Postage stamps and postal history of Zanzibar Postage stamps and postal history of Zanzibar This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Zanzibar. Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of the United Republic of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises most of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The islands were once governed by the Zanzibar Sultanate, a sovereign state with a long trading history within the Arab world. In 1964 it united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania. Any Indian stamps or covers used in Zanzibar between 1854 and 1876 are rare. A post office under Indian administration provided postal services from late
Zanzibar ancestral land for which they probably do not have a legal deed. In 1984, fewer than 20,000 tourists visited Zanzibar. Five times more visitors travelled to the island in 2000. The events of September 11, 2001 reduced the inflow of tourists, which was restored only after 2004. Zanzibar has at least 6,200 beds across 6 classes of accommodation. However, there is a disproportionately large number in ungraded, one and two star categories. The energy sector in Zanzibar consists of unreliable electric power, petroleum and petroleum products; it is also supplemented by firewood and its related products. Coal and gas are