Tanzania

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This article is about the country in East Africa. For the spider genus, see
Tanzania (spider).
Coordinates: 6°S 35°E

United Republic of Tanzania

Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania (Swahili)
Flag of Tanzania
Flag
Coat of arms of Tanzania
Coat of arms
Motto: "Uhuru na Umoja" (Swahili)
"Freedom and Unity"
Anthem: "Mungu ibariki Afrika"
(English: "God Bless Africa")
MENU0:00
Location of Tanzania
Capital Dodoma (de jure)
Largest city Dar es Salaam
Official Language
Swahili[1]EnglishArabic (Zanzibar)
National Language Swahili[2]
Demonym(s)
Tanzanian
Government Unitary dominant party presidential constitutional republic[3][4][5]
• President
John Magufuli
• Vice-President
Samia Hassan Suluhu
• Prime Minister
Kassim Majaliwa
• Speaker
Job Ndugai
• Chief Justice
Ibrahim Hamis Juma
Legislature National Assembly
Independence from the United Kingdom
• Tanganyika
9 December 1961
• Unguja and Pemba
10 December 1963
• Merger
26 April 1964
• Current constitution
25 April 1977
Area
• Total
947,303 km2 (365,756 sq mi) (31st)
• Water (%)
6.4[6]
Population
• 2018 estimate
56,313,438[7][8] (26th)
• 2012 census
44,928,923[9]
• Density
47.5/km2 (123.0/sq mi)
GDP (PPP) 2019 estimate
• Total
$186.060 billion
• Per capita
$3,574[10]
GDP (nominal) 2019 estimate
• Total
$61.032 billion
• Per capita
$1,172[10]
Gini (2012) 37.8[11]
medium
HDI (2018) Increase 0.528[12]
low · 159th
Currency Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
Time zone UTC+3 (EAT)
Driving side left
Calling code +255[note 1]
ISO 3166 code TZ
Internet TLD .tz
Revised to $41.33 billion[13]
Swahili and English are de facto official languages
Tanzania (/ˌtænzəˈniːə/,[14][15][note 2] Swahili: [tanzaˈni.a]), officially the
United Republic of Tanzania (Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a
country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to
the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and the Indian Ocean to the east;
Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi,
and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's
highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania.

Many important hominid fossils have been found in Tanzania, such as 6-million-year-
old Pliocene hominid fossils. The genus Australopithecus ranged all over Africa 4
to 2 million years ago; and the oldest remains of the genus Homo are found near
Lake Olduvai. Following the rise of Homo erectus 1.8 million years ago, humanity
spread all over the Old World, and later in the New World and Australia under the
species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens also overtook Africa and absorbed the older
archaic species and subspecies of humanity. One of the oldest known ethnic groups
still existing, the Hadzabe, appears to have originated in Tanzania, and their oral
history recalls ancestors who were tall and were the first to use fire, medicine,
and lived in caves, much like Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis who lived in the
same region before them.

Later in the Stone and Bronze Age, prehistoric migrations into Tanzania included
Southern Cushitic speakers who moved south from present-day Ethiopia;[16] Eastern
Cushitic people who moved into Tanzania from north of Lake Turkana about 2,000 and
4,000 years ago;[16] and the Southern Nilotes, including the Datoog, who originated
from the present-day South Sudan–Ethiopia border region between 2,900 and 2,400
years ago.[16]:page 18 These movements took place at about the same time as the
settlement of the Mashariki Bantu from West Africa in the Lake Victoria and Lake
Tanganyika areas. They subsequently migrated across the rest of Tanzania between
2,300 and 1,700 years ago.[16][17]

German rule began in mainland Tanzania during the late 19th century when Germany
formed German East Africa. This was followed by British rule after World War I. The
mainland was governed as Tanganyika, with the Zanzibar Archipelago remaining a
separate colonial jurisdiction. Following their respective independence in 1961 and
1963, the two entities merged in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania.[18]
The countries had joined the British Commonwealth in 1961 and Tanzania is still a
member of the Commonwealth as one republic.[19]
The United Nations estimated Tanzania's 2018 population at 56.31 million, which is
slightly smaller than South Africa, making it the second most populous country
located entirely south of the Equator.[7][8] The population is composed of about
120 ethnic,[20] linguistic, and religious groups. The sovereign state of Tanzania
is a presidential constitutional republic and since 1996 its official capital city
has been Dodoma where the president's office, the National Assembly, and some
government ministries are located.[21] Dar es Salaam, the former capital, retains
most government offices and is the country's largest city, principal port, and
leading commercial centre.[18][22][23] Tanzania is a de facto one-party state with
the democratic socialist Chama Cha Mapinduzi party in power.

Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the north-east, where Mount

Kilimanjaro is located. Three of Africa's Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania.
To the north and west lie Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, and Lake
Tanganyika, the continent's deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish. To
the south lies Lake Malawi. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the Zanzibar
Archipelago just offshore. The Menai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibar's largest
marine protected area. The Kalambo Falls, located on the Kalambo River at the
Zambian border, is the second highest uninterrupted waterfall in Africa.[24]

Over 100 different languages are spoken in Tanzania, making it the most
linguistically diverse country in East Africa.[25] The country does not have a de
jure official language,[26] although the national language is Swahili.[27] Swahili
is used in parliamentary debate, in the lower courts, and as a medium of
instruction in primary school. English is used in foreign trade, in diplomacy, in
higher courts, and as a medium of instruction in secondary and higher education,
[25] although the Tanzanian government is planning to discontinue English as the
primary language of instruction but it will be available as an optional course.[28]
Approximately 10 percent of Tanzanians speak Swahili as a first language, and up to
90 percent speak it as a second language.[25]

Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Ancient
2.2 Colonial
2.3 Modern
3 Geography
3.1 Climate
3.2 Wildlife and conservation
4 Politics
4.1 Government
4.2 Executive
4.3 Legislature
4.4 Judiciary
4.5 Human rights
4.6 Zanzibar
4.7 Administrative subdivisions
4.8 Foreign relations
4.8.1 Bilateral relations
4.8.2 Multilateral relations
5 Economy and infrastructure
5.1 Hunger and poverty
5.2 Agriculture
5.3 Industry, energy and construction
5.4 Tourism
5.5 Banking
5.6 Transport
5.7 Communications
5.8 Water supply and sanitation
6 Food and nutrition
6.1 Programmes targetting hunger
7 Science and technology
8 Demographics
8.1 Religion
8.2 Languages
8.3 Education
8.4 Healthcare
8.5 Women
9 Culture
9.1 Literature
9.2 Painting and sculpture
9.3 Sports
9.4 Cinema
10 See also
11 Notes
12 Sources
13 References
14 External links
Etymology
The name "Tanzania" was created as a clipped compound of the names of the two
states that unified to create the country: Tanganyika and Zanzibar.[29] It consists
of the first three letters of the names of the two states ("Tan" and "Zan") and the
suffix, "ia" to form Tanzania.

