{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "
Tanzania contains some of Africa’s most iconic national parks and famous paleoanthropological sites, and its diverse cultural heritage reflects the multiple ethnolinguistic groups that live in the country. Its long history of integration into trade networks spanning the Indian Ocean and the African interior led to the development of Swahili as a common language in much of east Africa and the introduction of Islam into the region. A number of independent coastal and island trading posts in what is now Tanzania came under Portuguese control after 1498 when they began to take control of much of the coast and Indian Ocean trade. By 1700, the Sultanate of Oman had become the dominant power in the region after ousting the Portuguese who were also facing a series of local uprisings. During the following hundred years, Zanzibar - an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania - became a hub of Indian Ocean trade, with Arab and Indian traders establishing and consolidating trade routes with communities in mainland Tanzania that contributed to the expansion of the slave trade. Zanzibar briefly become the capital of the Sultanate of Oman before it split into separate Omani and Zanzibar Sultanates in 1856. Beginning in the mid-1800s, European explorers, traders, and Christian missionaries became more active in the region. The Germans eventually established control over mainland Tanzania - which they called Tanganyika - and the British established control over Zanzibar. Tanganyika later came under British administration after the German defeat in World War I.
Tanganyika gained independence from Great Britain in 1961, and Zanzibar followed in 1963 as a constitutional monarchy. In Tanganyika, Julius NYERERE, a charismatic and idealistic socialist, established a one-party political system that centralized power and encouraged national self-reliance and rural development. In 1964, a popular uprising overthrew the Sultan in Zanzibar and either killed or expelled many of the Arabs and Indians who had dominated the isles for more than 200 years. Later that year, Tanganyika and Zanzibar combined to form the United Republic of Tanzania, but Zanzibar retained considerable autonomy. Their two ruling parties combined to form the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party in 1977, which has won every presidential election to date. NYERERE handed over power to Ali Hassan MWINYI in 1985 and remained CCM chair until 1990. Tanzania held its first multi-party elections in 1995, but CCM candidates have continued to dominate politics. Political opposition in Zanzibar has led to four contentious elections since 1995, in which the ruling party claimed victory despite international observers' claims of voting irregularities. In 2001, 35 people in Zanzibar died when soldiers fired on protestors following the 2000 election. John MAGUFULI won the 2015 presidential election, and the CCM won a two-thirds majority in Parliament. He was reelected in 2020 and the CCM increased its majority in an election that was also critiqued by observers. MAGUFULI died in March 2021 while in office and was constitutionally succeeded by his vice president, Samia Suluhu HASSAN.
" } }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "6 00 S, 35 00 E" }, "Map references": { "text": "Africa" }, "Area": { "total": { "text": "947,300 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "885,800 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "61,500 sq km" }, "note": "note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar" }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "more than six times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than twice the size of California" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "4,161 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Burundi 589 km; Democratic Republic of the Congo 479 km; Kenya 775 km; Malawi 512 km; Mozambique 840 km; Rwanda 222 km; Uganda 391 km; Zambia 353 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "1,424 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm" }, "exclusive economic zone": { "text": "200 nm" } }, "Climate": { "text": "varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands" }, "Terrain": { "text": "plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south" }, "Elevation": { "highest point": { "text": "Kilimanjaro (highest point in Africa) 5,895 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Indian Ocean 0 m" }, "mean elevation": { "text": "1,018 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones (including tanzanite, found only in Tanzania), gold, natural gas, nickel" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "43.7% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 14.3% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 2.3% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 27.1% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "37.3% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "19% (2018 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "1,840 sq km (2012)" }, "Major lakes (area sq km)": { "fresh water lake(s)": { "text": "Lake Victoria (shared with Uganda and Kenya) - 62,940 sq km; Lake Tanganyika (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Zambia) - 32,000 sq km; Lake Malawi (shared with Mozambique and Malawi) - 22,490" }, "salt water lake(s)": { "text": "Lake Rukwa - 5,760 sq km" } }, "Major rivers (by length in km)": { "text": "Nile (shared with Rwanda [s], Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt [m]) - 6,650 kmflooding on the central plateau during the rainy season; drought
volcanism: limited volcanic activity; Ol Doinyo Lengai (2,962 m) has emitted lava in recent years; other historically active volcanoes include Kieyo and Meru
