CLIMATE

Due to close proximity to the equator and the warm Indian Ocean, the city experiences tropical climatic conditions, typified by hot and humid weather throughout much of the year. It has a tropical wet and dry climate. Annual rainfall is approximately 1,100 mm (43 in), and in a normal year there are two rainy seasons: “the long rains” in April and May and “the short rains” in November and December.

GLOBALISATION

As any growing city, Dar es-Salaam is the city in Tanzania to which villagers flock for better opportunities. Westerners and Asians are also settling in Dar es-Salaam, and the movement of foreigners has put a good workload on the relevant government body for developing better policies to accommodate the growing and the diverse population of the Dar es-Salaam together with its suburbs.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECONOMY

Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s most important city for both business and government. The city contains high concentrations of trade and other services and manufacturing compared to other parts of Tanzania, which has about 80 percent of its population in rural areas. Downtown includes small businesses, many of which are run by traders and proprietors whose families originated from the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent areas of the world with which the settlements of the Tanzanian coast have had long-standing trading relations.

The Dar es Salaam Central Business District is the largest in Tanzania and comprises the Kisutu, Kivukoni, Upanga and Kariakoo areas. The downtown area is located in the Ilala district. Kivukoni is home to the Tanzania central bank, The Bank of Tanzania, the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and the city’s important Magogoni fish market. Kisutu has businesses and offices and is the location of Dar es Salaam central railway station, the PSPF Towers and the TPA tower.