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

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Background: Tanzania contains some of Africa’s most iconic national parks and famous paleoanthropological sites, and its diverse cultural heritage reflects the multiple ethnolinguistic groups that live in the country. Its long history of integration into trade networks spanning the Indian Ocean and the African interior led to the development of Swahili as a common language in much of east Africa and the introduction of Islam into the region. A number of independent coastal and island trading posts in what is now Tanzania came under Portuguese control after 1498 when they began to take control of much of the coast and Indian Ocean trade. By 1700, the Sultanate of Oman had become the dominant power in the region after ousting the Portuguese who were also facing a series of local uprisings. During the following hundred years, Zanzibar - an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania - became a hub of Indian Ocean trade, with Arab and Indian traders establishing and consolidating trade routes with communities in mainland Tanzania that contributed to the expansion of the slave trade. Zanzibar briefly become the capital of the Sultanate of Oman before it split into separate Omani and Zanzibar Sultanates in 1856. Beginning in the mid-1800s, European explorers, traders, and Christian missionaries became more active in the region. The Germans eventually established control over mainland Tanzania - which they called Tanganyika - and the British established control over Zanzibar. Tanganyika later came under British administration after the German defeat in World War I.


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Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique

Geographic coordinates: 6 00 S, 35 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 947,300 km²
Land: 885,800 km²
Water: 61,500 km²
Note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar
Comparative: more than six times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than twice the size of California

Land boundaries
Total: 4,161 km
Border countries: (8) Burundi 589 km; Democratic Republic of the Congo 479 km; Kenya 775 km; Malawi 512 km; Mozambique 840 km; Rwanda 222 km; Uganda 391 km; Zambia 353 km

Coastline: 1,424 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands

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

Elevation
Highest point: Kilimanjaro (highest point in Africa) 5,895 m
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 1,018 m

Natural resources: hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones (including tanzanite, found only in Tanzania), gold, natural gas, nickel

Land use
Agricultural land: 43.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 14.3% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 2.3% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 27.1% (2018 est.)
Forest: 37.3% (2018 est.)
Other: 19% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,840 km² (2012)

Major rivers
By length in km:

Major watersheds area km²:

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 530 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 30 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 4.63 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 96.3 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season; drought

Geography
Note: Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa and one of only three mountain ranges on the continent that has glaciers (the others are Mount Kenya [in Kenya] and the Ruwenzori Mountains [on the Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo border]); Tanzania is bordered by three of the largest lakes on the continent: Lake Victoria (the world's second-largest freshwater lake) in the north, Lake Tanganyika (the world's second deepest) in the west, and Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) in the southwest


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Population
Distribution: the largest and most populous East African country; population distribution is extremely uneven, but greater population clusters occur in the northern half of country and along the east coast as shown in this [link]: 65,642,682 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 2.75% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 26.4% (2017 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Tanzanian(s)
Adjective: Tanzanian

Ethnic groups: mainland - African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 tribes), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar - Arab, African, mixed Arab and African

Languages: Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages; note - Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages
Major-language samples:

Religions: Christian 63.1%, Muslim 34.1%, folk religion 1.1%, Buddhist <1%, Hindu <1%, Jewish <1%, other <1%, unspecified 1.6% (2020 est.)
Note: Zanzibar is almost entirely Muslim

Demographic profile: Tanzania has the largest population in East Africa and the lowest population density; more than a third of the population is urban. Tanzania’s youthful population - over 60% of the population is under 25 as of 2020 - is growing rapidly because of the high total fertility rate of 4.4 children per woman, as of 2022. Progress in reducing the birth rate has stalled, sustaining the country’s nearly 3% annual growth rate. The maternal mortality rate has improved since 2000, yet it remains very high because of early and frequent pregnancies, inadequate maternal health services, and a lack of skilled birth attendants - problems that are worse among poor and rural women. Tanzania has made strides in reducing under-5 and infant mortality rates, but a recent drop in immunization threatens to undermine gains in child health. Malaria is a leading killer of children under 5, while HIV is the main source of adult mortality.

