Map of Tanzania | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Shortly after independence Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule came to an end in 1989 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries:

Coastline: 1,424 km

Maritime claims: Territorial sea:12 nm

Climate: varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands

Terrain: plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south

Elevation

Natural resources: hydropower potential, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel

Land use: 5% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 40% meadows and pastures; 47% forest and woodland; 7% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 25,206,263 (July 1989), growth rate 3.3% (1989)

Nationality: noun - Tanzanian(s; adjective - Tanzanian

Ethnic groups: mainland - 99% native African consisting of well over 100 tribes; 1% Asian, European, and Arab

Languages: Swahili and English (official; English primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education; Swahili widely understood and generally used for communication between ethnic groups; first language of most people is one of the local languages; primary education is generally in Swahili

Religions: mainland - 33% Christian, 33% Muslim, 33% indigenous beliefs; Zanzibar - almost all Muslim

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 50 births/1000 population (1989)

Death rate: 16 deaths/1000 population (1989)

Net migration rate: - 1 migrants/1000 population (1989)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: lack of water and tsetse fly limit agriculture; recent droughts affected marginal agriculture; Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 109 deaths/1000 live births (1989)

Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 54 years female (1989)

Total fertility rate: 7.1 children born/woman (1989)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 79%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: United Republic of Tanzania

Government type: republic

Capital: Dar es Salaam; some government offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which is planned as the new national capital in the 1990s

Administrative divisions: 25 regions; Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Iringa, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Lindi, Mara, Mbeya, Morogoro, Mtwara, Mwanza, Pemba North, Pemba South, Pwani, Rukwa, Ruvuma, Shinyanga, Singida, Tabora, Tanga, Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar North, Zanzibar Urban/West, Ziwa Magharibi

Dependent areas

Independence: Tanganyika became independent 9 December 1961 (from UN trusteeship under British administration; Zanzibar became independent 19 December 1963 (from UK; Tanganyika united with Zanzibar 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; renamed United Republic of Tanzania 29 October 1964

National holiday: Union Day, 26 April (1964)

Constitution: 15 March 1984 (Zanzibar has its own Constitution but remains subject to provisions of the union Constitution)

Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Executive branch

Legislative branch: Tanzanian People's Defense Force includes Army, Navy, and Air Force; paramilitary Police Field Force Unit; Militia

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: AfDB, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Asterius M. HYERA; Chancery at 2,139 R Street NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 939-6,125; US - Ambassador Donald K. PETTERSON; Embassy at 36 Laibon Road (off Bagamoyo Road), Dar es Salaam (mailing address is P. O. Box 9,123, Dar es Salaam; telephone Õ255å (51) 37,501 through 37,504

Flag description: divided diagonally by a yellow-edged black band from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is blue

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for about 40% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 90% of the work force. Recurring drought has added to poor economic performance by reducing food production and increasing the cost of imports. Industry accounts for about 10% of GDP and is limited to processing farm products and light consumer goods. The economic recovery program announced in mid-1986 has produced some positive results. Most notable are a major currency devaluation (November 1988), incentives for private investment, reduction in the inflation rate, and the willingness of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to provide credits.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: cotton, coffee, sisal, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), vegetables, fruits, and grain on the mainland; cloves and coconuts on Zanzibar

Industries: primarily agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine), diamond mine, oil refinery, shoes, cement, textiles, wood products, fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate: 2.0% (1987)

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $892 million; expenditures $1,017 million, including capital expenditures of $359.5 million (FY85)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $411 million (f.o.b., 1987)
Commodities: coffee, cotton, sisal, cashew nuts, meat, tobacco, tea, diamonds, coconut products, pyrethrum, cloves (Zanzibar)
Partners: FRG, UK, US, Netherlands, Japan

Imports: $1.15 billion (c.i.f., 1987)
Commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, cotton piece goods, crude oil, foodstuffs
Partners: FRG, UK, US, Iran, Japan, Italy

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $5 billion (December 1988)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1 - 127.901 (January 1989), 99.292 (1988), 64.260 (1987), 32.698 (1986), 17.472 (1985)


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Electricity
Capacity: 401,000 kW capacity; 895 million kWh produced, 35 kWh per capita (1988)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: NA

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 101 total, 92 usable; 13 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 43 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines: 982 km crude oil

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa

Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 29,174 GRT/39,186 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 3 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: maritime boundary dispute with Malawi in Lake Nyasa; Tanzania-Democratic Republic of the Congo-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika is indefinite pending settlement of the Democratic Republic of the Congo-Zambia boundary

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs