Tanzania

• plains along coast;
• central plateau;
• highlands in north, south

fresh water lake(s):

• Lake Victoria (shared with Uganda and Kenya) - 62,940 sq km;
• Lake Tanganyika (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Zambia) - 32,000 sq km;
• Lake Malawi (shared with Mozambique and Malawi) - 22,490

salt water lake(s):

Lake Rukwa - 5,760 sq km

Atlantic Ocean drainage:

Congo (3,730,881 sq km), (Mediterranean Sea) Nile (3,254,853 sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage:

Zambezi (1,332,412 sq km)

• 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 population distribution map

• 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

noun:

Tanzanian(s)

adjective:

Tanzanian

• 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

total:

19.1 years (2024 est.)

male:

18.8 years

female:

19.4 years

• 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 population distribution map

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 (2024 est.)

total:

29.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

32.3 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

26.9 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

70.8 years (2024 est.)

male:

69 years

female:

72.6 years

total:

7.81 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.74 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.38 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

6.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

8.7% (2020 est.)

male:

14% (2020 est.)

female:

3.4% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15:

5.2%

women married by age 18:

30.5%

men married by age 18:

3.9% (2016 est.)

• 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

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

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

urban population:

37.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

4.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

severe localized food insecurity:

• due to localized shortfalls in staple food production - according to the latest analysis, an estimated 990,000 million people were facing severe acute food insecurity between March and May 2023, 839,000 people in 28 mainland districts and 151,000 on Zanzibar Island;
• the food insecurity situation was mainly driven by a reduced crop production in 2022 due to dry weather conditions and by high food prices (2023)

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.)

fresh water lake(s):

• Lake Victoria (shared with Uganda and Kenya) - 62,940 sq km;
• Lake Tanganyika (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Zambia) - 32,000 sq km;
• Lake Malawi (shared with Mozambique and Malawi) - 22,490

salt water lake(s):

Lake Rukwa - 5,760 sq km

Atlantic Ocean drainage:

Congo (3,730,881 sq km), (Mediterranean Sea) Nile (3,254,853 sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage:

Zambezi (1,332,412 sq km)

municipal:

530 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

30 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

4.63 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

total global geoparks and regional networks:

1

global geoparks and regional networks:

Ngorongoro Lengai (2023)

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"

• 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)

history:

• several previous;
• latest adopted 25 April 1977;
• note - drafting of a new constitution by the National Assembly in 2014 had stalled, and not until 2021, when President HASSAN expressed the need for broad government reform was there a renewed mandate for a new constitution;
• a task force drafted and submitted a report in October 2202 with broad government reform recommendations, including a six-pronged approach to a new constitution;
• the president as recently as mid-2023 reaffirmed her commitment to a new constitution;
• Tanzania's political opposition in early 2024, called for protests rallying countrywide support for action on this issue

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

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

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)

elections:

Tanzania National Assembly - last held on 28 October 2020 (next to be held in October 2025)

election results:

• National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - CCM 350, Chadema 20, ACT-Wazalendo 4, CUF 3;
• composition - men 246, women 147, percentage women 37.4%

highest court(s):

• 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

• Alliance for Change and Transparency (Wazalendo) or ACT-Wazalendo
• Civic United Front (Chama Cha Wananchi) or CUF
• Party of Democracy and Development (Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo) or CHADEMA
• Revolutionary Party of Tanzania (Chama Cha Mapinduzi) or CCM

chief of mission:

Ambassador Elsie Sia KANZA (since 1 December 2021)

chancery:

1232 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

telephone:

[1] (202) 884-1080

FAX:

[1] (202) 797-7408

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://us.tzembassy.go.tz/

chief of mission:

Ambassador Michael A. BATTLE Sr. (since 27 February 2023)

embassy:

686 Old Bagamoyo Road, Msasani, P.O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam

mailing address:

2140 Dar es Salaam Place, Washington, DC 20521-2140

telephone:

[255] (22) 229-4000

FAX:

[255] (22) 229-4721

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://tz.usembassy.gov/

• 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

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

total World Heritage Sites:

7 (3 cultural, 3 natural, 1 mixed)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Ngorongoro Conservation Area (m);
• Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara (c);
• Serengeti National Park (n);
• Selous Game Reserve (n);
• Kilimanjaro National Park (n);
• Stone Town of Zanzibar (c);
• Kondoa Rock-Art Sites (c)

• 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

agriculture:

23.7% (2023 est.)

industry:

27.7% (2023 est.)

services:

28.9% (2023 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

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

total:

3.5% (2023 est.)

male:

2.6% (2023 est.)

female:

4.4% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

27.9% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

1.6% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.9% (2018 est.)

highest 10%:

33.1% (2018 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

production:

2.511 million metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

802,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

1.71 million metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

100 metric tons (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

1.41 billion metric tons (2022 est.)

production:

1.808 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

1.808 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

6.513 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

total subscriptions:

85,000 (2022 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants:

(2022 est.) less than 1

general assessment:

Tanzania’s telecom sector enjoys effective competition, particularly in the mobile segment; the government has encouraged foreign participation to promote economic growth and social development, and policy reforms have led to the country having one of the most liberal telecom sectors in Africa; the government has sought to increase broadband penetration by a range of measures, including the reduction in VAT charged on the sale of smartphones and other devices, and reductions in the cost of data; the MNOs became the leading ISPs following the launch of mobile broadband services based on 3G and LTE technologies; operators are hoping for revenue growth in the mobile data services market, given that the voice market is almost entirely prepaid; the MNOs have invested in network upgrades, which in turn has supported m-mobile data use, as well as m-money transfer services and banking services. Together, these have become a fast-developing source of revenue; the landing of the first international submarine cables in the country some years ago revolutionized the telecom market, which up to that point had entirely depended on expensive satellite connections; following the signing of infrastructure investment agreements with mobile network operators, the government plans to extend its national ICT broadband backbone to 99 or 185 districts by 2024 and to all districts by 2030 (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line telephone network is 2 connections per 100 persons; mobile-cellular service is 92 telephones per 100 persons (2022)

international:

• country code - 255;
• landing points for the EASSy, SEACOM/Tata TGN-Eurasia, and SEAS fiber-optic submarine cable system linking East Africa with the Middle East;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean, 1 Atlantic Ocean) (2019)

• 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)

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

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

total:

145,203 km

paved:

11,201 km

unpaved:

134,002 km (2022)

total ports:

8 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

1

small:

3

very small:

4

ports with oil terminals:

4

key ports:

Chake Chake, Dar Es Salaam, Tanga, Zanzibar