" }, "Geography - note": { "text": "Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa and one of only three mountain ranges on the continent that has glaciers (the others are Mount Kenya [in Kenya] and the Ruwenzori Mountains [on the Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo border]); Tanzania is bordered by three of the largest lakes on the continent: Lake Victoria (the world's second-largest freshwater lake) in the north, Lake Tanganyika (the world's second deepest) in the west, and Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) in the southwest" } }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "65,642,682 (2023 est.)" }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "Tanzanian(s)" }, "adjective": { "text": "Tanzanian" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "text": "mainland - African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 tribes), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar - Arab, African, mixed Arab and African" }, "Languages": { "Languages": { "text": "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" }, "major-language sample(s)": { "text": "Tanzania has the largest population in East Africa and the lowest population density; more than a third of the population is urban. Tanzania’s youthful population – over 60% of the population is under 25 as of 2020 – is growing rapidly because of the high total fertility rate of 4.4 children per woman, as of 2022. Progress in reducing the birth rate has stalled, sustaining the country’s nearly 3% annual growth rate. The maternal mortality rate has improved since 2000, yet it remains very high because of early and frequent pregnancies, inadequate maternal health services, and a lack of skilled birth attendants – problems that are worse among poor and rural women. Tanzania has made strides in reducing under-5 and infant mortality rates, but a recent drop in immunization threatens to undermine gains in child health. Malaria is a leading killer of children under 5, while HIV is the main source of adult mortality.
For Tanzania, most migration is internal, rural to urban movement, while some temporary labor migration from towns to plantations takes place seasonally for harvests. Tanzania was Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country for decades, hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Great Lakes region, primarily Burundi, over the last fifty years. However, the assisted repatriation and naturalization of tens of thousands of Burundian refugees between 2002 and 2014 dramatically reduced the refugee population. Tanzania is increasingly a transit country for illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region who are heading to southern Africa for security reasons and/or economic opportunities. Some of these migrants choose to settle in Tanzania.
" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "41.5% (male 13,765,789/female 13,475,555)" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "55.15% (male 18,076,988/female 18,123,677)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "3.35% (2023 est.) (male 933,786/female 1,266,887)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "87.7" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "81.9" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "5.9" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "20.4 (2021 est.)" } }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "18.2 years" }, "male": { "text": "17.9 years" }, "female": { "text": "18.4 years (2020 est.)" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "2.75% (2023 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "32.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "-0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "the largest and most populous East African country; population distribution is extremely uneven, but greater population clusters occur in the northern half of country and along the east coast as shown in this population distribution map" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "37.4% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "4.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "262,000 Dodoma (legislative capital) (2018), 7.776 million DAR ES SALAAM (administrative capital), 1.311 million Mwanza, 800,000 Zanzibar (2023)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.03 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.02 male(s)/female" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "1 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.74 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "1 male(s)/female (2023 est.)" } }, "Mother's mean age at first birth": { "text": "19.8 years (2015/16 est.)", "note": "note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49" }, "Maternal mortality ratio": { "text": "238 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "30.25 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "male": { "text": "32.97 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "27.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "70.48 years" }, "male": { "text": "68.72 years" }, "female": { "text": "72.29 years (2023 est.)" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "4.33 children born/woman (2023 est.)" }, "Gross reproduction rate": { "text": "2.13 (2023 est.)" }, "Contraceptive prevalence rate": { "text": "38.4% (2015/16)" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 95.1% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 59.4% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 72% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 4.9% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 40.6% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 28% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Current health expenditure": { "text": "3.8% of GDP (2020)" }, "Physicians density": { "text": "0.05 physicians/1,000 population (2018)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "0.7 beds/1,000 population" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 89.4% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 29.2% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 50.4% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 10.6% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 70.8% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 49.6% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Major infectious diseases": { "degree of risk": { "text": "very high (2023)" }, "food or waterborne diseases": { "text": "bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever" }, "vectorborne diseases": { "text": "malaria, dengue fever, and Rift Valley fever" }, "water contact diseases": { "text": "schistosomiasis" }, "animal contact diseases": { "text": "rabies" } }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "8.4% (2016)" }, "Alcohol consumption per capita": { "total": { "text": "7.81 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "beer": { "text": "0.74 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "wine": { "text": "0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "spirits": { "text": "0.38 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "other alcohols": { "text": "6.