All Around Snapshot of the Capital of Tanzania Dodoma
Dodoma region is one of Tanzania’s 31 administrative sectors. Dodoma city is the capital of the region. The total Dodoma population was found to be 2,083,588 in the 2012 census. This number was lower than the pre-census estimates of 2,214,657. From 2002 to 2012, the region’s population grew at a 2.1 percent average rate, the twentieth highest rate. Also, the region’s population density was 50 people per square kilometer, which was the seventeenth most dense population. The main tribal groups living in this area are Gogo, Warangi, and Wasandawi. Dodoma denotes “sunk” in the Gogo language.
History
Dodoma City, the biggest city and capital of the Dodoma region, originated in the early nineteenth century from a small village named Gogo. At that time, there used to be only a few wooden houses. The city was founded by German colonists in 1907 when they built the Tanzania Central Railway. The history of this city is full of economic difficulties and droughts. In 1910, it faced a severe drought along with Singida and Kondoa. In December 1916, a report by a British official in Dodoma stated that “the entire district has been looted for cattle.” While the Germans killed 26,000 animals, the British killed 5,659 animals. This problem persisted throughout the year 1917, and in November, drought became a disaster. Nearly 30,000 people died. That was one out of every five people, according to the district’s population at the time. Thousands departed, and others sold dying cattle for just a shilling in Dodoma’s market. Smallpox was widespread, and a Spanish influenza wave annihilated approximately 50,000–80,000 people in Tanganyika during 1918 and 1920.
When the British acquired the country, they preferred living Arusha and Dar es Salaam, and the region’s importance began to wane. The significance decreased further when the Chinese built Tanzam Highway in the 1960s, connecting Morogoro to Iringa and Dar es Salaam. Tanganyika earned its freedom from Britain on 9 December 1961, and Dodoma continued to be the capital of the Central Province. The Dodoma Region was established in 1963 after the new nation’s provinces were divided into smaller administrative units and renamed regions. In 1973, the Tanzanian government decided to move the capital to a central place to deal with the necessities of people with a better approach. Dodoma climate was among the top reason why the city was chosen for this project because it was a developed town at a significant crossroads with a favorable climate and room for development. The same year, the government of Tanzania initiated Dodoma Soil Conservation Program nationwide to enrich soil fertility and productivity in the worst-affected areas of the region.
Where is Dodoma?
Geography of Dodoma Tanzania
The Dodoma region is situated in Tanzania’s eastern-central area. The distance between the coast and the central city is about 480 kilometers (300 miles) which is roughly the same to the distance from Dodoma to Dar es salaam (442 kms). The predominantly semi-arid region covers 15,950 square miles (41,311 sq km), making it a little bigger than Switzerland (15,950 sq miles (41,311 square kilometers)). The Manyara Region borders this region to the north, the Singida Region to the west, the Iringa Region to the south, the Morogoro Region southeast and east (distance from Morogoro to Dodoma is about 262.5 kms) , and the Tanga region to the northeast. The Wami River Sub-Basin “expands from semi-arid Dodoma territory to humid inland marshes in the Morogoro area to the Sadani village in coastwise Bagamoyo district,” Kikuyu River also drifts through the region, which streams near Dodoma town.
The region yields beans, grains, seeds, coffee, peanuts, tobacco, and tea. Cattle are also reared and sold.
Districts
The region is administered into seven districts. Refer to Dodoma map in the table below:
Education
Dodoma is the hub of academic activities in the area; as of 2009, there were two universities. The University of Dodoma is spread over a 6,000-hectare site in the Chimwaga region, about 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) east of Dodoma. The University of Dodoma was founded in 2007 in association with the Development of Tanzania Vision 2025. It is anticipated to have 50,000 pupils when operating at full strength. It’s twice more than that of Dar es Salam University. Around 40,000 students enrolled in 2012, five years after the University Inauguration. In 2007, it was established in cooperation with Tanzania’s Development Vision 2025. The University of Dodoma is believed to have about 50,000 students when fully operational. More than twice the size of the University of Dar es Salaam. There was an expected enrollment of 40,000 in 2012, five years after the university’s inauguration. St. John’s University of Tanzania is the second university in Tanzania.
Transportation
Roads
A paved trunk road (T3) connects the Dodoma region that begins on the coast at Dar es Salaam, passing through Singida, Dodoma, and Morogoro, and ends at the Rwanda border. A paved trunk road to Iringa (T5) was started in 2016. In early 2018, the T5 trunk road to Babati in the Manyara region was completed. Dodoma is located along the Great North Road, a significant infrastructure network in Africa that connects Cape Town to Cairo.
Rail
The city of Dodoma is served by Tanzania’s Central Railway.
Airports
The Dodoma Airport serves this area, which is two miles (3.2 km) by road from the train station (1.21 kilometers (0.75 miles) by air), located in the center of the city.
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