The name "Tanganyika" is derived from the Swahili words tanga ("sail") and nyika
("uninhabited plain", "wilderness"), creating the phrase "sail in the wilderness".
It is sometimes understood as a reference to Lake Tanganyika.[30]

The name of Zanzibar comes from "zenji", the name for a local people (said to mean
"black"), and the Arabic word "barr", which means coast or shore.[31]

History
Main articles: History of Tanzania and History of Zanzibar

A 1.8-million-year-old stone chopping tool discovered at Olduvai Gorge and on

display at the British Museum
Ancient
The indigenous populations of eastern Africa are thought to be the linguistically
isolated Hadza and Sandawe hunter-gatherers of Tanzania.[16]:page 17

The first wave of migration was by Southern Cushitic speakers who moved south from
Ethiopia and Somalia into Tanzania. They are ancestral to the Iraqw, Gorowa, and
Burunge.[16]:page 17 Based on linguistic evidence, there may also have been two
movements into Tanzania of Eastern Cushitic people at about 4,000 and 2,000 years
ago, originating from north of Lake Turkana.[16]:pages 17–18

Archaeological evidence supports the conclusion that Southern Nilotes, including

the Datoog, moved south from the present-day South Sudan / Ethiopia border region
into central northern Tanzania between 2,900 and 2,400 years ago.[16]:page 18

These movements took place at approximately the same time as the settlement of the
iron-making Mashariki Bantu from West Africa in the Lake Victoria and Lake
Tanganyika areas. They brought with them the west African planting tradition and
the primary staple of yams. They subsequently migrated out of these regions across
the rest of Tanzania between 2,300 and 1,700 years ago.[16][17]
Eastern Nilotic peoples, including the Maasai, represent a more recent migration
from present-day South Sudan within the past 500 to 1,500 years.[16][32]

The people of Tanzania have been associated with the production of iron and steel.
The Pare people were the main producers of highly demanded iron for peoples who
occupied the mountain regions of north-eastern Tanzania.[33] The Haya people on the
western shores of Lake Victoria invented a type of high-heat blast furnace, which
allowed them to forge carbon steel at temperatures exceeding 1,820 °C (3,310 °F)
more than 1,500 years ago.[34]

Travelers and merchants from the Persian Gulf and India have visited the east
African coast since early in the first millennium AD.[35] Islam was practised by
some on the Swahili Coast as early as the eighth or ninth century A.D.[36]

Colonial
Main articles: German East Africa and Tanganyika (territory)

A 1572 depiction of the city of Kilwa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Claiming the coastal strip, Omani Sultan Said bin Sultan moved his capital to
Zanzibar City in 1840. During this time, Zanzibar became the centre for the Arab
slave trade.[37] Between 65 and 90 percent of the Arab-Swahili population of
Zanzibar was enslaved.[38] One of the most infamous slave traders on the East
African coast was Tippu Tip, who was the grandson of an enslaved African. The
Nyamwezi slave traders operated under the leadership of Msiri and Mirambo.[39]
According to Timothy Insoll, "Figures record the exporting of 718,000 slaves from
the Swahili coast during the 19th century, and the retention of 769,000 on the
coast."[40] In the 1890s, slavery was abolished.[41]

The Maji Maji Rebellion against German colonial rule in 1905

In the late 19th century, Germany conquered the regions that are now Tanzania
(minus Zanzibar) and incorporated them into German East Africa (GEA).[citation
needed] The Supreme Council of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference awarded all of GEA
to Britain on 7 May 1919, over the strenuous objections of Belgium.[42]:240 The
British colonial secretary, Alfred Milner, and Belgium's minister plenipotentiary
to the conference, Pierre Orts [fr], then negotiated the Anglo-Belgian agreement of
30 May 1919[43]:618–9 where Britain ceded the north-western GEA provinces of Ruanda
and Urundi to Belgium.[42]:246 The conference's Commission on Mandates ratified
this agreement on 16 July 1919.[42]:246–7 The Supreme Council accepted the
agreement on 7 August 1919.[43]:612–3 On 12 July 1919, the Commission on Mandates
agreed that the small Kionga Triangle south of the Rovuma River would be given to
Portuguese Mozambique,[42]:243 with it eventually becoming part of independent
Mozambique. The commission reasoned that Germany had virtually forced Portugal to
cede the triangle in 1894.[42]:243 The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 July
1919, although the treaty did not take effect until 10 January 1920. On that date,
the GEA was transferred officially to Britain, Belgium, and Portugal. Also on that
date, "Tanganyika" became the name of the British territory.

During World War II, about 100,000 people from Tanganyika joined the Allied
forces[44] and were among the 375,000 Africans who fought with those forces.[45]
Tanganyikans fought in units of the King's African Rifles during the East African
Campaign in Somalia and Abyssinia against the Italians, in Madagascar against the
Vichy French during the Madagascar Campaign, and in Burma against the Japanese
during the Burma Campaign.[45] Tanganyika was an important source of food during
this war, and its export income increased greatly compared to the pre-war years of
the Great Depression[44] Wartime demand, however, caused increased commodity prices
and massive inflation within the colony.[46]
In 1954, Julius Nyerere transformed an organisation into the politically oriented
Tanganyika African National Union (TANU). TANU's main objective was to achieve
national sovereignty for Tanganyika. A campaign to register new members was
launched, and within a year, TANU had become the leading political organisation in
the country. Nyerere became Minister of British-administered Tanganyika in 1960 and
continued as prime minister when Tanganyika became independent in 1961.[citation
needed]

Modern
British rule came to an end on 9 December 1961, but for the first year of
independence, Tanganyika had a governor general who represented the British
monarch.[47]:page 6 Tanganyika also joined the British Commonwealth in 1961.[48] On
9 December 1962, Tanganyika became a democratic republic under an executive
president.[47]:page 6

After the Zanzibar Revolution overthrew the Arab dynasty in neighbouring Zanzibar,
[49] which had become independent in 1963, the archipelago merged with mainland
Tanganyika on 26 April 1964.[50] The new country was then named the United Republic
of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.[51][52] On 29 October of the same year, the country was
renamed the United Republic of Tanzania ("Tan" comes from Tanganyika and "Zan" from
Zanzibar).[18] The union of the two hitherto separate regions was controversial
among many Zanzibaris (even those sympathetic to the revolution) but was accepted
by both the Nyerere government and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar owing
to shared political values and goals.

Following Tanganyika's independence and unification with Zanzibar leading to the

state of Tanzania, President Nyerere emphasised a need to construct a national
identity for the citizens of the new country. To achieve this, Nyerere provided
what is regarded as one of the most successful cases of ethnic repression and
identity transformation in Africa.[53] With over 130 languages spoken within its
territory, Tanzania is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Africa.
Despite this obstacle, ethnic divisions remained rare in Tanzania when compared to
the rest of the continent, notably its immediate neighbour, Kenya. Furthermore,
since its independence, Tanzania has displayed more political stability than most
African countries, particularly due to Nyerere's ethnic repression methods.[54]

The Arusha Declaration Monument

In 1967, Nyerere's first presidency took a turn to the left after the Arusha
Declaration, which codified a commitment to socialism as well as Pan-Africanism.
After the declaration, banks and many large industries were nationalised.

Tanzania was also aligned with China, which from 1970 to 1975 financed and helped
build the 1,860-kilometre-long (1,160 mi) TAZARA Railway from Dar es Salaam to
Zambia.[55] Nonetheless, from the late 1970s, Tanzania's economy took a turn for
the worse, in the context of an international economic crisis affecting both
developed and developing economies.

From the mid-1980s, the regime financed itself by borrowing from the International
Monetary Fund and underwent some reforms. Since then, Tanzania's gross domestic
product per capita has grown and poverty has been reduced, according to a report by
the World Bank.[56]

In 1992, the Constitution of Tanzania was amended to allow multiple political

parties.[57] In Tanzania's first multi-party elections, held in 1995, the ruling
Chama Cha Mapinduzi won 186 of the 232 elected seats in the National Assembly, and
Benjamin Mkapa was elected as president.[58]

Geography
Main articles: Geography of Tanzania and Zanzibar Archipelago

An elephant passing by the snow-capped Mt. Kilimanjaro

Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest inactive and intact volcanic caldera
At 947,303 square kilometres (365,756 sq mi),[6] Tanzania is the 13th largest
country in Africa and the 31st largest in the world, ranked between the larger
Egypt and smaller Nigeria.[59] It borders Kenya and Uganda to the north; Rwanda,
Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; and Zambia, Malawi,
and Mozambique to the south. Tanzania is located on the eastern coast of Africa and
has an Indian Ocean coastline approximately 1,424 kilometres (885 mi) long.[60] It
also incorporates several offshore islands, including Unguja (Zanzibar), Pemba, and
Mafia.[61]:page 1245 The country is the site of Africa's highest and lowest points:
Mount Kilimanjaro, at 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level, and the floor of
Lake Tanganyika, at 1,471 metres (4,826 ft) below sea level, respectively.[61]:page
1245

Wildebeest migration in the Serengeti

Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the northeast, where Mount
Kilimanjaro is located. Three of Africa's Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania.
To the north and west lie Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, and Lake
Tanganyika, the continent's deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish. To
the southwest lies Lake Nyasa. Central Tanzania is a large plateau, with plains and
arable land. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the Zanzibar Archipelago just
offshore.