Age structure
0-14 years: 41.5% (male 13,765,789/female 13,475,555)
15-64 years: 55.15% (male 18,076,988/female 18,123,677)
65 years and over: 3.35% (2023 est.) (male 933,786/female 1,266,887)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 87.7
Youth dependency ratio: 81.9
Elderly dependency ratio: 5.9
Potential support ratio: 20.4 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 18.9 years (2023 est.)
Male: 18.7 years
Female: 19.2 years

Population growth rate: 2.75% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 32.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: the largest and most populous East African country; population distribution is extremely uneven, but greater population clusters occur in the northern half of country and along the east coast as shown in this [link]

Urbanization
Urban population: 37.4% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 4.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 262,000 Dodoma (legislative capital) (2018), 7.776 million DAR ES SALAAM (administrative capital), 1.311 million Mwanza, 800,000 Zanzibar (2023)

Environment
Current issues: water pollution; improper management of liquid waste; indoor air pollution caused by the burning of fuel wood or charcoal for cooking and heating is a large environmental health issue; soil degradation; deforestation; desertification; destruction of coral reefs threatens marine habitats; wildlife threatened by illegal hunting and trade, especially for ivory; loss of biodiversity; solid waste disposal
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 15.36 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 11.97 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 59.08 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 19.8 years (2015/16 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49

Maternal mortality ratio: 238 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 30.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 33 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 27.4 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.5 years (2023 est.)
Male: 68.7 years
Female: 72.3 years

Total fertility rate: 4.33 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 38.4% (2015/16)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 95.1% of population
Improved rural: 59.4% of population
Improved total: 72% of population
Unimproved urban: 4.9% of population
Unimproved rural: 40.6% of population
Unimproved total: 28% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 3.8% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 0.05 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density: 0.7 beds/1,000 population

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and Rift Valley fever
Water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
Animal contact diseases: rabies

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 8.4% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 7.81 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.74 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.38 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 6.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 8.7% (2020 est.)
Male: 14% (2020 est.)
Female: 3.4% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 12.1% (2022)

Education expenditures: 3.3% of GDP (2021 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic
Total population: 81.8%
Male: 85.5%
Female: 78.2% (2021)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 9 years
Male: 9 years
Female: 9 years (2021)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 4.6% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 3.7%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 5.5%


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Country name
Conventional long form: United Republic of Tanzania
Conventional short form: Tanzania
Local long form: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania
Local short form: Tanzania
Former: German East Africa, Trust Territory of Tanganyika, Republic of Tanganyika, People's Republic of Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar
Etymology: the country's name is a combination of the first letters of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the two states that merged to form Tanzania in 1964

Government type: presidential republic

Capital
Name: Dodoma; note - Dodoma was designated the national capital in 1996; Dar es Salaam, the original national capital, is the country's largest city and commercial center 
Geographic coordinates: 6 48 S, 39 17 E
Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: Dodoma, in the native Gogo language, means "it has sunk"; supposedly, one day during the rainy season, an elephant drowned in the area; the villagers in that place were so struck by what had occurred, that ever since the locale has been referred to as the place where "it (the elephant) sunk"

Administrative divisions: 31 regions; Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Geita, Iringa, Kagera, Kaskazini Pemba (Pemba North), Kaskazini Unguja (Zanzibar North), Katavi, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Kusini Pemba (Pemba South), Kusini Unguja (Zanzibar Central/South), Lindi, Manyara, Mara, Mbeya, Mjini Magharibi (Zanzibar Urban/West), Morogoro, Mtwara, Mwanza, Njombe, Pwani (Coast), Rukwa, Ruvuma, Shinyanga, Simiyu, Singida, Songwe, Tabora, Tanga

Dependent areas

Independence: 26 April 1964 (Tanganyika united with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar); 29 October 1964 (renamed United Republic of Tanzania); notable earlier dates: 9 December 1961 (Tanganyika became independent from UK-administered UN trusteeship); 10 December 1963 (Zanzibar became independent from UK)

National holiday: Union Day (Tanganyika and Zanzibar), 26 April (1964)

Constitution
History: several previous; latest adopted 25 April 1977; note - progress enacting a new constitution drafted in 2014 by the Constituent Assembly has stalled
Amendments: proposed by the National Assembly; passage of amendments to constitutional articles including those on sovereignty of the United Republic, the authorities and powers of the government, the president, the Assembly, and the High Court requires two-thirds majority vote of the mainland Assembly membership and of the Zanzibar House of Representatives membership; House of Representatives approval of other amendments is not required; amended several times, last in 2017

Legal system: English common law; judicial review of legislative acts limited to matters of interpretation

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Tanzania; if a child is born abroad, the father must be a citizen of Tanzania
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Samia Suluhu HASSAN (since 19 March 2021); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; note - following the death of President John MAGUFULI in March 2021, then Vice President Samia Suluhu HASSAN assumed the presidency; Vice President Philip MPANGO (since 31 March 2021)
Head of government: President Samia Suluhu HASSAN (since 19 March 2021); Vice President Philip MPANGO; Prime Minister Kassim MAJALIWA (since 20 November 2015) has authority over the day-to-day functions of the government, is the leader of government business in the National Assembly, and is head of the Cabinet
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among members of the National Assembly
Elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28 October 2020 (next to be held in October 2025); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results:
Note: Zanzibar elects a president as head of government for internal matters; elections were held on 28 October 2020; Hussein MWINYI (CCM) 76.3%, Maalim Seif SHARIF (ACT-Wazalendo) 19.9%, other 3.8%

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National Assembly or Parliament (Bunge) (393 seats; 264 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 113 women indirectly elected by proportional representation vote, 5 indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the Zanzibar House of Representatives, 10 appointed by the president, and 1 seat reserved for the attorney general; members serve 5-year terms); note - in addition to enacting laws that apply to the entire United Republic of Tanzania, the National Assembly enacts laws that apply only to the mainland; Zanzibar has its own House of Representatives or Baraza La Wawakilishi (82 seats; 50 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 20 women directly elected by proportional representation vote, 10 appointed by the Zanzibar president, 1 seat for the House speaker, and 1 ex-officio seat for the attorney general; elected members serve a 5-year term)
Elections: Tanzania National Assembly and Zanzibar House of Representatives - elections last held on 28 October 2020 (next National Assembly election to be held in October 2025; next Zanzibar election NA)
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Court of Appeal of the United Republic of Tanzania (consists of the chief justice and 14 justices); High Court of the United Republic for Mainland Tanzania (consists of the principal judge and 30 judges organized into commercial, land, and labor courts); High Court of Zanzibar (consists of the chief justice and 10 justices)
Judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal and High Court justices appointed by the national president after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission for Tanzania, a judicial body of high level judges and 2 members appointed by the national president; Court of Appeal and High Court judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 60, but terms can be extended; High Court of Zanzibar judges appointed by the national president after consultation with the Judicial Commission of Zanzibar; judges can serve until mandatory retirement at age 65
Subordinate courts: Resident Magistrates Courts; Kadhi courts (for Islamic family matters); district and primary courts

Political parties and leaders:
Note: only parties with seats in the National Assembly listed

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, EAC, EADB, EITI, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Elsie Sia KANZA (since 1 December 2021)
In the us chancery: 1232 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20,037
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 884-1080
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 797-7,408
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Michael A. BATTLE Sr. (since 27 February 2023)
From the us embassy: 686 Old Bagamoyo Road, Msasani, P.O. Box 9,123, Dar es Salaam
From the us mailing address: 2,140 Dar es Salaam Place, Washington, DC 20,521-2,140
From the us telephone: [255] (22) 229-4,000
From the us FAX: [255] (22) 229-4,721
From the us email address and website:

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; the banner combines colors found on the flags of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; green represents the natural vegetation of the country, gold its rich mineral deposits, black the native Swahili people, and blue the country's many lakes and rivers, as well as the Indian Ocean

National symbols: Uhuru (Freedom) torch, giraffe; national colors: green, yellow, blue, black

National anthem
Name: "Mungu ibariki Afrika" (God Bless Africa)
Lyrics/music: collective/Enoch Mankayi SONTONGA
Note: adopted 1961; the anthem, which is also a popular song in Africa, shares the same melody with that of Zambia but has different lyrics; the melody is also incorporated into South Africa's anthem

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 7 (3 cultural, 3 natural, 1 mixed)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: emerging lower middle-income East African economy; resource-rich and growing tourism; strong post-pandemic recovery from hospitality, electricity, mining, and transit sectors; declining poverty; stable inflation; gender-based violence economic and labor force disruptions

