Dodoma

Dodoma, officially Dodoma Urban District, is the national capital of Tanzania and the capital of Dodoma Region, with a population of 410,956.GeographyLocated at, in the centre of the country, the town is 453km west of the former capital at Dar es Salaam and 441km south of Arusha, the headquarters of the East African Community. It is also 259km north of Iringa through Mtera. It covers an area of 2669km2 of which 625km2 is urbanized.DemographicsOut of the total population, 199,487 people are male while 211,469 people are female. The average household size is 4.4 people. The Roman Catholic Church reports that 19.2% of the population are Roman Catholics. Dodoma is populated by different ethnic groups because it is a government administrative centre, although the indigenous ethnic groups are the Gogo, Rangi, and Sandawe. There are also small Indian minorities.HistoryDodoma was founded in 1907 by German colonists during construction of the Tanzanian central railway. In 1973, the Tanzanian government announced that the capital would be moved from Dar es Salaam to a more central location to better serve the needs of the people. Dodoma was selected for this purpose, as it was an already established town at a major crossroads with an agreeable climate, impressive landscape, and room for development.