Tanzania

Radio broadcast stations

AM 12, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios

640,000 (1992 est.)

Telephone system

fair system operating below capacity domestic: open wire, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones

137,000 (1989 est.)

Television broadcast stations

3 (1995 est.)

Televisions

45,000 (1992 est.)

Agriculture - products

coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), cashews, tobacco, cloves (Zanzibar), corn, wheat, cassava (tapioca), bananas, fruits, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats

Budget

revenues : $495 million expenditures: $631 million, including capital expenditures of $118 million (1990 est.)

Currency

1 Tanzanian shilling (TSh) = 100 cents

Debt - external

$7.4 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $NA

Economy - overview

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for 57% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 90% of the work force. Topography and climatic conditions, however, limit cultivated crops to only 4% of the land area. Industry accounts for 17% of GDP and is mainly limited to processing agricultural products and light consumer goods. The economic recovery program announced in mid-1986 has generated notable increases in agricultural production and financial support for the program by bilateral donors. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's deteriorated economic infrastructure. Growth in 1991-96 has featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals, led by gold. Recent banking reforms have helped increase private sector growth and investment.

Electricity - capacity

440,000 kW (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita

60 kWh (1994 est.)

Electricity - production

1.91 billion kWh (1994)

Exchange rates

Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1 - 597.27 (January 1997), 579.98 (1996), 574.76 (1995), 509.63 (1994), 405.27 (1993), 297.71 (1992)

Exports

total value: $679 million (f.o.b., 1995) commodities: coffee, cotton, cashew nuts, cloves, tobacco, sisal partners: India, Germany, Belgium, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Kenya, Hong Kong, US

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June

GDP

purchasing power parity - $18.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 57% industry: 17% services: 26% (1994 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $650 (1995 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

3.5% (1995 est.)

Imports

total value: $1.69 billion (c.i.f., 1995) commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, cotton piece goods, crude oil, foodstuffs partners : UK, Germany, Italy, Japan, US, Kenya, China

Industrial production growth rate

7.7% (1994)

Industries

primarily agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine), diamond and gold mining, oil refining, shoes, cement, textiles, wood products, fertilizer

Inflation rate - consumer price index

30% (1995 est.)

Labor force

total: 13.495 million by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 10% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total : 945,090 sq km land: 886,040 sq km water: 59,050 sq km note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar

Area - comparative

slightly larger than twice the size of California

Climate

varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands

Coastline

1,424 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point : Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Kilimanjaro 5,895 m

Environment - current issues

soil degradation; deforestation; desertification; destruction of coral reefs threatens marine habitats; recent droughts affected marginal agriculture

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Desertification

Geographic coordinates

6 00 S, 35 00 E

Geography - note

Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa

Irrigated land

1,500 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

total : 3,402 km border countries: Burundi 451 km, Kenya 769 km, Malawi 475 km, Mozambique 756 km, Rwanda 217 km, Uganda 396 km, Zambia 338 km

Land use

arable land: 3% permanent crops : 1% permanent pastures: 40% forests and woodland: 38% other: 18% (1993 est.)

Location

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

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural hazards

the tsetse fly; flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season

Natural resources

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

Terrain

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

Administrative divisions

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

Constitution

25 April 1977; major revisions October 1984

Country name

conventional long form : United Republic of Tanzania conventional short form: Tanzania former: United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar

Data code

TZ

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador J. Brady ANDERSON embassy: 36 Laibon Road (off Bagamoyo Road), Dar es Salaam mailing address: P. O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam telephone: [255] (51) 66010 through 66015

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Mustafa Salim NYANG'ANYI chancery : 2139 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6125

Executive branch

chief of state: President Benjamin William MKAPA (since 22 November 1995); Vice President Omar Ali JUMA (since 22 November 1995); note the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Benjamin William MKAPA (since 22 November 1995); Vice President Omar Ali JUMA (since 22 November 1995); note the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet ministers, including the prime minister, are appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected on the same ballot by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 29 October-19 November 1995 (next to be held NA October 2000); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Benjamin William MKAPA 62%, MREMA 28%, LIPUMBA 6%, CHEYO 4%

FAX

[1] (202) 797-7408

FAX

[255] (51) 66701

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

Government type

republic

Independence

26 April 1964; Tanganyika became independent 9 December 1961 (from UK-administered UN trusteeship); Zanzibar became independent 19 December 1963 (from UK); Tanganyika united with Zanzibar 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; renamed United Republic of Tanzania 29 October 1964

International organization participation

ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, G- 6, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADC, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal; High Court

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (274 seats, 232 directly elected; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 29 October-19 November 1995 (next to be held NA October 2000) election results : percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CCM 186, opposition parties 46; note - of the 42 seats which are not elected, some are filled by presidential appointment and others are designated by law for specific officials

National capital

Dar es Salaam note: some government offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which is planned as the new national capital by the end of the 1990s

National holiday

Union Day, 26 April (1964)

Political parties and leaders

Chama Cha Mapinduzi or CCM (Revolutionary Party) [Benjamin William MKAPA]; Civic United Front or CUF [Seif Sharif HAMAD]; National Convention for Construction and Reform or NCCR [Lyatonga (Augustine) MREMA]; Union for Multiparty Democracy or UMD [Abdullah FUNDIKIRA]; Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo or CHADEMA [Edwin I. M. MTEI, chairman]; Democratic Party (unregistered) [Reverend MTIKLA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [John CHEYO]

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Military branches

Tanzanian People's Defense Force or TPDF (includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary Police Field Force Unit, Militia

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$69 million (FY94/95)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA%

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 6,630,336 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males: 3,842,624 (1997 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 45% (male 6,597,703; female 6,638,333) 15-64 years: 52% (male 7,496,133; female 7,868,581) 65 years and over: 3% (male 399,747; female 460,256) (July 1997 est.)

Birth rate

40.92 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate

19.84 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

Infant mortality rate

104.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Languages

Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguju (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 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, and it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 41.71 years male: 40.34 years female: 43.13 years (1997 est.)

Literacy

definition : age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic total population: 67.8% male: 79.4% female: 56.8% (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun : Tanzanian(s) adjective: Tanzanian

Net migration rate

-5.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Population

29,460,753 (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate

1.6% (1997 est.)

Religions

mainland - Christian 45%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 20% note: Zanzibar - more than 99% Muslim

Sex ratio

at birth : 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

5.58 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Disputes - international

dispute with Malawi over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi); Democratic Republic of the Congo-Tanzania-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it has been informally reported that the indefinite section of the Democratic Republic of the Congo-Zambia boundary has been settled

Illicit drugs

growing role in transshipment of Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for European and US markets and of South Asian methaqualone bound for Southern Africa THAILAND

Airports

110 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 39 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m : 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 28 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 71 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m : 56 (1996 est.)

Highways

total: 88,000 km paved: 3,696 km unpaved : 84,304 km (1994 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 30,371 GRT/41,269 DWT ships by type: cargo 3, oil tanker 2, passenger-cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1996 est.)

Pipelines

crude oil 982 km

Ports and harbors

Bukoba, Dar es Salaam, Kigoma, Lindi, Mkoani, Mtwara, Musoma, Mwanza, Tanga, Wete, Zanzibar

Railways

total : 3,569 km (1995) narrow gauge: 2,600 km 1.000-m gauge; 969 km 1.067-m gauge note: the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), which operates 1,860 km of 1.067-m narrow gauge track between Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia (of which 969 km are in Tanzania and 891 km are in Zambia) is not a part of Tanzania Railways Corporation; because of the difference in gauge, this system does not connect to Tanzania Railways

Waterways

Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa