Zanzibar Land

Zanzibar Land is a fictional, heavily fortified territory in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, as well as the setting of the game. It was located between the former Soviet Union, China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The closest location meeting this description in reality is Badakhshan.

Solid Snake was sent to the territory to retrieve a kidnapped biologist, however, his mission ended up quite a bit more complicated.

The following is the translated information about Zanzibar Land.
 * Population: 40,000
 * Area: 450 km2
 * Capital: Zanzibar
 * Government: Republic
 * Head of State: Unknown
 * Political Parties: One-party rule by Zanzibar Land Party
 * Languages: English, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Uzbek, Vietnamese Vietnamese, and French
 * Race: 100 of every world race including Caucasian, African, Ukrainian, Russian, Uzbek, German, Chinese, and French.
 * Currency: Zanje
 * Defense Expenditures: 75% of GNP
 * Products and Resources Iron, Coal, Bauxite, Tungsten, Sugar beets, Flour, Oats, Potatoes, Maize, Super Mentha, Jijirium, Bizanium, Eltonium, and Pegimin-h
 * Arable Land: 24%
 * Average Life Span: Male 41.5 years, Female 40.31 years (1999)
 * Births 20 per 1000 population
 * Deaths 35.8 per 1000 population


 * Description: A landlocked nation surrounded by Pakistan, the USSR, China, and Afghanistan.

The south of the country is desert. The north is steppe, mountains, and plateaus. The climate is arid, with a large temperature difference between daytime and nighttime.

The area was formerly Zanzibar Province, an autonomous zone of the USSR. Opposition to the old regime mounted in the early 1990s, after the secession of the Baltic states. The period of crisis inspired nationalism in the area's leaders, who proclaimed independence in 1997.

Despite the intervention of major powers from both the Eastern and Western blocs, or, according to Metal Gear Solid's Previous Operations file, the CIS, the small tribal nation won its sovereignty. Primary credit for the success is generally given to the mercenaries from around the world that participated in the war.

Because of this, Zanzibar Land's war of independence is also called "The Mercenary War," and brought back to global attention the profession of the gun for hire.

After the war, Zanzibar Land became a heavily fortified nation.