Kalambo Falls in the southwestern region of Rukwa is the second highest

uninterrupted waterfall in Africa, and is located near the southeastern shore of
Lake Tanganyika on the border with Zambia.[24] The Menai Bay Conservation Area is
Zanzibar's largest marine protected area.

Climate

Tanzania map of Köppen climate classification

Main article: Climate of Tanzania

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Climate varies greatly within Tanzania. In the highlands, temperatures range
between 10 and 20 °C (50 and 68 °F) during cold and hot seasons respectively. The
rest of the country has temperatures rarely falling lower than 20 °C (68 °F). The
hottest period extends between November and February (25–31 °C or 77.0–87.8 °F)
while the coldest period occurs between May and August (15–20 °C or 59–68 °F).
Annual temperature is 20 °C (68.0 °F). The climate is cool in high mountainous
regions.

Tanzania has two major rainfall periods: one is uni-modal (October–April) and the
other is bi-modal (October–December and March–May).[62] The former is experienced
in southern, central, and western parts of the country, and the latter is found in
the north from Lake Victoria extending east to the coast.[62] The bi-modal rainfall
is caused by the seasonal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone.[62]

Wildlife and conservation

A tower of giraffes at Arusha National Park. The giraffe is the national animal.
Main article: Wildlife of Tanzania
Approximately 38 percent of Tanzania's land area is set aside in protected areas
for conservation.[63] Tanzania has 16 national parks,[64] plus a variety of game
and forest reserves, including the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In western
Tanzania, Gombe Stream National Park is the site of Jane Goodall's ongoing study of
chimpanzee behaviour, which started in 1960.[65][66]

Tanzania is highly biodiverse and contains a wide variety of animal habitats.[67]

On Tanzania's Serengeti plain, white-bearded wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus
mearnsi), other bovids and zebra [68] participate in a large-scale annual
migration. Tanzania is home to about 130 amphibian and over 275 reptile species,
many of them strictly endemic and included in the International Union for
Conservation of Nature's Red Lists of countries.[69]

Politics
Main article: Politics of Tanzania
Government
Main article: Constitution of Tanzania
Tanzania is a one party dominant state with the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party in
power. From its formation until 1992, it was the only legally permitted party in
the country. This changed on 1 July 1992, when the constitution was amended.[70]:§
3

John Magufuli won the October 2015 presidential election and secured a two-thirds
majority in parliament.[71] The other party or main opposition party[vague] in
Tanzania is called Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) (Swahili for "Party
for Democracy and Progress"). In Zanzibar, the Civil United Front (CUF) is
considered a main opposition political party.[citation needed]

Executive

President John Magufuli

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa

The president of Tanzania and the members of the National Assembly are elected
concurrently by direct popular vote for five-year terms.[70]:§ 42(2) The vice-
president is elected for a five-year term at the same time as the president and on
the same ticket.[70]:§§ 47(2), 50(1) Neither the president nor the vice-president
may be a member of the National Assembly.[70]:§ 66(2) The president appoints a
prime minister, subject to confirmation by the assembly, to serve as the
government's leader in the assembly.[70]:§§ 51(1)-(2), 52(2) The president selects
his or her cabinet from assembly members.[70]:§ 55

Legislature
All legislative power relating to mainland Tanzania and union matters is vested in
the National Assembly,[70]:§ 64(1) which is unicameral and has a maximum of 357
members.[72] These include members elected to represent constituencies, the
attorney general, five members elected by the Zanzibar house of representatives
from among its own members, the special women's seats that constitute at least 30%
of the seats that any party has in the assembly, the speaker of the assembly (if
not otherwise a member of the assembly), and the persons (not more than ten)
appointed by the president.[70]:§ 66(1) The Tanzania Electoral Commission
demarcates the mainland into constituencies in the number determined by the
commission with the consent of the president.[70]:§ 75

Judiciary
See also: Chief Justice of Tanzania
Tanzania's legal system is based on English common law.[73]
Tanzania has a four-level judiciary.[73] The lowest-level courts on the Tanzanian
mainland are the Primary Courts.[73] In Zanzibar, the lowest-level courts are the
Kadhi's Courts for Islamic family matters and the Primary Courts for all other
cases.[73] On the mainland, appeal is to either the District Courts or the Resident
Magistrates Courts.[73] In Zanzibar, appeal is to the Kadhi's Appeal Courts for
Islamic family matters and the Magistrates Courts for all other cases.[73] From
there, appeal is to the High Court of Mainland Tanzania or Zanzibar.[73] No appeal
regarding Islamic family matters can be made from the High Court of Zanzibar.[73]
[74]:§ 99(1) Otherwise, the final appeal is to the Court of Appeal of Tanzania.[73]

The High Court of mainland Tanzania has three divisions – commercial, labour, and
land[73] – and 15 geographic zones.[75] The High Court of Zanzibar has an
industrial division, which hears only labour disputes.[76]

Mainland and union judges are appointed by the Chief Justice of Tanzania,[77]
except for those of the Court of Appeal and the High Court, who are appointed by
the president of Tanzania.[70]: §§ 109(1), 118(2)–(3)

Tanzania is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.[78]

Human rights
Main articles: Human rights in Tanzania, Persecution of people with albinism, and
LGBT rights in Tanzania
Throughout Tanzania, sex acts between men are illegal and carry a maximum penalty
of life imprisonment.[79] According to a 2007 Pew Research Centre survey, 95
percent of Tanzanians believed that homosexuality should not be accepted by
society.[80]

People with albinism living in Tanzania are often attacked, killed or mutilated
because of superstitions related to the black-magical practice known as muti that
say body parts of albinos have magical properties.[81]

Tanzania has the highest occurrence of this human rights violation among 27 African
countries where muti is known to be practised.[82]

In December 2019, Amnesty International reported that the Tanzanian government

annulled the right of NGOs as well as individuals to directly file any case against
it at the Arusha-based African Court for Human and Peoples' Rights.[83]

Zanzibar

The semi-autonomous Zanzibar Archipelago

The legislative authority in Zanzibar over all non-union matters is vested in the
House of Representatives (per the Tanzania constitution)[70]:§ 106(3) or the
Legislative Council (per the Zanzibar constitution).

The Legislative Council has two parts: the president of Zanzibar and the House of
Representatives.[70]:§ 107(1)-(2)[74]:§ 63(1) The president is Zanzibar's head of
government and the chairman of the Revolutionary Council, in which the executive
authority of Zanzibar is invested.[74]:§§ 5A(2), 26(1) Zanzibar has two vice-
presidents, with the first being from the main opposition party in the house.[84]
[85] The second is from the party in power and is the leader of government business
in the House.[85]

The president and the members of the House of Representatives have five-year terms
and can be elected for a second term.[74]:§ 28(2)

The president selects ministers from members of the House of Representatives,[74]:§

42(2) with the ministers allocated according to the number of House seats won by
political parties.[84] The Revolutionary Council consists of the president, both
vice-presidents, all ministers, the attorney general of Zanzibar, and other house
members deemed fit by the president.[84]

The House of Representatives is composed of elected members, ten members appointed

by the president, all the regional commissioners of Zanzibar, the attorney general,
and appointed female members whose number must be equal to 30 percent of the
elected members.[74]:§§ 55(3), 64, 67(1) The House determines the number of its
elected members[74]:§ 120(2) with the Zanzibar Electoral Commission determining the
boundaries of each election constituency.[74]:§ 120(1) In 2013, the House had 81
members: fifty elected members, five regional commissioners, the attorney general,
ten members appointed by the president, and fifteen appointed female members.[72]

Administrative subdivisions
Main articles: Regions of Tanzania, Districts of Tanzania, and Subdivisions of
Tanzania

Regions of Tanzania
In 1972, local government on the mainland was abolished and replaced with direct
rule from the central government. Local government, however, was reintroduced in
the beginning of the 1980s, when the rural councils and rural authorities were re-
established. Local government elections took place in 1983, and functioning
councils started in 1984. In 1999, a Local Government Reform Programme was enacted
by the National Assembly, setting "a comprehensive and ambitious agenda ...
[covering] four areas: political decentralization, financial decentralization,
administrative decentralization and changed central-local relations, with the
mainland government having overriding powers within the framework of the
Constitution."[86]

As of 2016, Tanzania is divided into thirty-one regions. regions (mkoa),[87][88]

twenty-six on the mainland and five in Zanzibar (three on Unguja, two on Pemba).
[89] In 2012, the thirty former regions were divided into 169 districts (wilaya),
also known as local government authorities. Of those districts, 34 were urban
units, which were further classified as three city councils (Arusha, Mbeya, and
Mwanza), nineteen municipal councils, and twelve town councils.[9]

The urban units have an autonomous city, municipal, or town council and are
subdivided into wards and mtaa. The non-urban units have an autonomous district
council but are subdivided into village councils or township authorities (first
level) and then into vitongoji.[86]

The city of Dar es Salaam is unique because it has a city council whose areal
jurisdiction overlaps three municipal councils. The mayor of the city council is
elected by that council. The twenty-member city council is composed of eleven
persons elected by the municipal councils, seven members of the National Assembly,
and "Nominated members of parliament under 'Special Seats' for women". Each
municipal council also has a mayor. "The City Council performs a coordinating role
and attends to issues cutting across the three municipalities", including security
and emergency services.[90][91] The city of Mwanza has a city council whose areal
jurisdiction overlaps two municipal councils.

Foreign relations

Tanzanian ambassador to Russia, Jaka Mwambi presenting his credentials to the

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Main article: Foreign relations of Tanzania
Bilateral relations

Embassy of Tanzania in Moscow, Russia

Tanzanian Embassy in West End, Washington, D.C., USA
Apart from its border dispute with Malawi, Tanzania had cordial relations with its
neighbours in 2012.[92]

Relations between Tanzania and Malawi have been tense because of a dispute over the
countries' Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) border. An unsuccessful mediation regarding
this issue took place in March 2014.[61]:page 1250[92][93] The two countries agreed
in 2013 to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to resolve the dispute
should mediation be unsuccessful.[94] Malawi, but not Tanzania, has accepted the
compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ.[95]

Relations between Tanzania and Rwanda deteriorated in 2013 when Tanzanian President
Jakaya Kikwete said that if the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could
negotiate with some of its enemies, Rwanda should be able to do the same.[96]
Rwandan President Paul Kagame then expressed "contempt" for Kikwete's statement.
[97] The tension was renewed in May 2014 when, in a speech to the Tanzanian
National Assembly, Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Membe renewed his claim that
Rwandans were causing instability in the DRC. Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister
Louise Mushikiwabo responded, "As for Tanzania's foreign minister whose anti-Rwanda
rant in parliament I heard, he would benefit from a lesson in the history of the
region."[98]

Tanzania has maintained strong relations with the United Kingdom since its
independence; Britain remains the largest non-African importer of Tanzanian tea[99]
and other raw materials are exchanged. Britain remains a high contributor of
tourists to Tanzania. Both are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and engage in
strategic union in defence, security and ceremonial affairs; the Tanzanian High
Commission is in London and the British have a High Commission in Dar es Salaam.

Tanzania–China relations have strengthened in recent years as trade between the two
countries and Chinese investment in Tanzanian infrastructure have increased
rapidly.[61]:page 1250[100]

Relations with the United States are warm, with President Barack Obama visiting
Tanzania in 2013.[101][102]

Tanzania's relations with other donor countries, including Japan and members of the
European Union, are generally good, though donors are concerned about Tanzania's
commitment to reducing government corruption.[61]:page 1250[92]

Multilateral relations
Tanzania is a member of the East African Community (EAC), along with Uganda, Kenya,
Rwanda, and Burundi.[103] According to the East African Common Market Protocol of
2010, the free trade and free movement of people is guaranteed, including the right
to reside in another member country for purposes of employment.[61]:1250[104][105]
This protocol, however, has not been implemented because of work permit and other
bureaucratic, legal, and financial obstacles.[106]

Tanzania is also a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

[107] The EAC, the SADC, and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
agreed in June 2011 to negotiate the creation of a Tripartite Free Trade Area
spanning 26 African countries, with a goal to complete the first phase of
negotiations within 36 months.[108]

As of 31 October 2014, Tanzania was contributing 2,253 soldiers and other personnel
to various United Nations peacekeeping operations.[109] The Tanzanian military is
participating along with South African and Malawian militaries in the United
Nations Force Intervention Brigade (MONUSCO) in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC). The United Nations Security Council authorised the force on 28 March
2013 to conduct targeted offensive operations to neutralise groups that threaten
peace in the DRC.[110] Tanzania was also participating in peacekeeping missions in
the Darfur Region of Sudan (UNAMID); Abyei, control of which is contested between
South Sudan and Sudan (UNISFA); the Central African Republic (MINUSCA); Lebanon
(UNIFIL); and South Sudan (UNMISS).[111]

In 2019, Tanzania signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.[112]

Economy and infrastructure

Main articles: Economy of Tanzania and Poverty in Tanzania

Bank of Tanzania Twin Towers

As of 2018, according to the IMF, Tanzania's gross domestic product (GDP) was an
estimated $56.7 billion (nominal), or $176.5 billion on a purchasing power parity
(PPP) basis. GDP per capita (PPP) was $3,457.[113]

From 2009 through 2013, Tanzania's per capita GDP (based on constant local
currency) grew an average of 3.5% per year, higher than any other member of the
East African Community (EAC) and exceeded by only nine countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia,
Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.[114]

Tanzania's largest trading partners in 2017 for its US$5.3 billion in exports were
India, Vietnam, South Africa, Switzerland, and China.[115] Its imports totalled
US$8.17 billion, with India, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, China, and the United Arab
Emirates being the biggest partners.[115]

The Kariakoo market in Dar es Salaam

Tanzania weathered the Great Recession, which began in late 2008 or early 2009,
relatively well. Strong gold prices, bolstering the country's mining industry, and
Tanzania's poor integration into global markets helped to insulate the country from
the downturn.[61]:page 1250 Since the recession ended, the Tanzanian economy has
expanded rapidly thanks to strong tourism, telecommunications, and banking sectors.
[61]:page 1250

According to the United Nations Development Programme, however, recent growth in

the national economy has benefited only the "very few", leaving out the majority of
the population.[116] Tanzania's 2013 Global Hunger Index was worse than any other
country in the EAC except Burundi.[117]:page 15 The proportion of persons who were
undernourished in 2010–12 was also worse than any other EAC country except Burundi.
[117]:page 51

