Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here Sunday for a state visit to Tanzania, the second leg of his maiden foreign trip since assuming presidency.

The following are some basic facts about the East African country.

Tanzania comprises the mainland of Tanganyika and the islands of Zanzibar, covering a total area of more than 945,000 square km. It has a population of about 46 million.

People in Tanzania speak Swahili, which, with English, are the two official languages of the country.

Tanzania is listed by the United Nations as one of the least developed countries in the world. Its economy relies heavily on agriculture, and the country is rich in mineral resources, including diamond, gold, coal, iron and natural gas.

China established diplomatic relations with Tanganyika in 1961, and with Zanzibar in 1963. China took April 26, 1964, the day when Tanganyika and Zanzibar were united into Tanzania, as the date of establishing diplomatic relations with Tanzania.

China-Tanzania relations have since witnessed healthy and smooth development, with fruitful results achieved in economy and trade, culture, education and health among other areas.

Two-way trade reached 2.47 billion US dollars in 2012, a 15.2 percent increase from the previous year.