Tanzania: Fact file
Updated November 2010
| Name | United Republic of Tanzania |
| Area | 945 087 sq km |
| Capital | Dodoma |
| Major cities | Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Tanga, Zanzibar, Mbeya, Arusha, Morogoro, Shinyanga (Frame 2008, 1190) |
| Boundaries | Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Indian Ocean |
| Population | 45.04 million, 2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009a) |
| Natural pop growth | 2.88%, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009b) |
| Urbanisation | 25.0%, 2007 est (UN Statistics Division undated) |
| Life expectancy | Female 56.2 yrs, male 54.6 yrs; 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009c, 2009d) |
| Infant mortality | 65/1000, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009e) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 6.2%, 15-49 yr 2007 est (UN Statistics Division 2009f) |
| Adult literacy rate | 72%; 2003-2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010a) |
| Military expenditure | 0.9% of GDP; 2008 (UN Statistics Division 2010b) |
| Health expenditure | 5.1% of GDP; 2005 (UN Statistics Division 2008) |
| Legal system | English common law, customary and Islamic law (Nyanduga & Manning 2006) |
| Independence | 6 December 1961 |
| GDP | US$20.490 billion, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010c) |
| GDP per capita | US$502 Mainland, US$496 Zanzibar; 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2009g) |
| GDP growth rate | 7.5%, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010d) |
| Main exports | Gold, food and livestock, raw materials (Frame 2008, 1193) |
| Currency | 100 cents = 1 Tanzanian shilling |
| Unemployment | 11.7%, 2007 (NBS 2009) |
| Inflation rate | 8.9%, 2008 (UN Statistics Division 2010e) |
| External debt ratio | 24.2% of GDP, 2009 (IMF 2010, 95) |
| Roads | Total 48 730 km (29% poor), paved 4 330 km (5% poor), unpaved 44 400 km (31% poor); 2008 (World Bank 2009) |
| Rail | 2 605 km regional, 960 km Tanzania-Zambia (SADC 2007, 252, 253) |
| Airports | 11 paved, 3 international (Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar) (Avigation Networks Undated) |
| Ethnic groups | Tanzania has over 120 ethnic groups. The largest, the Sukuma, is 13% of the population, while no other group is more than 5% of the population. Major groups include the Nyamwezi, Chagga, Swahili, Shirazi, Zaramo and the Makonde (East Africa Living Encyclopedia undated) |
| Languages | Official languages Swahili and English; languages with over a million speakers include the Sukuma, Gogo, Nyamwezi, Haya, Makonde and the Ha. Languages with over half a million speakers include Hehe, Nyakyusa-Ngonde, Luguru, Shambala, Bena, Mochi, Nyaturu, Asu, Yao, Mwera and the Iraqw. A further 108 smaller languages are found (Lewis 2009) |
| Religion | Christian 45%, Muslim 35%, African Traditional Religion 20% (Art and Life in Africa 2005) |
References
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FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
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