1993 Edition

Area

total area: 945,090 km2 land area: 886,040 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than twice the size of California note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar

Climate

varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands

Coastline

1,424 km

Environment

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

International disputes

boundary dispute with Malawi in Lake Nyasa; Tanzania-Zaire-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it is reported that the indefinite section of the Zaire-Zambia boundary has been settled

Irrigated land

1,530 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 3,402 km, 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: 5% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 40% forest and woodland: 47% other: 7%

Location

Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean between Kenya and Mozambique

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

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

Birth rate

45.66 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

19.02 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

mainland: native African 99% (consisting of well over 100 tribes) Asian, European, and Arab 1%

Infant mortality rate

110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force

732,200 wage earners by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 10% (1986 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 44 years male: 42.19 years female: 45.87 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1978) total population: 46% male: 62% female: 31%

Nationality

noun: Tanzanian(s) adjective: Tanzanian

Net migration rate

-1.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

27,286,363 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

2.56% (1993 est.)

Religions

mainland: Christian 40%, Muslim 33%, indigenous beliefs 25%

Total fertility rate

6.25 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Zanzibar

NA

Muslim

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

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

Chief of State

President Ali Hassan MWINYI (since 5 November 1985); First Vice President John MALECELA (since 9 November 1990); Second Vice President Salmin AMOUR (since 9 November 1990)

Constitution

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

Digraph

TZ

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Charles Musama NYIRABU chancery: 2139 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 939-6125

Elections

President: last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held NA October 1995); results - Ali Hassan MWINYI was elected without opposition

Executive branch

president, first vice president and prime minister of the union, second vice president and president of Zanzibar, Cabinet

FAX

[255] (51) 66701

Flag

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

Head of Government

Prime Minister John MALECELA (since 9 November 1990)

Independence

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

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 (Bunge)

Member of

ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-6, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

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

National Assembly

last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held NA October 1995); results - CCM was the only party; seats - (241 total, 168 elected) CCM 168

National holiday

Union Day, 26 April (1964)

Political parties and leaders

Chama Chr Mapinduzi (CCM or Revolutionary Party), Ali Hassan MWINYI; Civic United Front (CUF), James MAPALALA; National Committee for Constitutional Reform (NCCK), Mabere MARANDO; Union for Multiparty Democracy (UMD), Abdullah FUNDIKIRA; Democratic Party (DP), Christopher Mtikila

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Peter Jon DE VOS embassy: 36 Laibon Road (off Bagamoyo Road), Dar es Salaam mailing address: P. O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam telephone: [255] (51) 66010/13

Agriculture

accounts for over 58% of GDP; topography and climatic conditions limit cultivated crops to only 5% of land area; cash crops - coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), cashews, tobacco, cloves (Zanzibar); food crops - corn, wheat, cassava, bananas, fruits, vegetables; small numbers of cattle, sheep, and goats; not self-sufficient in food grain production

Budget

revenues $495 million; expenditures $631 million, including capital expenditures of $118 million (FY90)

Currency

1 Tanzanian shilling (TSh) = 100 cents

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $400 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $9.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $44 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $614 million

Electricity

405,000 kW capacity; 600 million kWh produced, 20 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1 - 325.00 (November 1992), 219.16 (1991), 195.06 (1990), 143.38 (1989), 99.29 (1988), 64.26 (1987)

Exports

$422 million (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: coffee, cotton, tobacco, tea, cashew nuts, sisal partners: FRG, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Kenya, Hong Kong, US

External debt

$6.44 billion (1992)

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

Imports

$1.43 billion (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, cotton piece goods, crude oil, foodstuffs partners: FRG, UK, US, Japan, Italy, Denmark

Industrial production

growth rate 9.3% (1990); accounts for 7% of GDP

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

22% (1992 est.)

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $7.2 billion (1992 est.)

National product per capita

$260 (1992 est.)

National product real growth rate

4.5% (1992 est.)

Overview

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for about 58% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 90% of the work force. Industry accounts for 8% 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 1991-92 featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals led by gold.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Airports

total: 103 usable: 92 with permanent-surface runways: 12 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 40

Highways

81,900 km total, 3,600 km paved; 5,600 km gravel or crushed stone; 72,700 km improved and unimproved earth

Inland waterways

Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa

Merchant marine

6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,185 GRT/22,916 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 2 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 oil tanker

Pipelines

crude oil 982 km

Ports

Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, Tanga, and Zanzibar are ocean ports; Mwanza on Lake Victoria and Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika are inland ports

Railroads

3,555 km total; 960 km 1.067-meter gauge (including the 962 km Tazara Railroad); 2,595 km 1.000-meter gauge, including 6.4 km double track; 115 km of 1.000-meter gauge planned by end of decade

Telecommunications

fair system operating below capacity; open wire, radio relay, and troposcatter; 103,800 telephones; broadcast stations - 12 AM, 4 FM, 2 TV; 1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Branches

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

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 5,835,064; fit for military service 3,375,567 (1993 est.)