Dar es Salaam is the largest city and commercial capital of Tanzania. With a population of over six million, it is the largest city in East Africa and the fifth largest in Africa. On the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest growing cities in the world. According to United Nations population projections, the city is expected to host nearly 73 million people in 2100, more than the country’s total population of 61 million today.
The city was founded by the first Sultan of Zanzibar in 1865 or 1866. The city was the main administrative and commercial center of East Africa, Tanganyika and Tanzania. The decision was made in 1974 to move the capital to Dodoma and was officially completed in 1996.
Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s most prominent city for arts, fashion, media, film, and television, as well as a leading financial center. It is the capital of the common Dar es Salaam region, which is one of the 31 administrative regions of Tanzania, and is made up of five regions: Kinondoni in the north; Elala in the middle; Ubongo and Temeki in the south; and Kigamboni in the east across the mouth of the Kurasini.