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Updates: 

"Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes, Edition 2" (GENC), a U.S. standard that's supposed to correspond to ISO 3166-2, was issued on 2014-03-31. It gives codes for the four regions created in 2012. Geita, Katavi, Njombe, and Simiyu are coded TZ-27, TZ-28, TZ-29, and TZ-30, respectively. Subsequently, on 2014-11-03, ISO officially issued codes for these four regions. Now there is a perfect match between the two standards.

I added 2012 population data from source [11]. Also, I noticed that although Kagera region lost some of its territory in 2012, I had not changed its HASC code (unlike the other regions affected); I have now given it a new code.

Update 13 to Geopolitical Entities and Codes (formerly FIPS 10-4) is dated 2013-09-30. All it does in Tanzania is make the first letter of "es" lowercase in Dar es Salaam.

Update 10 to Geopolitical Entities and Codes (formerly FIPS 10-4) is dated 2012-12-31. It assigns codes to the four new regions. It also provides region names in Swahili in addition to English.

One of the new regions in 2012 was going to be called Njoluma, from the first syllables of its constituent districts, Njombe, Ludewa, and Makete. Sorin Cosoveanu writes that the name was already being used for a farmers' co-operative, so the authorities went back to the simple name Njombe.

FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 10, affecting FIPS PUB 10-4, was issued on 2006-03-23. It assigns a new FIPS code to the new Manyara region, and changes the code for the old region from which it was formed.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter number I-5, dated 2003-09-05, explains that the Swahili word for regions is mkoa. It removes the hyphens from Dar-es-Salaam, and adds the new Manyara region. I have added an ISO code column to the table below, showing the new code for Manyara.

Change Notice 7 to FIPS PUB 10-4 is dated 2002-01-10. The only change affecting Tanzania is to the official name of one region. Ziwa Magharibi (Swahili for West Lake) has changed its name to Kagera. According to "Administrative Subdivisions of Countries", which lists the region as Kagera, this change occurred around 1984. ISO/DIS 3166-2, the first draft of the standard, listed both Kagera (05) and Ziwa Magharibi (26) as separate regions. Actually, Ziwa Magharibi is an old name for Kagera. The error was corrected in the final draft of the standard (1998).

Country overview: 

Short name	TANZANIA
ISO code	TZ
FIPS code	TZ
Language	Swahili (sw), English (en)
Time zone	+3
Capital	Dar es Salaam,Dodoma

 

In 1900, Zanzibar (including Pemba) was a British protectorate, and Tanganyika was part of German East Africa. After Germany's defeat in World War I, Tanganyika was mandated to Great Britain by the League of Nations. Following World War II, the mandate became a United Nations trusteeship. Tanganyika became independent on 1961-12-09; Zanzibar did likewise on 1963-12-19. The two countries joined on 1964-04-26 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The name was shortened to United Republic of Tanzania on 1964-10-29. Governmental functions are gradually being transferred from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Tanzania
2. Dutch: Tanzania, Verenigde Republiek Tanzania (formal)
3. English: United Republic of Tanzania (formal)
4. Finnish: Tansania
5. French: Tanzanie, République-Unie f de Tanzanie f (formal)
6. German: Tansania, Vereinigte Republik f Tansania n (formal)
7. Icelandic: Tansanía
8. Italian: Tanzania f
9. Norwegian: Forbundsrepublikken Tanzania (formal) (Bokmål), Sambandsrepublikken Tanzania (formal) (Nynorsk), Tanzania
10. Portuguese: Tanzánia, Tanzânia (Brazil), República f Unida da Tanzánia f (formal)
11. Russian: Объединенная Республика Танзания (formal)
12. Spanish: Tanzania, Tanzanía, República f Unida de Tanzania (formal)
13. Turkish: Tanzanya Birleşik Cumhuriyeti (formal)
14. Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania (formal)
15. Swedish: Tanzania

Origin of name: 

Coined from Tan(ganyika) + Zan(zibar) + -ia (suffix for country)

Primary subdivisions: 

Tanzania is divided into 30 regions (mkoa in Swahili).