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" } }, "Tobacco use": { "total": { "text": "8.7% (2020 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "14% (2020 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "3.4% (2020 est.)" } }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "14.6% (2018)" }, "Currently married women (ages 15-49)": { "text": "59.5% (2023 est.)" }, "Child marriage": { "women married by age 15": { "text": "5.2%" }, "women married by age 18": { "text": "30.5%" }, "men married by age 18": { "text": "3.9% (2016 est.)" } }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "3.3% of GDP (2021 est.)" }, "Literacy": { "definition": { "text": "age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic" }, "total population": { "text": "81.8%" }, "male": { "text": "85.5%" }, "female": { "text": "78.2% (2021)" } }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "9 years" }, "male": { "text": "9 years" }, "female": { "text": "9 years (2021)" } }, "Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)": { "total": { "text": "4.6%" }, "male": { "text": "3.7%" }, "female": { "text": "5.5% (2021 est.)" } } }, "Environment": { "Environment - current issues": { "text": "water pollution; improper management of liquid waste; indoor air pollution caused by the burning of fuel wood or charcoal for cooking and heating is a large environmental health issue; soil degradation; deforestation; desertification; destruction of coral reefs threatens marine habitats; wildlife threatened by illegal hunting and trade, especially for ivory; loss of biodiversity; solid waste disposal" }, "Environment - international agreements": { "party to": { "text": "Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling" }, "signed, but not ratified": { "text": "none of the selected agreements" } }, "Climate": { "text": "varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "43.7% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 14.3% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 2.3% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 27.1% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "37.3% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "19% (2018 est.)" } }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "37.4% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "4.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Food insecurity": { "severe localized food insecurity": { "text": "due to localized shortfalls in staple food production - about 592,000 people are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance between May and September 2022, mainly located in northeastern regions, reflecting crop losses during the October–December “Vuli” 2021 and March–May “Masika” 2022 seasons due to poor rains; high food prices are also constraining households’ economic access to food (2022)" } }, "Revenue from forest resources": { "text": "2.19% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Revenue from coal": { "text": "0.02% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { "text": "25.59 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "11.97 megatons (2016 est.)" }, "methane emissions": { "text": "59.08 megatons (2020 est.)" } }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "9,276,995 tons (2012 est.)" } }, "Major lakes (area sq km)": { "fresh water lake(s)": { "text": "Lake Victoria (shared with Uganda and Kenya) - 62,940 sq km; Lake Tanganyika (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Zambia) - 32,000 sq km; Lake Malawi (shared with Mozambique and Malawi) - 22,490" }, "salt water lake(s)": { "text": "Lake Rukwa - 5,760 sq km" } }, "Major rivers (by length in km)": { "text": "Nile (shared with Rwanda [s], Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt [m]) - 6,650 kmthe International Maritime Bureau reported no piracy attacks in the territorial and offshore waters of Tanzania in 2022; although the opportunity for incidents has reduced, the Somali pirates continue to possess the capability and capacity to carry out incidents; in the past, vessels have also been targeted off Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mozambique, as well as in the Indian ocean, and off the west and south coasts of India and west Maldives; generally, Somali pirates tend to be well armed with automatic weapons, RPGs and sometimes use skiffs launched from mother vessels, which may be hijacked fishing vessels or dhows; the Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation has issued a Maritime Advisory (2023-003 - Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab al Mandeb Strait, Red Sea, and Somali Basin-Threats to Commercial Vessels) effective 23 February 2023, which states in part that \"Regional conflict, military activity, and political tensions pose threats to commercial vessels operating in the above listed geographic areas\" that shipping in territorial and offshore waters in the Indian Ocean remain at risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships
" } }, "Terrorism": { "Terrorist group(s)": { "text": "Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Mozambique (ISIS-M)", "note": "note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T" } }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { "text": "Tanzania-Burundi: none identified
Tanzania-Democratic Republic of the Congo: none identified
Tanzania-Kenya: none identified
Tanzania-Malawi: dispute with Malawi over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River; Malawi contends that the entire lake up to the Tanzanian shoreline is its territory, while Tanzania claims the border is in the center of the lake
Tanzania-Mozambique: none identified
Tanzania-Rwanda: none identified
Tanzania-Uganda: none identified
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "126,381 (Burundi), 88,066 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2023)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "significant transit country for illicit drugs in East Africa; international drug trafficking organizations and courier networks transit illicit drugs through mainland Tanzania to markets in Europe and North America; cultivates cannabis and khat for domestic consumption and regional and international distribution; domestic drug use continues increasing including methamphetamine use
(2021)" } } }