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 62.4% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 12.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 36.1% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: -8.7% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 18.1% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -20.5% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 23.4% (2017 est.)
Industry: 28.6% (2017 est.)
Services: 47.6% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: cassava, maize, sweet potatoes, sugar cane, rice, bananas, vegetables, milk, beans, sunflower seed

Industries: agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine); mining (diamonds, gold, and iron), salt, soda ash; cement, oil refining, shoes, apparel, wood products, fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate: 6.5% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 29.863 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 4.6% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 3.7%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 5.5%

Population below poverty line: 26.4% (2017 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 40.5 (2017 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 2.8%
Highest 10%: 29.6% (2007)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $8.968 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $10.017 billion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 11.7% (of GDP) (2018 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources: 2.19% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0.02% of GDP (2018 est.)

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:
Partners: India 15%, United Arab Emirates 15%, Switzerland 14%, Uganda 12%, China 7% (2020)
Commodities: gold, cashews, copper, precious metals, legumes (2020)

Imports:
Partners: China 34%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 14%, India 12%, United Arab Emirates 6%, South Africa 3% (2020)
Commodities: copper, refined petroleum, packaged medicines, palm oil, wheat (2020)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Note: excludes gold

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: (2020) 37 million
Access electrification-total population: 42.7% (2021)
Access electrification-urban areas: 77.3% (2021)
Access electrification-rural areas: 23.3% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 1.623 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 6,522,440,000 kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 113 million kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 974 million kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 65% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 1.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 32.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 712,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 577,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 126,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 269 million metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 52,800 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 67,830 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 1,378,773,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Consumption: 1,378,773,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 6.513 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 11.491 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 1.32 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 7.466 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 2.705 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 3.334 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 84,696 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 60,192,331 (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 92 (2022 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: according to statistics from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), Tanzania had 45 television stations as of 2020; 13 of those stations provided national content services (commercially broadcasting free-to-air television); there are 196 radio stations, most operating at the district level, but also including 5 independent nationally broadcasting stations and 1 state-owned national radio station; international broadcasting is available through satellite television which is becoming increasingly widespread; there are 3 major satellite TV providers (2020)

Internet
Country code: .tz
Users total: 20.48 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 32% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 1,135,608 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces:
Note 1: the National Building Army (aka National Services) is a paramilitary organization under the Defense Forces that provides six months of military and vocational training to individuals as part of their two years of public service; after completion of training, some graduates join the regular Defense Forces while the remainder become part of the People's (or Citizen's) Militia
Note 2: the Tanzania Police Force includes the Police Field Force (aka Field Force Unit), a special police division with the responsibility for controlling unlawful demonstrations and riots

Military service age and obligation: 18-25 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; 6-year commitment (2-year contracts afterwards); selective conscription for 2 years of public service (2023)

Space program

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Mozambique (ISIS-M)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in terrorist organizations


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 11 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 91
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,481,557 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 390,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 5H

Airports: 166 (2021)
With paved runways: 10
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 156
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports

Pipelines: 311 km gas, 891 km oil, 8 km refined products (2013)

Railways
Total: 4,097 km (2022)
Standard gauge: 421 km (2022)
Narrow gauge: 969 km (2022) 1.067 m gauge
Broad gauge: 2,707 km (2022) 1.000 m guage

Roadways
Total: 145,203 km (2022)
Paved: 11,201 km (2022)
Unpaved: 134,002 km (2022)

Waterways: 1,594 km (2022) (Lake Tanganyika 673 km, Lake Victoria 337 km, and Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) 584 km are the principal avenues of commerce with neighboring countries; the rivers are not navigable)

Merchant marine
Total: 322 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 9, general cargo 148, oil tanker 46, other 115

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar


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Disputes international: Tanzania-Burundi: none identified

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 111,708 (Burundi), 89,017 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2023)

Illicit drugs: significant transit country for illicit drugs in East Africa; international drug trafficking organizations and courier networks transit illicit drugs through mainland Tanzania to markets in Europe and North America; cultivates cannabis and khat for domestic consumption and regional and international distribution; domestic drug use continues increasing including methamphetamine use