Dodoma

Originally a small market town known as Idodomya, the modern Dodoma was founded in 1907 by German colonists during construction of the Tanzanian central railway. The layout followed the typical colonial planning of the time with a European quarter segregated from a native village. In 1967, following independence, the government invited Canadian firm Project Planning Associates Ltd to draw up a master plan to help control and organise the then capital of the country, Dar es Salaam, which was undergoing rapid urbanisation and population growth. The plan was cancelled in 1972, in part due to its failure to adequately address the historical and social problems associated with the city. …

Located in the centre of the country, the town is 453 kilometres (281 mi) west of the former capital at Dar es Salaam and 441 kilometres (274 mi) south of Arusha, the headquarters of the East African Community. It is 259 kilometres (161 miles) north of Iringa through Mtera. It is also 260 kilometres (160 miles) west of Morogoro. It covers an area of 2,669 square kilometres (1,031 sq mi) of which 625 square kilometres (241 sq mi) is urbanized.

North of the city centre, Dodoma Airport is managed by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority. Flights are currently limited to small aircraft operated commercially by Precision Air, Air Tanzania, Auric Air, and Flightlink. However, in December 2019, plans were announced to construct the new Msalato International Airport, located approximately 14 km north of Dodoma city centre, through a US$272 million financing package supported by the African Development Bank and other development partners. The airport is being developed to provide greater runway length and weight-bearing capacity than the existing Dodoma Airport, enabling it to handle larger passenger and cargo aircraft.As of 2026, construction remained underway, with infrastructure works reported at about 85% completion and building works over 70% complete. …

Out of the total population, 199,487 people (48.5 percent) are male while 211,469 people (51.5 percent) 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. The population count as of 2022 was recorded as 3,085,625 in Dodoma region of 41,311 km2, while Dodoma city increased from 410,956 in 2012 to 765,179 in 2022, covering 2,607 km2, or annual rate of 6.4% in ten years.