Hunger and poverty

Tanzania has made some progress towards reducing extreme hunger and malnutrition.
The Global Hunger Index ranked the situation as “alarming” with a score of 42 in
the year 2000, since then the GHI has declined to 29.5.[118] Children in rural
areas suffer substantially higher rates of malnutrition and chronic hunger,
although urban-rural disparities have narrowed as regards both stunting and
underweight.[119] Low rural sector productivity arises mainly from inadequate
infrastructure investment; limited access to farm inputs, extension services and
credit; limited technology as well as trade and marketing support; and heavy
dependence on rain-fed agriculture and natural resources.[119]

Approximately 68 percent of Tanzania's 44.9 million citizens live below the poverty
line of $1.25 a day. 32 percent of the population are malnourished.[118] The most
prominent challenges Tanzania faces in poverty reduction are unsustainable
harvesting of its natural resources, unchecked cultivation, climate change and
water- source encroachment, according to the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP).[120]

There are very few resources for Tanzanians in terms of credit services,
infrastructure or availability to improved agricultural technologies, which further
exacerbates hunger and poverty in the country according to the UNDP.[120] Tanzania
ranks 159 out of 187 countries in poverty according to the United Nation's Human
Development Index (2014).[120]

Agriculture
Main article: Agriculture in Tanzania

Tea fields in Tukuyu

The Tanzanian economy is heavily based on agriculture, which in 2013 accounted for
24.5 percent of gross domestic product,[47]:page 37 provides 85% of exports,[18]
and accounted for half of the employed workforce;[47]:page 56 The agricultural
sector grew 4.3 percent in 2012, less than half of the Millennium Development Goal
target of 10.8%.[121] 16.4 percent of the land is arable,[122] with 2.4 percent of
the land planted with permanent crops.[123] Tanzania's economy relies on farming,
but climate change has impacted their farming.

Maize was the largest food crop on the Tanzania mainland in 2013 (5.17 million
tonnes), followed by cassava (1.94 million tonnes), sweet potatoes (1.88 million
tonnes), beans (1.64 million tonnes), bananas (1.31 million tonnes), rice (1.31
million tonnes), and millet (1.04 million tonnes).[47]:page 58 Sugar was the
largest cash crop on the mainland in 2013 (296,679 tonnes), followed by cotton
(241,198 tonnes), cashew nuts (126,000 tonnes), tobacco (86,877 tonnes), coffee
(48,000 tonnes), sisal (37,368 tonnes), and tea (32,422 tonnes).[47]:page 58 Beef
was the largest meat product on the mainland in 2013 (299,581 tonnes), followed by
lamb/mutton (115,652 tonnes), chicken (87,408 tonnes), and pork (50,814 tonnes).
[47]:page 60

According to the 2002 National Irrigation Master Plan, 29.4 million hectares in
Tanzania are suitable for irrigation farming; however, only 310,745 hectares were
actually being irrigated in June 2011.[124]

Industry, energy and construction

Main articles: Energy in Tanzania, Water supply and sanitation in Tanzania, and
Natural resource and waste management in Tanzania
See also: List of companies of Tanzania

Williamson diamond mine

Songo Songo Gas Plant

Industry and construction is a major and growing component of the Tanzanian
economy, contributing 22.2 percent of GDP in 2013.[47]:page 37 This component
includes mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity and natural gas, water
supply, and construction.[47]:page 37 Mining contributed 3.3 percent of GDP in
2013.[47]:page 33 The vast majority of the country's mineral export revenue comes
from gold, accounting for 89 percent of the value of those exports in 2013.
[47]:page 71 It also exports sizeable quantities of gemstones, including diamonds
and tanzanite.[61]:page 1251 All of Tanzania's coal production, which totalled
106,000 short tons in 2012, is used domestically.[125]

Only 15 percent of Tanzanians had access to electric power in 2011.[126] The

government-owned Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) dominates the
electric supply industry in Tanzania.[127] The country generated 6.013 billion
kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity in 2013, a 4.2 percent increase over the 5.771
billion kWh generated in 2012.[128]:page 4 Generation increased by 63 percent
between 2005 and 2012;[129][130] Almost 18 percent of the electricity generated in
2012 was lost because of theft and transmission and distribution problems.[129] The
electrical supply varies, particularly when droughts disrupt hydropower electric
generation; rolling blackouts are implemented as necessary.[61]:page 1251[127] The
unreliability of the electrical supply has hindered the development of Tanzanian
industry.[61]:page 1251 In 2013, 49.7 percent of Tanzania's electricity generation
came from natural gas, 28.9 percent from hydroelectric sources, 20.4 percent from
thermal sources, and 1.0 percent from outside the country.[128]:page 5 The
government has built a 532 kilometres (331 mi) gas pipeline from Mnazi Bay to Dar
es Salaam.[131] This pipeline was expected to allow the country to double its
electricity generation capacity to 3,000 megawatts by 2016.[132] The government's
goal is to increase capacity to at least 10,000 megawatts by 2025.[133]

Nyerere Bridge in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam, is Tanzania's (and East Africa's) only
suspension bridge.
According to PFC Energy, 25 to 30 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas
resources have been discovered in Tanzania since 2010,[125] bringing the total
reserves to over 43 trillion cubic feet by the end of 2013.[134] The value of
natural gas actually produced in 2013 was US$52.2 million, a 42.7 percent increase
over 2012.[47]:page 73

Commercial production of gas from the Songo Songo Island field in the Indian Ocean
commenced in 2004, thirty years after it was discovered there.[135][136] Over 35
billion cubic feet of gas was produced from this field in 2013,[47]:page 72 with
proven, probable, and possible reserves totalling 1.1 trillion cubic feet.[136] The
gas is transported by pipeline to Dar es Salaam.[135] As of 27 August 2014, TANESCO
owed the operator of this field, Orca Exploration Group Inc.[137]

A newer natural gas field in Mnazi Bay in 2013 produced about one-seventh of the
amount produced near Songo Songo Island[47]:page 73 but has proven, probable, and
possible reserves of 2.2 trillion cubic feet.[136] Virtually all of that gas is
being used for electricity generation in Mtwara.[135]

The Ruvuma and Nyuna regions of Tanzania have been explored mostly by the discovery
company that holds a 75 percent interest, Aminex, and has shown to hold in excess
of 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. A pipeline connecting offshore natural
gas fields to Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam was completed at the end
of April 2015.[138]

Tourism
Main article: Tourism in Tanzania

The snowcapped Uhuru Peak

Travel and tourism contributed 17.5 percent of Tanzania's gross domestic product in
2016[139] and employed 11.0 percent of the country's labour force (1,189,300 jobs)
in 2013.[140] Overall receipts rose from US$1.74 billion in 2004 to US$4.48 billion
in 2013,[140] and receipts from international tourists rose from US$1.255 billion
in 2010 to US$2 billion in 2016.[139][141] In 2016, 1,284,279 tourists arrived at
Tanzania's borders compared to 590,000 in 2005.[115] The vast majority of tourists
visit Zanzibar or a "northern circuit" of Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro
Conservation Area, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, and Mount
Kilimanjaro.[61]:page 1252 In 2013, the most visited national park was Serengeti
(452,485 tourists), followed by Manyara (187,773) and Tarangire (165,949).[47]:page
xx

Banking
The Bank of Tanzania is the central bank of Tanzania and is primarily responsible
for maintaining price stability, with a subsidiary responsibility for issuing
Tanzanian shilling notes and coins.[142] At the end of 2013, the total assets of
the Tanzanian banking industry were 19.5 trillion Tanzanian shillings, a 15 percent
increase over 2012.[143]

