Tanzania: Priming Commercial Possibilities
Tanzania’s new leadership preps for post-Covid economic growth.
Tanzania GDP and Economic Data
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Tanzania economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends.
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Gross Domestic Product - GDP
USD 57.9 billion (2018, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Intl$ 175.8 billion (2018, estimate)
Real GDP growth
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| 6.7% | 6.2% | 6.9% | 6.8% | 6.6% |
*Estimate
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 28.7%
- industry: 25.1%
- services: 37.9%
(2017 estimate)
Inflation
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| 5.6% | 5.2% | 5.3% | 3.5% | 3.6% |
*Estimate
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| 35.9% | 36.4% | 36.6% | 37.3% | 37.7% |
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| -3.2% | -2.1% | -1.2% | -1.9% | -2.9% |
*Estimate
Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: N/A
Moody's: B1
Standard & Poor's / Moody's (Updated 2019)
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Current account balance by percentage of GDP
-3.7% (2018 estimate)
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
15.1% (2017)
Shares in world total merchandising export
0.02% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export
0.06% (2018)
Export commodities
Gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton
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Import commodities
Consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, crude oil
Exports - major partners
India 21.8%, South Africa 17.9%, Kenya 8.8%, Switzerland 6.7%, Belgium 5.9%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 5.8%, China 4.8% (2017)
Imports - major partners
India 16.5%, China 15.8%, UAE 9.2%, Saudi Arabia 7.9%, South Africa 5.1%, Japan 4.9%, Switzerland 4.4% (2017)
FDI inflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 864 million | USD 938 million | USD 1,105 million |
FDI outflows
N/A
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
N/A
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
N/A
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking: 141 out of 190 countries (2019)
Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 162 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 149 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 85 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 146 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 67 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 105 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 165 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 182 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 71 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 116 out of 190 countries
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Global competitiveness ranking
117 out of 141 countries
(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 94 / Score: 60.2 (Moderately free) (2019)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed )
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Capital
Dar es Salaam (administrative capital), Dodoma (legislative capital)
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Languages
Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (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 the 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; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages
Religions
Christian 61.4%, Muslim 35.2%, folk religion 1.8%, other 0.2%, unaffiliated 1.4%
Note: Zanzibar is almost entirely Muslim (2010 est.)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2015* | 2020* |
| 24.51 million | 32.54 million | 43.06 million | 49.99 million | 58 million |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
| 5.2% | 14.6% | 22.3% | 33.8% |
Literacy
Total population: 77.9%
Male: 83.2%
Female: 73.1% (2015 est.)
(age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic)
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day
79% (2018)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
37.8 (2011)
(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
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Freedom House rating
Political Rights: 4
Civil Liberties: 5 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
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Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed 0.2% Mobile 77.2% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)