Tanzania is an East African country comprising a union of Tanganyika, the mainland territory, and the semiautonomous Zanzibar archipelago. The United States has long considered Tanzania a partner in economic development and, increasingly, in regional security efforts. With more than 52 million people, Tanzania is one of the largest countries in Africa by population and is endowed with substantial natural resource wealth and agricultural potential. Over the past decade, it has experienced robust economic growth based largely on favorably high gold prices and tourism; growth has averaged nearly 7% annually. The ongoing development of large reserves of offshore natural gas discovered in 2010 has raised the prospect of substantial foreign investment inflows and export revenue. Nevertheless, corruption and poor service delivery have hindered efforts to curb widespread poverty, and extensive development challenges remain. Since independence in 1964, Tanzanian politics have been dominated by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, Party of the Revolution), created through the merger of the ruling parties of the mainland and Zanzibar. Political pluralism is weak and opposition parties face periodic harassment and de facto restrictions on their activities. The government is led by President John Magufuli of the CCM, who was elected in late October 2015 and also heads the CCM. His predecessor, Jakaya Kikwete, also of the CCM, assumed power in 2005 and won reelection in 2010, but was constitutionally barred from running for a third term. The 2015 polls featured a close contest between the CCM and a coalition of the leading opposition parties. Tanzania is generally stable and peaceful, but has seen sporadic threats to state and public security, including periodic but rare attacks on tourists in Zanzibar and several bombings of Christian churches attributed to Islamist radicals, as well as several unattributed armed attacks on police. Tanzania has occasionally arrested suspected Islamic extremists, as in April 2015, when a group of 10 alleged members of the Somali Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group Al Shabaab were taken into custody. U.S.-Tanzanian relations are cordial, but have suffered tensions over the contentious 2015/2016 election in Zanzibar, restrictions on civil liberties, and other issues. President Kikwete was the first African head of state to meet with former President Obama after the latter took office, and President Obama stated that a "shared commitment to the development and the dignity of the people of Tanzania" underpins bilateral ties. Tanzania also maintains close economic and political ties with China. Under the Obama Administration, aid cooperation was generally robust. How ties and assistance cooperation may proceed under the Administration of President Donald Trump and during the 115th Congress has yet to be determined. U.S. aid for Tanzania has focused primarily on health, food security, agricultural development, and infrastructure, largely under multiple major presidential initiatives. U.S. assistance has also supported Tanzania's hosting of large numbers of refugees from the region. Tanzania is eligible for African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade benefits and in September 2013 completed a $698 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact focused on poverty reduction and economic growth. The MCC has since suspended activity in support of a possible second compact, citing governance concerns. U.S. security assistance increased after the 1998 Al Qaeda bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam. Tanzania was one of six initial participants in the Obama Administration's African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership (APRRP), which aims to build the peacekeeping capacity of African militaries. Tanzania is a troop contributor to United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping operations in multiple African countries and Lebanon.