Tanzania

Statistics

Official Name: The United Republic of Tanzania

Location:Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique

Capital: Dar es Salaam
note: legislative offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which is planned as the new national capital; the National Assembly now meets there on a regular basis

Area total: 945,087 sq km
note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar

Population: 37,445,392
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)

Life Expectancy;
Total population: 45.64 years
Male: 44.93 years
Female: 46.37 years (2006 est.)

Language:
Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken 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, and it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages

Religion:
mainland - Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 35%; Zanzibar - more than 99% Muslim

Economy:
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for almost half of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the work force.

The economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for almost half of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the work force. Topography and climatic conditions, however, limit cultivated crops to only 4% of the land area.

Industry traditionally featured the processing of agricultural products and light consumer goods. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's out-of-date economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty.

Long-term growth through 2005 featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals, led by gold. Recent banking reforms have helped increase private-sector growth and investment. Continued donor assistance and solid macroeconomic policies supported real GDP growth of more than 6% 2005.

Currency: Tanzanian shilling (TZS)

GDP per Capita: $700 (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line: 36% (2002 est.)

Agricultural Products:
Coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), cashew nuts, tobacco, cloves, corn, wheat, cassava (tapioca), bananas, fruits, vegetables, cattle, sheep, goats

Industries:
Agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine); diamond, gold, and iron mining, salt, soda ash; cement, oil refining, shoes, apparel, wood products, fertiliser

Exports:
Gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton

Imports:
Consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, crude oil

International Dialling Code: +255

Internet suffix: .tz

Facts and figures supplied by the CIA World Factbook

CIA world factbook for Tanzania

Disclaimer

Lampshade makes every effort to provide the most up-to-date information in this website. However, Lampshade does not provide advice of any kind, and shall not be responsible for the accuracy of the information presented herein, or your reliance thereon. Lampshade is not responsible for the content of its external sites.

Close window