Region	HASC	ISO	FIPS	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)	Capital
Arusha	TZ.AS	01	TZ26	1,694,310	33,809	13,054	Arusha
Dar es Salaam	TZ.DS	02	TZ23	4,364,541	1,393	538	Dar es Salaam
Dodoma	TZ.DO	03	TZ03	2,083,588	41,311	15,950	Dodoma
Geita	TZ.GE	27	TZ28	1,739,530			Geita
Iringa	TZ.IG	04	TZ04	941,238	56,864	21,955	Iringa
Kagera	TZ.KG	05	TZ19	2,458,023	28,388	10,961	Bukoba
Katavi	TZ.KA	28	TZ29	564,604			Mpanda
Kigoma	TZ.KM	08	TZ05	2,127,930	37,037	14,300	Kigoma
Kilimanjaro	TZ.KL	09	TZ06	1,640,087	13,309	5,139	Moshi
Lindi	TZ.LI	12	TZ07	864,652	67,000	25,869	Lindi
Manyara	TZ.MY	26	TZ27	1,425,131	46,359	17,899	Babati
Mara	TZ.MA	13	TZ08	1,743,830	19,566	7,554	Musoma
Mbeya	TZ.MB	14	TZ09	2,707,410	60,350	23,301	Mbeya
Morogoro	TZ.MO	16	TZ10	2,218,492	70,799	27,336	Morogoro
Mtwara	TZ.MT	17	TZ11	1,270,854	16,707	6,451	Mtwara
Mwanza	TZ.MZ	18	TZ12	2,772,509	19,592	7,565	Mwanza
Njombe	TZ.NJ	29	TZ30	702,097			Njombe
Pemba North	TZ.PN	06	TZ13	211,732	574	222	Wete
Pemba South	TZ.PS	10	TZ20	195,116	332	128	Chake Chake
Pwani	TZ.PW	19	TZ02	1,098,668	32,407	12,512	Dar es Salaam
Rukwa	TZ.RU	20	TZ24	1,004,539	68,635	26,500	Sumbawanga
Ruvuma	TZ.RV	21	TZ14	1,376,891	63,498	24,517	Songea
Shinyanga	TZ.SY	22	TZ15	1,534,808	50,781	19,607	Shinyanga
Simiyu	TZ.SI	30	TZ31	1,584,157			Bariadi
Singida	TZ.SD	23	TZ16	1,370,637	49,341	19,051	Singida
Tabora	TZ.TB	24	TZ17	2,291,623	76,151	29,402	Tabora
Tanga	TZ.TN	25	TZ18	2,045,205	26,808	10,351	Tanga
Zanzibar North	TZ.ZN	07	TZ22	187,455	470	181	Mkokotoni
Zanzibar South and Central	TZ.ZS	11	TZ21	115,588	854	330	Koani
Zanzibar West	TZ.ZW	15	TZ25	593,678	230	89	Zanzibar
30 regions				44,928,923	882,565	340,760
HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Region codes from ISO 3166-2. For full identification in a global context, prefix "TZ-" to the code (ex: TZ-26 represents Manyara). Population: 2012-08-26 census (source [11]). Area: Source [5].

Further subdivisions:

See the Districts of Tanzania page.

The regions are subdivided into districts (wilaya in Swahili). There were 129 districts in 2003. Subordinate to the districts are divisions, under the divisions are wards, and under the wards (except in urban districts) are villages.

The distinction between Tanzania Mainland and Tanzania Zanzibar, corresponding to the two countries that merged in 1964, is still observed.

Territorial extent: 

1. Kagera includes Bumbiri, Ikusa, Bukerebe, Nabuyongo, and other islands in Lake Victoria.
2. Lindi includes Songa Manara Island in the Indian Ocean.
3. Mara includes Lukuba Island and a few other small islands in Lake Victoria.
4. Mwanza includes Ukerewe, Rubondo, Ukara, Maisome, Kome, Irugwa, and other islands in Lake Victoria.
5. Pemba North and Pemba South share Pemba Islands.
6. Pwani includes Mafia Island in the Indian Ocean.
7. Tanga includes Mwambawamba Island and other small islands in the Pemba Channel.
8. Zanzibar North, Zanzibar South and Central, and Zanzibar West share Zanzibar Island. Tumbatu Island is in Zanzibar North; Uzi and Pungume Islands are in Zanzibar South and Central.

The UN LOCODE page  for Tanzania lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names: 

1. Dar es Salaam: Arabic dar as-salam: home of peace
2. Iringa: Hehe lilinga: fort
3. Tabora: Nyamwezi matoborwa: sweet potatoes
4. Zanzibar: from an Arabic word for blacks

Change history: 

Divisions of Tanganyika in 1922 were: Arusha, Bagamoyo, Bukoba, Daressalam, Dodoma, Iringa, Kilwa, Kondoa-Irangi, Lindi, Mahenge, Morogoro, Moshi, Mwanza, Pangani, Rufiji, Rungwe, Songea, Tabora, Tanga, Ufipa, Ujiji, and Usambara. Numerous changes occurred between then and independence. The situation as of 1948, according to source [1], was:

Division	Population
Central	821,147
Eastern	933,120
Lake	1,853,719
Northern	592,300
Southern	917,648
Southern Highlands	849,995
Tanga	557,245
Western	952,503
Total Tanganyika	7,477,677
Pemba	114,587
Zanzibar	149,575
Total Zanzibar	264,162
Total	7,741,839
Division: Tanganyika, provinces; Zanzibar, islands (which were not administrative divisions). Populations: Tanganyika, 1948-02 census; Zanzibar, 1948-02-25 census. They were probably conducted under different rules, so the total is a hybrid.

