03Cities, Parks & Islands

Largest city

Dar es Salaam, harbour gateway—not the official capital

Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s largest city and the coastal face many travellers pass through before safari or Zanzibar. The city had an estimated 7.776 million people in 2023 across roughly 1,599 km², and was founded in 1862. The country’s official capital is Dodoma; do not mix the two: Dodoma is the administrative seat, Dar es Salaam is harbour, business and an Indian Ocean skyline. Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) is one of the three main gateways with Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. On the ground you see port wharves, high-rise silhouettes and the busy Posta district near the centre. One day is enough to catch the city’s pace—harbour, waterfront, an urban street—before you leave by road or air for the north or the archipelago. Do not call Dar es Salaam “Zanzibar’s capital” or “the only Serengeti door”: it is a major coastal city and a practical starting hub for many trips, not the whole Tanzanian picture.

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Dar es Salaam population

1599

City area

1862

Founding year