the three colonies, the East African Posts and Telecommunications Administration, reconstituted as part of the East African High Commission from 1948 to 1961, the East African Common Services Organization from 1961 to 1967, and the East African Community from 1967 to 1977. Even after independence, the new separate nations continued to use the KUT stamps, and they remained valid for postage until 1977.

The first postage stamps of Tanganyika were stamps of the East Africa and Uganda Protectorates overprinted "G.E.A." (for German East Africa), used in 1921 and 1922. These are superficially identical to the last occupation issues of German East Africa, but the presence of the "Crown and Script CA" watermark shows they were issued after the civil administration took over from the military, and are thus properly considered the first issues of Tanganyika. In 1922, the government issued a series of 19 stamps inscribed "TANGANYIKA", featuring the head of a giraffe, denominated in cents, shillings and pounds (100 cents to a shilling, 20 shillings to a pound), with several colour changes in 1925. The changes were because there were many power changes, with each leader wanting a different color. This was followed in 1927 by a second series of 16 values in a more conventional design with a profile of King George V and inscribed "MANDATED TERRITORY OF TANGANYIKA". 

In 1927, Tanganyika entered the Customs Union of Kenya and Uganda, as well as the East African Postal Union. Between 1935 and 1963, stamps of the combined postal administration (East African Posts and Telecommunications Administration) inscribed "Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika" were in use. Shortly after independence in 1961, the new state of Tanganyika issued a series of commemorative stamps inscribed "TANGANYIKA". This was followed by a final commemorative issue on December 9, 1962, with four stamps inscribed "JAMHURI YA TANGANYIKA" ("Republic of Tanganyika") to commemorate the founding of the republic. Tanganyika ceased to exist as a nation in 1964, when it was loosely united with Zanzibar, to form the nation of Tanzania. Stamps of the East African postal administration remained valid until well after the formation of Tanzania.