1. ~1961: Dar es Salaam province split from Eastern; West Lake province split from Lake.
2. 1964-04-26: Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged. Tanzania now consisted of these twelve provinces:

Province	Population	Area(km.²)	Capital	Regions
Central	886,962	94,301	Dodoma	Dodoma, Singida
Dar es Salaam	128,742	1,393	Dar es Salaam	Coast (part)
Eastern	955,828	107,630	Dar es Salaam	Coast (part), Morogoro
Lake	1,731,794	107,711	Mwanza	Mara, Mwanza, Shinyanga (part)
Northern	772,434	85,374	Arusha	Arusha, Kilimanjaro (part)
Pemba	133,858	984	Chake Chake	Pemba
Southern	1,014,265	143,027	Mtwara	Mtwara, Ruvuma
Southern Highlands	1,030,269	119,253	Mbeya	Iringa, Mbeya (part)
Tanga	688,290	35,750	Tanga	Kilimanjaro (part), Tanga
West Lake	514,431	28,388	Bukoba	West Lake
Western	1,062,598	203,068	Tabora	Kigoma, Mbeya (part), Shinyanga (part), Tabora
Zanzibar	165,253	1,658	Zanzibar	Zanzibar Rural, Zanzibar West
12 provinces	9,084,724	928,537
Population: 1958 census Regions: approximate equivalent regions after the reorganization

1. ~1966: Tanzania reorganized into twenty regions.
2. ~1967: Zanzibar Shambani (Rural) region split into Zanzibar Shambani North and Zanzibar Shambani South, which later became Zanzibar North and Zanzibar South and Central.
3. ~1971: Rukwa region created from parts of Mbeya and Tabora.
4. 1972-07-01: Lindi region split from Mtwara.
5. 1974-01-01: Dar es Salaam region split from Coast.
6. ~1982: Name of Coast region changed to Pwani; Pemba region split into Pemba North and Pemba South.
7. ~1984: Name of West Lake region changed to Kagera.
8. ~2002-05: Manyara region split from Arusha (former HASC code TZ.AR, FIPS code TZ01) (Sources [2]-[4]). All sources agree that Manyara contains Babati, Hanang, Kiteto, and Mbulu districts. That's all that source [4] seems to list. Source [3] adds Manyara and Simanjiro districts. If I follow the German text correctly, source [3] also says that the southern part of Monduli district was annexed to Babati district. Source [11] lists adds Simanjiro district and Babati town to the four.
9. 2012-03-02: Government Notice No. 72 took effect. Geita region (capital Geita) formed by taking Bukombe district from Shinyanga region, Chato from Kagera, and Geita from Mwanza; Katavi region (capital Mpanda) formed by taking Mpanda district from Rukwa region; Njombe region (capital Njombe) formed by taking Ludewa, Makete, and Njombe districts from Iringa region; Simiyu region (capital Bariadi) formed by taking Bariadi, Meatu, and Maswa districts from Shinyanga region, and the newly created Busega district from Mwanza. The former HASC codes of the diminished regions were TZ.IR (Iringa), TZ.KR (Kagera), TZ.MW (Mwanza), TZ.RK (Rukwa), and TZ.SH (Shinyanga).

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Dar es Salaam: Daressalam (German)
2. Kagera: West Lake (obsolete); Ziwa Magharibi (Swahili-obsolete)
3. Pemba North: Kaskazini Pemba (Swahili); Pemba Septentrional (Spanish)
4. Pemba South: Kusini Pemba (Swahili); Pemba Meridional (Spanish)
5. Pwani: Coast (obsolete)
6. Zanzibar: Sansibar (German); Zanzíbar (Spanish)
7. Zanzibar North: Kaskazini Unguja (Swahili); North Unguja, Zanzibar Rural North, Zanzibar Shambani North (variant); Zanzibar Septentrional (Spanish)
8. Zanzibar South and Central: Kusini Unguja (Swahili); South Unguja, South Zanzibar, Unguja South & Central, Zanzibar Rural South, Zanzibar Shambani South (variant); Zanzibar Meridional/Central (Spanish)
9. Zanzibar West: Mjini Magharibi (Swahili); Unguja Town & West, Urban West, Zanzibar Mjini, Zanzibar Urban, Zanzibar Urban/West (variant); Zanzibar Occidental (Spanish)