Transport
Main article: Transport in Tanzania

One of the main trunk roads

Most transport in Tanzania is by road, with road transport constituting over 75
percent of the country's freight traffic and 80 percent of its passenger traffic.
[61]:page 1252 The 86,500 kilometres (53,700 mi) road system is in generally poor
condition.[61]:page 1252 Tanzania has two railway companies: TAZARA, which provides
service between Dar es Salaam and Kapiri Mposhi (in a copper-mining district in
Zambia), and Tanzania Railways Limited, which connects Dar es Salaam with central
and northern Tanzania.[61]:page 1252 Rail travel in Tanzania often entails slow
journeys with frequent cancellations or delays, and the railways have a deficient
safety record.[61]:page 1252

In Dar es Salaam, there is a huge project of rapid buses, Dar Rapid Transit (DART)
which connects suburbs of Dar es Salaam city. The development of the DART system
consists of six phases and is funded by the African Development Bank, the World
Bank and the Government of Tanzania. The first phase began in April 2012, and it
was completed in December 2015 and launched operations in May 2016.[144]

Tanzania has four international airports, along with over 100 small airports or
landing strips. Airport infrastructure tends to be in poor condition.[61]:page 1253
Airlines in Tanzania include Air Tanzania, Precision Air, Fastjet, Coastal
Aviation, and ZanAir.[61]:page 1253

Communications
Main article: Telecommunications in Tanzania
In 2013, the communications sector was the fastest growing in Tanzania, expanding
22.8 percent; however, the sector accounted for only 2.4 percent of gross domestic
product that year.[128]:page 2

As of 2011, Tanzania had 56 mobile telephone subscribers per 100 inhabitants, a

rate slightly above the sub-Saharan average.[61]:page 1253 Very few Tanzanians have
fixed-line telephones.[61]:page 1253 Approximately 12 percent of Tanzanians used
the internet as of 2011, though this number is growing rapidly.[61]:page 1253 The
country has a fibre-optic cable network that replaced unreliable satellite service,
but internet bandwidth remains very low.[61]:page 1253

Water supply and sanitation

Main article: Water supply and sanitation in Tanzania

Domestic expenditure on research in Southern Africa as a percentage of GDP, 2012 or

closest year. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 (2015), Figure 20.3
Water supply and sanitation in Tanzania has been characterised by decreasing access
to improved water sources in the 2000s (especially in urban areas), steady access
to some form of sanitation (around 93 percent since the 1990s), intermittent water
supplies, and generally low quality of service.[145] Many utilities are barely able
to cover their operation and maintenance costs through revenues because of low
tariffs and poor efficiency. There are significant regional differences, with the
best performing utilities being Arusha, Moshi, and Tanga.[146]

The government of Tanzania has embarked on a major sector reform process since
2002. An ambitious National Water Sector Development Strategy that promotes
integrated water resources management and the development of urban and rural water
supply was adopted in 2006. Decentralisation has meant that responsibility for
water and sanitation service provision has shifted to local government authorities
and is carried out by 20 urban utilities and about 100 district utilities, as well
as by Community Owned Water Supply Organisations in rural areas.[145]

These reforms have been backed by a significant increase of the budget starting in
2006, when the water sector was included among the priority sectors of the National
Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty . The Tanzanian water sector remains
heavily dependent on external donors, with 88 percent of the available funds being
provided by external donor organisations.[147] Results have been mixed. For
example, a report by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit noted
that "despite heavy investments brought in by the World Bank and the European
Union, (the utility serving Dar es Salaam) has remained one of the worst performing
water entities in Tanzania."[148]

Food and nutrition

A Tanzanian woman cooks Pilau rice dish wearing traditional Kanga.

Poor nutrition remains a persistent problem within Tanzania and varies hugely
throughout the country's regions. USAID reports that 16% of children are
underweight and 34% experience stunted growth as a result of malnutrition.[149] 10
regions house 58% of children suffering from stunted growth while 50% of acutely
malnourished children can be found in 5 regions.[150] Over a 5-year period, the
Mara district of Tanzania saw a 15% reduction in stunting in children under 5 years
old, falling from 46% to 31% in 2005 and 2010 respectively. Dodoma, on the other
hand saw a 7% increase in the prevalence of stunting in this age group, rising from
50% in 2005 to 57% in 2010.[151] Overall availability of food does not necessarily
contribute to overall stunting figures. Iringa, Mbeya and Rukwa regions, where
overall availability of food is considered acceptable still experience stunting
incidences in excess of 50%. In some areas where food shortages are common such as
in the Tabora and Singida regions, stunting incidences remain comparatively less
than those seen in Iringa, Mbeya and Rukwa.[151] The Tanzania Food and Nutrition
Centre attributes these discrepancies to variance in maternal malnutrition, poor
infant feeding practices, hygiene practices and poor healthcare services.[151]
Periods of drought can have significant impacts on the production of crops in
Tanzania. Drought in East Africa has resulted in massive increases in the prices of
food staples such as maize and sorghum, crops crucial to the nutrition of the
majority of Tanzania's population. From 2015 to 2017, the price of maize when
bought wholesale has more than doubled from 400 Shillings per kilogram to 1253
Shillings per kilogram respectively.[152]

Farmers in Igunga District, Tanzania

Tanzania remains heavily agricultural, with 80% of the total population engaging in
subsistence farming.[153] Rural areas are subjected to increased food shortages in
comparison to urbanised areas, with a survey carried out within the country in 2017
finding 84% of people in rural areas suffering food shortages over a 3-month period
compared to 64% of residents in cities.[153] This disparity between rural and city
nutrition can be attributed to various factors; increased nutritional needs due to
manual labour, more limited access to food as a result of poor infrastructure,
high-susceptibility to the damaging effects of nature and the "Agricultural
Productivity Gap".[154] The Agricultural Productivity Gap postulates that "value
added per worker" is often much lower within the agricultural sector than that
found within non-agricultural sectors. Furthermore, allocation of labour within the
agricultural sector is largely allocated ineffectively.[155]

Programmes targetting hunger

USAID programmes focussing on nutrition operate within the Morogoro, Dodoma,
Iringa, Mbeya, Manyara, Songwe and Zanzibar regions of Tanzania. These "Feed the
Future" programmes heavily invest in nutrition, infrastructure, policy, capacity of
institutions and agriculture which is identified by the organisation as a key area
of economic growth in the country.[149] A Tanzanian government led initiative
"Kilimo Kwanza" or "Agriculture First" aims to encourage investment into
agriculture within the private sector and hopes to improve agricultural processes
and development within the country by seeking the knowledge of young people and the
innovation that they can potentially provide.[156] During the 1990s, around 25% of
Tanzania's population were provided access to iodized oil aimed to target iodine
deficiency within expecting mothers, as result of studies showing the negative
effects of in-utero iodine deficiency on cognitive development in children.
Research showed that children of mothers with access to the supplement achieved on
average greater than a third of a year more education than those who did not.[156]

Example of a World Food Programme parcel

Programmes led by the World Food Programme operate within Tanzania. The
Supplementary Feeding Programme (SFP) aims to target acute malnutrition by
supplying blended food fortified with vitamins to pregnant women and mothers to
children under 5 on a monthly basis.[157] Pregnant women and mothers to children
under 2 have access to the Mother and Child Health and Nutrition Programme's "Super
Cereal" which is supplied with the intent of reducing stunting in children.[157]
World Food Programme supplementation remains the main food source for Tanzania's
refugees. Super Cereal, Vegetable Oil, Pulses and Salt are supplied as part of the
Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation in order to meet the average persons
minimum daily caloric requirement of 2,100 kcal.[157] UNICEF state that continued
investment in nutrition within Tanzania is of the utmost importance: Estimates
predict that Tanzania stands to lose $20 billion by 2025 if nutrition within the
country remains at its current level, however improvements in nutrition could
produce a gain of around $4.7 billion[150]

Save the Children, with the help of UNICEF and Irish Aid funding created the
Partnership for Nutrition in Tanzania (PANITA), in 2011. PANITA aims to utilise
civil society organisations to target nutrition within the country. Alongside this,
various sectors associated with nutrition are targeted such as agriculture, water,
sanitation, education, economic development and social progress. PANITA is
responsible for ensuring significant attention is given to nutrition in development
plans and budgets created on national and regional levels within Tanzania. Since
its conception, PANITA has grown from 94 to 306 participating civil society
organisations nationwide.[158] Agriculture within Tanzania is targeted by the Irish
Aid led initiative Harnessing Agriculture for Nutrition Outcomes (HANO), which aims
to merge nutrition initiatives with agriculture in the Lindi District of the
country. The project aims to reduce stunting by 10% in children aged 0 to 23
months.[158]

Science and technology

Researchers (HC) in Southern Africa per million inhabitants, 2013 or closest year
Main article: Science and technology in Tanzania
Tanzania's first "National Science and Technology Policy" was adopted in 1996. The
objective of the government's "Vision 2025" (1998) document was to "transform the
economy into a strong, resilient and competitive one, buttressed by science and
technology".

