Tanzania: Fact file
Updated October 2009
| 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 | 41.3 million, 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Natural pop growth | 3%, 2005-2010 (UNDP 2009) |
| Urbanisation | 18.9%, 1990 (UNDP 2009) |
| Life expectancy | Female 55.8 yrs, male 54.2 yrs, 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 15-49 yrs: 6.2%; 2007 Mainland est (Tanzania Commission for AIDS 2008, 5) |
| Adult literacy rate | Female 65.9%, male 79.0%; 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Health expenditure | 13.3% of government expenditure; 2006 (UNDP 2009) |
| Legal system | English common law, customary and Islamic law (Nyanduga & Manning 2006) |
| Independence | 6 December 1961 |
| GDP | US$16.184 billion, 2007 est (IMF 2008) |
| GDP per capita | US$415.36, 2007 est (IMF 2008) |
| GDP growth rate | 7.5%, 2008 est (IMF 2009) |
| Main exports | Cashew nuts, coffee, minerals, tobacco, cotton, tea (Murison 2001) |
| Currency | 100 cents = 1 Tanzanian shilling |
| Unemployment | 11.7%, 2007 (NBS 2009) |
| Inflation rate | 10.3%, 2008 est (IMF 2009) |
| External debt ratio | 30.7% of GDP, 2008 (IMF 2009) |
| Roads | 85 000 km, 10 300 main (SADC 2007, 252) |
| 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 (Ethnologue.com undated) |
| Religion | Christian 45%, Muslim 35%, African Traditional Religion 20% (Art and Life in Africa 2005) |
References
ART AND LIFE IN AFRICA 2005 "Tanzania Information", [www] http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/countries/Tanzania.html [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2007).
AVIGATION NETWORKS UNDATED "Airports in Tanzania, United Rep.of", [www] http://worldaerodata.com/countries/Tanzania_United_Repof.php [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2007).
EAST AFRICA LIVING ENCYCLOPEDIA UNDATED "Tanzania - Ethnic Groups", African Studies Center, [www] http://www.africa.upenn.edu/NEH/tethnic.htm [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2007).
ETHNOLOGUE.COM UNDATED "Languages of Tanzania" [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Tanzania [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2007).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS (NBS) 2009 "National Summary Data Page (NSDP) Economic and Financial Data" [www] http://www.nbs.go.tz/METADATA/NSDF.htm [opens new window] (accessed 19 May 2009).
IMF 2008 World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/index.aspx [opens new window] (accessed 21 Apr 2008).
IMF 2009 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, 66, 70, 88, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2009/afr/eng/sreo0409.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 18 May 2009).
NYANDUGA, BT & MANNING, C 2006 "Guide to Tanzanian Legal System and Legal Research", GlobaLex, [www] http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Tanzania.htm [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
SADC 2007 "United Republic of Tanzania" IN Country Profiles, [www] http://www.sadcreview.com/pdfs07/tanzania2007_08.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
TANZANIA COMMISSION FOR AIDS 2008 "UNGASS Country Progress Report: Tanzania Mainland" IN 2008 progress reports submitted by countries, UNAIDS, [www] http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/tanzania_2008_country_progress_report_en.pdf [PDF document, opens in window] (accessed 19 May 2009).
UNDP 2009 "Tanzania (United Republic of) HDI Rank - 151", IN Human Development Report 2009, [www] http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_TZA.html [opens new window] (accessed 15 October 2009).
