Browse additional economic indicators and data sets

Tanzania

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.

Basic Information

Government Type: Presidential republic

Capital City: Dar es Salaam (administrative capital), Dodoma (legislative capital)

GDP & Economic Information

Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data

Central Bank Bank of Tanzania

Currency Tanzanian shillings (TZS)

International Reserves USD 5 billion (2018)

Gross Domestic Product – GDP USD 57.9 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) Intl$ 175.8 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP Data

Real GDP growth 2014 6.7%
2015 6.2%
2016 6.9%
2017* 6.8%
2018* 6.6%

*Estimate
GDP per capita – current prices USD 1,133.5 (2018, estimate)

GDP per capita – PPP Intl$ 3,443.7 (2018, estimate)

GDP (PPP) – share of world total 0.13% (2019, estimate)

GDP – composition by sector agriculture: 28.7%
industry: 25.1%
services: 37.9%
(2017 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) N/A
Inflation 2014 5.6%
2015 5.2%
2016 5.3%
2017* 3.5%
2018* 3.6%

*Estimate

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2014 5.6%
2015 5.2%
2016 5.3%
2017* 3.5%
2018* 3.6%

*Estimate
Government Bond Ratings Standard & Poor’s: N/A

Moody’s: B1

Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s (Updated 2019)
Unemployment rate N/A
Household saving rates N/A
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) 2014 35.9%
2015 36.4%
2016 36.6%
2017* 37.3%
2018* 37.7%

*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) 2014 -3.2%
2015 -2.1%
2016 -1.2%
2017* -1.9%
2018* -2.9%

*Estimate
Market value of publicly traded shares N/A
Largest Companies N/A

Import/Export

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)

Total exports USD 8.2 billion (2018 estimate)

Export commodities Gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton

Total imports USD 10.2 billion (2018 estimate)

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)

Competitiveness & Trade

Current account balance USD -2.1 billion (2018 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP -3.7% (2018 estimate)

FDI inflows 2016 USD 864 million
2017 USD 938 million
2018 USD 1,105 million
FDI Outflows N/A
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser N/A


United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – World Investment Report
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 N/A
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
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 )

Population & Geographic Data

Time Zone UTC+3

Total Area 947,300 sq km

Total Population 1990 24.51 million
2000 32.54 million
2010 43.06 million
2015* 49.99 million
2020* 58 million

*Estimate
Urban population as % of total population 1960 5.2%
1980 14.6%
2000 22.3%
2020 33.8%
Population median age 17.9 years (2018 estimate)

Population growth rate 2.74% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy 63.1 years (2018 estimate)

% 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)
Freedom House rating
Political Rights: 4
Civil Liberties: 5 (2019)

(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population Fixed 0.2% Mobile 77.2% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 25% (2017)

Language & Religon

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
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)
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.)

World Rankings

Population 2.8 M
Mercer Cost of living index N/A
C02 Emissions per capita 1.9 metric tons per capita (2018)

Global Finance Rankings & Awards: Tanzania

Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.


Data Sources:

IMF World Economic Outlook

UN World Population Prospects

World Inequality Report

S&P Global Ratings

Moody’s

Fitch Ratings

IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CIA The World Factbook

World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution

Forbes Global 2000

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