1994 Edition

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

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

Airports

total: 109 usable: 100 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

Area

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

Birth rate

45.48 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

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

Budget

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

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

Climate

varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands

Coastline

1,424 km

Constitution

25 April 1977; major revisions October 1984

Currency

1 Tanzanian shilling (TSh) = 100 cents

Death rate

19.42 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

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

Economic aid

recipient: 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

capacity: 405,000 kW production: 600 million kWh consumption per capita: 20 kWh (1991)

Environment

current issues: soil degradation; deforestation; desertification; destruction of coral reefs threatens marine habitats; recent droughts affected marginal agriculture natural hazards: the tsetse fly and lack of water limit agriculture; flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

Ethnic divisions

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

Exchange rates

Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1 - 486.75 (January 1994), 405.27 (1993), 297.71 (1992), 219.16 (1991), 195.06 (1990), 143.38 (1989)

Executive branch

chief of state: President Ali Hassan MWINYI (since 5 November 1985); First Vice President John MALECELA (since 9 November 1990); Second Vice President and President of Zanzibar Salmin AMOUR (since 9 November 1990) election last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held NA October 1995); results - Ali Hassan MWINYI was elected without opposition head of government: Prime Minister John MALECELA (since 9 November 1990) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president from the National Assembly

Exports

$418 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: coffee, cotton, tobacco, tea, cashew nuts, sisal partners: FRG, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Kenya, Hong Kong, US

External debt

$6.44 billion (1992)

FAX

(202) 797-7408

[255] (51) 66701

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

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

Highways

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

Illicit drugs

growing role in transshipment of Southwest Asian heroin destined for US and European markets

Imports

$1.51 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.) commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, cotton piece goods, crude oil, foodstuffs partners: FRG, UK, US, Japan, Italy, Denmark

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

Industrial production

growth rate 9.3% (1990); accounts for 8% of GDP

Industries

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

Infant mortality rate

109.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

21% (1993 est.)

Inland waterways

Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa

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 sq km (1989 est.)

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal, High Court

Labor force

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

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

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 43.25 years male: 41.52 years female: 45.03 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

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

Location

Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean between Kenya and Mozambique

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 6,011,564; fit for military service 3,480,179

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

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

Merchant marine

7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 29,145 GRT/39,186 DWT, cargo 3, oil tanker 1, passenger-cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

Names

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

National Assembly (Bunge)

elections 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)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $16.7 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$600 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

3.2% (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun: Tanzanian(s) adjective: Tanzanian

Natural resources

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

Net migration rate

-1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

Mount Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa

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 1991-93 featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals led by gold.

Pipelines

crude oil 982 km

Political parties and leaders

Chama Cha 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; Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), Edwin I. M. MTEI, chairman

Population

27,985,660 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

2.5% (1994 est.)

Ports

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

Railroads

969 km total; all of 1.067-meter gauge; connects with Zambia railroad at Tazara

Religions

mainland: Christian 45%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 20%

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

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

Terrain

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

Total fertility rate

6.2 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

republic

Unemployment rate

NA%

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 through 13

Zanzibar

NA

Muslim 99% plus