Under the umbrella of the One UN Initiative, UNESCO and Tanzanian government
departments and agencies formulated a series of proposals in 2008 for revising the
"National Science and Technology Policy". The total reform budget of US$10 million
was financed from the One UN fund and other sources. UNESCO provided support for
mainstreaming science, technology, and innovation into the new "National Growth and
Poverty Reduction Strategy" for the mainland and Zanzibar namely, Mkukuta II and
Mkuza II, including in the field of tourism.
Tanzania's revised science policy was published in 2010. Entitled "National
Research and Development Policy", it recognises the need to improve the process of
prioritisation of research capacities, develop international co-operation in
strategic areas of research and development, and improve planning for human
resources. It also makes provisions for the establishment of a National Research
Fund. This policy was, in turn, reviewed in 2012 and 2013.[159]

Scientific publications per million inhabitants in SADC countries in 2014. Source:

UNESCO Science Report (2015), data from Thomson Reuters' Web of Science, Science
Citation Index Expanded
In 2010, Tanzania devoted 0.38 percent of GDP to research and development. The
global average in 2013 was 1.7 percent of GDP. Tanzania had 69 researchers (in head
counts) per million population in 2010. In 2014, Tanzania counted 15 publications
per million inhabitants in internationally catalogued journals, according to
Thomson Reuters' Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded). The average for
sub-Saharan Africa was 20 publications per million inhabitants and the global
average 176 publications per million inhabitants.

Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Tanzania
Population in Tanzania[7][8]
Year Million
1950 7.9
2000 35.1
2018 56.3
According to the 2012 census, the total population was 44,928,923.[9] The under-15
age group represented 44.1 percent of the population.[160]

The population distribution in Tanzania is uneven. Most people live on the northern
border or the eastern coast, with much of the remainder of the country being
sparsely populated.[61]:page 1252 Density varies from 12 per square kilometre
(31/sq mi) in the Katavi Region to 3,133 per square kilometre (8,110/sq mi) in the
Dar es Salaam Region.[9]:page 6

Approximately 70 percent of the population is rural, although this percentage has

been declining since at least 1967.[161] Dar es Salaam (population 4,364,541)[162]
is the largest city and commercial capital. Dodoma (population 410,956)[162] is
located in the centre of Tanzania, is the capital of the country, and hosts the
National Assembly.

At the time of the foundation of the United Republic of Tanzania in 1964 the child
mortality rate was 335 deaths per 1,000 live births. Since independence the rate of
child deaths declined to 62 per 1000 births.[163]

vte
Largest cities or towns in Tanzania
2012 Census General Report, March 2013 Combined Final for Printing
Rank Name Region Pop.
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Mwanza
Mwanza 1 Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam 4,364,541 Arusha
Arusha
Dodoma
Dodoma
2 Mwanza Mwanza 706,543
3 Arusha Arusha 416,442
4 Dodoma Dodoma 410,956
5 Mbeya Mbeya 385,279
6 Morogoro Morogoro 315,866
7 Tanga Tanga 273,332
8 Kahama Shinyanga 242,208
9 Tabora Tabora 226,999
10 Zanzibar City Zanzibar West 223,033

The Hadza live as hunter-gatherers.

The population consists of about 125 ethnic groups.[164] The Sukuma, Nyamwezi,
Chagga, and Haya peoples each have a population exceeding 1 million.[165]:page 4
Approximately 99 percent of Tanzanians are of native African descent, with small
numbers of Arab, European, and Asian descent.[164] The majority of Tanzanians,
including the Sukuma and the Nyamwezi, are Bantu.[166]

The population also includes people of Arab, Persian, and Indian origin, and small
European and Chinese communities.[167] Many also identify as Shirazis. Thousands of
Arabs, Persians, and Indians were massacred during the Zanzibar Revolution of 1964.
[49] As of 1994, the Asian community numbered 50,000 on the mainland and 4,000 on
Zanzibar. An estimated 70,000 Arabs and 10,000 Europeans lived in Tanzania.[168]

Some albinos in Tanzania have been the victims of violence in recent years.[169]
[170][171][172] Attacks are often to hack off the limbs of albinos in the perverse
superstitious belief that possessing the bones of albinos will bring wealth. The
country has banned witch doctors to try to prevent the practice, but it has
continued and albinos remain targets.[173]

According to 2010 Tanzanian government statistics, the total fertility rate in

Tanzania was 5.4 children born per woman, with 3.7 in urban mainland areas, 6.1 in
rural mainland areas, and 5.1 in Zanzibar.[174]:page 55 For all women aged 45–49,
37.3 percent had given birth to eight or more children, and for currently married
women in that age group, 45.0 percent had given birth to that many children.
[174]:page 61

Religion
Religion in Tanzania (2014)
Christianity
 
61.4%
Islam
 
35.2%
Indigenous beliefs
 
1.8%
Other
 
1.6%
Source: CIA World Factbook.[18]

Azania Front Lutheran Church, built by German missionaries in 1898

Gaddafi Mosque in the capital Dodoma is the second-largest mosque in East Africa.
Main articles: Religion in Tanzania, Christianity in Tanzania, and Islam in
Zanzibar
Official statistics on religion are unavailable because religious surveys were
eliminated from government census reports after 1967.[175] Tanzania's religious
field is dominated by Christianity and Islam as well as of different African
Traditional Religions connected to ethnic customs. The word for religion in
Swahili, dini, generally apply to the world religions of Christianity and Islam
meaning that followers of African Traditional Religions are consider to be of "no
religion". Religious belonging is often ambiguous, with some people adhering to
multiple religious identities at the same time (for instance being Christian but
also following African Traditional rituals) something which point to that religious
boundaries are flexible and contextual.[176]

According to a 2014 estimate by the CIA World Factbook, 61.4 percent of the
population was Christian, 35.2 percent was Muslim, 1.8 percent practised
traditional African religions, 1.4 percent were unaffiliated with any religion, and
0.2 followed other religions. Nearly the entire population of Zanzibar is Muslim.
[18] Of Muslims, 16 percent are Ahmadiyya (although they are often not considered
Muslims), 20 percent are non-denominational Muslims, 40 percent are Sunni, 20
percent are Shia, and 4% are Sufi.[177]

Within the Christian community the Roman Catholic Church is the largest
denomination (51 percent of all Christians).[178] Among the Protestants, the large
number of Lutherans and Moravians points to the German colonial and missionary past
of the country, while the number of Anglicans point to the British colonial and
missionary history of Tanganyika. A growing Pentecostals and Adventists are also
present large because of external missionary activities from the Nordic region and
the US in the first part of the 20th century.[179] All of them have had some
influence in varying degrees from the Walokole movement (East African Revival),
which has also been fertile ground for the spread of charismatic and Pentecostal
groups.[180]

There are also active communities of other religious groups, primarily on the
mainland, such as Buddhists, Hindus, and Bahá'ís.[181]

Languages
Main article: Languages of Tanzania

A carved door with Arabic calligraphy in Zanzibar

More than 100 languages are spoken in Tanzania, making it the most linguistically
diverse country in East Africa.[25] Among the languages spoken are all four of
Africa's language families: Bantu, Cushitic, Nilotic, and Khoisan.[25] There are no
de jure official languages in Tanzania.[27]

Swahili is used in parliamentary debate, in the lower courts, and as a medium of

instruction in primary school. English is used in foreign trade, in diplomacy, in
higher courts, and as a medium of instruction in secondary and higher education,
[25] The Tanzanian government, however, has plans to discontinue English as a
language of instruction.[28] In connection with his Ujamaa social policies,
President Nyerere encouraged the use of Swahili to help unify the country's many
ethnic groups.[182] Approximately 10 percent of Tanzanians speak Swahili as a first
language, and up to 90 percent speak it as a second language.[25] Many educated
Tanzanians are trilingual, also speaking English.[183][184][185] The widespread use
and promotion of Swahili is contributing to the decline of smaller languages in the
country.[25][186] Young children increasingly speak Swahili as a first language,
particularly in urban areas.[187] Ethnic community languages (ECL) other than
Kiswahili are not allowed as a language of instruction. Nor are they taught as a
subject, though they might be used unofficially in some cases in initial education.
Television and radio programmes in an ECL are prohibited, and it is nearly
impossible to get permission to publish a newspaper in an ECL. There is no
department of local or regional African Languages and Literatures at the University
of Dar es Salaam.[188]

Arabic is co-official in Zanzibar.

The Sandawe people speak a language that may be related to the Khoe languages of
Botswana and Namibia, while the language of the Hadzabe people, although it has
similar click consonants, is arguably a language isolate.[189] The language of the
Iraqw people is Cushitic.[190]

Education
Main article: Education in Tanzania

Nkrumah Hall at the University of Dar es Salaam

In 2012, the literacy rate in Tanzania for persons aged 15 and over was estimated
to be 67.8 percent.[191] Education is compulsory until children reach age 15.[192]
In 2010, 74.1 percent of children age 5 to 14 years were attending school.[192] The
primary school completion rate was 80.8 percent in 2012.[192]

Healthcare
Main article: Healthcare in Tanzania
As of 2012, life expectancy at birth was 61 years.[193] The under-five mortality
rate in 2012 was 54 per 1,000 live births.[193] The maternal mortality rate in 2013
was estimated at 410 per 100,000 live births.[193] Prematurity and malaria were
tied in 2010 as the leading cause of death in children under 5 years old.[194] The
other leading causes of death for these children were, in decreasing order,
malaria, diarrhoea, HIV, and measles.[194]

Malaria in Tanzania causes death and disease and has a "huge economic impact".
[195]:page 13 There were approximately 11.5 million cases of clinical malaria in
2008.[195]:page 12 In 2007–08, malaria prevalence among children aged 6 months to 5
years was highest in the Kagera Region (41.1 percent) on the western shore of Lake
Victoria and lowest in the Arusha Region (0.1 percent).[195]:page 12

According to the 2010 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey 2010, 15 percent of
Tanzanian women had undergone female genital mutilation (FGM)[174]:page 295 and 72
percent of Tanzanian men had been circumcised.[174]:page 230 FGM is most common in
the Manyara, Dodoma, Arusha, and Singida regions and nonexistent in Zanzibar.
[174]:page 296 The prevalence of male circumcision was above 90 percent in the
eastern (Dar es Salaam, Pwani, and Morogoro regions), northern (Kilimanjaro, Tanga,
Arusha, and Manyara regions), and central areas (Dodoma and Singida regions) and
below 50 percent only in the southern highlands zone (Mbeya, Iringa, and Rukwa
regions).[174]:pages 6, 230

2012 data showed that 53 percent of the population used improved drinking water
sources (defined as a source that "by nature of its construction and design, is
likely to protect the source from outside contamination, in particular from faecal
matter") and 12 percent used improved sanitation facilities (defined as facilities
that "likely hygienically separates human excreta from human contact" but not
including facilities shared with other households or open to public use).[196]

Women
Main article: Women in Tanzania
Women and men have equality before the law.[197] The government signed the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
in 1985.[197] Nearly 3 out of ten females reported having experienced sexual
violence before the age of 18. [197] The prevalence of female genital mutilation
has decreased.[197] School girls are reinstated back to school after delivery.[197]
The Police Force administration strives to separate the Gender Desks from normal
police operations to enhance confidentiality of the processing of women victims of
abuse.[197] Most of the abuses and violence against women and children occurs at
the family level.[197] The Constitution of Tanzania requires that women to
constitute at least 30% of all elected members of National Assembly.[197] The
gender differences in education and training have implications later in life of
these women and girls.[197] Unemployment is higher for females than for males.[197]
The right of a female employee to maternity leave is guaranteed in labour law.[197]

Culture
Main article: Culture of Tanzania

Judith Wambura (Lady Jaydee) is a popular Bongo Flava recording singer.

Literature
Main article: Tanzanian literature
Tanzania's literary culture is primarily oral.[165]:page 68 Major oral literary
forms include folktales, poems, riddles, proverbs, and songs.[165]:page 69 The
greatest part of Tanzania's recorded oral literature is in Swahili, even though
each of the country's languages has its own oral tradition.[165]:pages 68–9 The
country's oral literature has been declining because of the breakdown of the
multigenerational social structure, making transmission of oral literature more
difficult, and because increasing modernisation has been accompanied by the
devaluation of oral literature.[165]:page 69

Books in Tanzania are often expensive and hard to come by.[165]:page 75[198]:page
16 Most Tanzanian literature is in Swahili or English.[165]:page 75 Major figures
in Tanzanian written literature include Shaaban Robert (considered the father of
Swahili literature), Muhammed Saley Farsy, Faraji Katalambulla, Adam Shafi Adam,
Muhammed Said Abdalla, Said Ahmed Mohammed Khamis, Mohamed Suleiman Mohamed,
Euphrase Kezilahabi, Gabriel Ruhumbika, Ebrahim Hussein, May Materru Balisidya,
Fadhy Mtanga, Abdulrazak Gurnah, and Penina O. Mlama.[165]:pages 76–8

Painting and sculpture

A Tingatinga painting
Two Tanzanian art styles have achieved international recognition.[198]:p. 17 The
Tingatinga school of painting, founded by Edward Said Tingatinga, consists of
brightly coloured enamel paintings on canvas, generally depicting people, animals,
or daily life.[165]:p. 113[198]:p. 17 After Tingatinga's death in 1972, other
artists adopted and developed his style, with the genre now being the most
important tourist-oriented style in East Africa.[165]:p. 113[198]:p. 17

Historically, there were limited opportunities for formal European art training in
Tanzania and many aspiring Tanzanian artists left the country to pursue their
vocation.[198]:p. 17

Sports
Main article: Sport in Tanzania
Football is very popular throughout the country.[199] The most popular professional
football clubs in Dar es Salaam are the Young Africans F.C. and Simba S.C.[200] The
Tanzania Football Federation is the governing body for football in the country.

Other popular sports include basketball, netball, boxing, volleyball, athletics,

and rugby.[199][201]. The National Sports Council also known as Baraza la Michezo
la Taifa is the governing body for sports in the country under the Ministry of
Information, Youth, Sports and Culture[202]

Cinema
Tanzania has a popular film industry known as "Bongo Movie". The music industry is
known as "Bongo Flava" which is in itself also a niche genre of music in Tanzania.

See also