Population history:

Region	1967-08-26	1978-08-26	1988-08-28	2002-08-25	2012-08-26
Arusha	610,474	926,223	744,479	1,288,088	1,694,310
Dar es Salaam	356,286	843,090	1,360,850	2,487,288	4,364,541
Dodoma	709,380	972,005	1,235,328	1,692,025	2,083,588
Geita				1,337,718	1,739,530
Iringa	689,905	925,044	1,193,074	840,404	941,238
Kagera	658,712	1,009,767	1,313,594	1,791,451	2,458,023
Katavi				408,609	564,604
Kigoma	473,443	648,941	856,770	1,674,047	2,127,930
Kilimanjaro	652,722	902,437	1,104,673	1,376,702	1,640,087
Lindi	419,853	527,624	646,494	787,624	864,652
Manyara			603,691	1,037,605	1,425,131
Mara	544,125	723,827	946,418	1,363,397	1,743,830
Mbeya	753,765	1,079,864	1,476,278	2,063,328	2,707,410
Morogoro	682,700	939,264	1,220,564	1,753,362	2,218,492
Mtwara	621,293	771,818	889,100	1,124,481	1,270,854
Mwanza	1,055,883	1,443,379	1,876,635	2,058,866	2,772,509
Njombe				648,464	702,097
Pemba North	72,015	106,290	137,189	185,326	211,732
Pemba South	92,306	99,014	127,623	175,471	195,116
Pwani	428,041	516,586	636,103	885,017	1,098,668
Rukwa	276,091	451,897	698,718	729,060	1,004,539
Ruvuma	395,447	561,575	779,875	1,113,715	1,376,891
Shinyanga	899,468	1,323,535	1,763,800	1,249,226	1,534,808
Simiyu				1,317,879	1,584,157
Singida	457,938	613,949	792,387	1,086,748	1,370,637
Tabora	502,068	817,907	1,036,150	1,710,465	2,291,623
Tanga	771,060	1,037,767	1,280,212	1,636,280	2,045,205
Zanzibar North	56,360	77,017	96,989	136,639	187,455
Zanzibar South and Central	39,087	51,749	70,313	94,244	115,588
Zanzibar West	95,047	142,041	208,571	390,074	593,678
Total	12,313,469	17,512,610	23,095,878	34,443,603	44,928,923

 

Data for 1967 to 1988 from source [6], a Tanzanian government website. Manyara was included in Arusha in 1967 and 1978 figures. Apparently, in all other cases, data are proleptic to the boundaries as of 2002. Data for 2002 and 2012 from source [11], proleptic to 2012 boundaries.

Sources: 

1. [1] Demographic Yearbook , 7th Ed. Statistical Office of the United Nations, New York, 1955.
2. [2] The [Tanzania] Express Online (http://www.theexpress.com/express%20250/business/business_opinion.htm, dead link, dated 2002-05-16 to 22, retrieved 2002-08-19).
3. [3] Deutsch-Tansanische Freundschaftsgesellschaft  (German-Tanzanian Friendship Society) website, at http://www.detaf.de/tansania-info/06/ (in German, now a dead link, retrieved 2002-08-19). The item about Manyara cites the [Manchester?] Guardian, 2002-05-10 to 11.
4. [4] Tanzania census website (http://www.tanzania.go.tz/census/census/tables.htm, dead link, retrieved 2004-12-27).
5. [5] NBS Statistical Abstract, Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics (http://www.nbs.go.tz/abstract2002/index.htm, dead link, retrieved 2004-12-27).
6. [6] 2002 Population and Housing Census. Tanzania National Website (http://www.tanzania.go.tz/census/census/tables.htm, dead link, retrieved 2004-12-27).
7. [7] Tanzania: State Gazettes New Regions, Districts , article on the AllAfrica website (dated 2012-03-09, retrieved 2012-03-18).
8. [8] Mikoa ya Tanzania Bara  (Regions of Mainland Tanzania), Prime Ministers Office Regional Administration and Local Government website (in Swahili, retrieved 2012-07-23).
9. [9] New regions to be announced on Friday , article in Daily News (retrieved 2012-07-23).
10. [10] Notisi ya Kuanzisha Mikoa na Wilaya  (Notice of the Formation of Regions and Districts, in Swahili, retrieved 2012-07-25).
11. [11] 2012 Population and Housing Census : Population Distribution by Administrative Areas. National Bureau of Statistics (dated 2013-03, retrieved 2014-02-16).