TANZANIA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 945,090 km2; land area: 886,040 km2; includes the
islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar
Comparative area: slightly larger than twice the size of California
Land boundaries: 3,402 km total; Burundi 451 km, Kenya 769 km,
Malawi 475 km, Mozambique 756 km, Rwanda 217 km, Uganda 396 km, Zambia
338 km
Coastline: 1,424 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: boundary dispute with Malawi in Lake Nyasa;
Tanzania-Zaire-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no longer be
indefinite since it is reported that the indefinite section of the
Zaire-Zambia boundary has been settled
Climate: varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands
Terrain: plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north,
south
Natural resources: hydropower potential, tin, phosphates,
iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel
Land use: arable land 5%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
40%; forest and woodland 47%; other 7%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment: lack of water and tsetse fly limit agriculture; recent
droughts affected marginal agriculture; Kilimanjaro is highest point in
Africa
PEOPLE
Population: 26,869,175 (July 1991), growth rate 3.4% (1991)
Birth rate: 50 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 1 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 105 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 50 years male, 55 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Tanzanian(s); adjective--Tanzanian
Ethnic divisions: mainland--native African consisting of well over
100 tribes 99%; Asian, European, and Arab 1%
Religion:
mainland--Christian 33%, Muslim 33%, indigenous beliefs 33%;
Zanzibar--almost all Muslim
Language: Swahili and English (official); English primary language
of commerce, administration, and higher education; Swahili widely
understood and generally used for communication between ethnic groups;
first language of most people is one of the local languages; primary
education is generally in Swahili
Literacy: 46% (male 62%, female 31%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1978)
Labor force: 732,200 wage earners; 90% agriculture, 10% industry
and commerce (1986 est.)
Organized labor: 15% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: United Republic of Tanzania
Type: republic
Capital: Dar es Salaam; some government offices have been
transferred to Dodoma, which is planned as the new national capital in
the 1990s
Administrative divisions: 25 regions; Arusha, Dar es Salaam,
Dodoma, Iringa, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Lindi, Mara, Mbeya, Morogoro,
Mtwara, Mwanza, Pemba North, Pemba South, Pwani, Rukwa, Ruvuma,
Shinyanga, Singida, Tabora, Tanga, Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar
North, Zanzibar Urban/West, Ziwa Magharibi
Independence: Tanganyika became independent 9 December 1961 (from
UN trusteeship under British administration); Zanzibar became independent
19 December 1963 (from UK); Tanganyika united with Zanzibar 26 April 1964
to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; renamed United
Republic of Tanzania 29 October 1964
Constitution: 15 March 1984 (Zanzibar has its own Constitution but
remains subject to provisions of the union Constitution)
Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of
legislative acts limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Union Day, 26 April (1964)
Executive branch: president, first vice president and prime
minister of the union, second vice president and president of Zanzibar,
Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Bunge)
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, High Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Ali Hassan MWINYI (since 5 November
1985); First Vice President John MALECELA (since 9 November 1990);
Second Vice President Salmin AMOUR (since 9 November 1990);
Head of Government--Prime Minister John MALECELA (since 9
November 1990)
Political parties and leaders: only party--Chama Cha MAPINDUZI
(CCM or Revolutionary Party), Ali Hassan MWINYI, party chairman
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held
October 1995);
results--Ali Hassan MWINYI was elected without opposition;
National Assembly--last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held
October 1995);
results--CCM is the only party;
seats--(241 total, 168 elected) CCM 168
Communists: no Communist party; a few Communist sympathizers
Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-6, G-77,
GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Charles Musama
NYIRABU; Chancery at 2139 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 939-6125;
US--Ambassador Edmund DE JARNETTE; Embassy at 36 Laibon Road (off
Bagamoyo Road), Dar es Salaam (mailing address is P. O. Box 9123,
Dar es Salaam); telephone 255 (51) 37501 through 37504
Flag: divided diagonally by a yellow-edged black band from the
lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the
lower triangle is blue
ECONOMY
Overview: Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world.
The economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for about
47% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 90% of the work force.
Industry accounts for 8% of GDP and is mainly limited to processing
agricultural products and light consumer goods. The economic
recovery program announced in mid-1986 has generated notable increases in
agricultural production and financial support for the program by
bilateral donors. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have
increased the availability of imports and provided funds to rehabilitate
Tanzania's deteriorated economic infrastructure.
GDP: $5.92 billion, per capita $240; real growth rate 4.3%
(FY89 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 31.2 (1989)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $495 million; expenditures $631 million,
including capital expenditures of $118 million (FY90)
Exports: $380 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--coffee, cotton, sisal, tea, cashew nuts, meat,
tobacco, diamonds, coconut products, pyrethrum, cloves (Zanzibar);
partners--FRG, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Kenya, Hong Kong, US
Imports: $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--manufactured goods, machinery and transportation
equipment, cotton piece goods, crude oil, foodstuffs;
partners--FRG, UK, US, Japan, Italy, Denmark
External debt: $5.8 billion (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 4.2% (1988); accounts for
8% of GDP
Electricity: 401,000 kW capacity; 895 million kWh produced,
35 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: primarily agricultural processing (sugar, beer,
cigarettes, sisal twine), diamond mine, oil refinery, shoes, cement,
textiles, wood products, fertilizer
Agriculture: accounts for over 40% of GDP; topography and climatic
conditions limit cultivated crops to only 5% of land area; cash
crops--coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum (insecticide made from
chrysanthemums), cashews, tobacco, cloves (Zanzibar); food crops--corn,
wheat, cassava, bananas, fruits, and vegetables; small numbers of cattle,
sheep, and goats; not self-sufficient in food grain production
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $400
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $9.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $44 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $614 million
Currency: Tanzanian shilling (plural--shillings);
1 Tanzanian shilling (TSh) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1--196.60
(January 1991), 195.06 (1990), 143.377 (1989), 99.292 (1988), 64.260
(1987), 32.698 (1986), 17.472 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 3,555 km total; 960 km 1.067-meter gauge; 2,595 km
1.000-meter gauge, 6.4 km double track, 962 km Tazara Railroad
1.067-meter gauge; 115 km 1.000-meter gauge planned by end of decade
Highways: total 81,900 km, 3,600 km paved; 5,600 km gravel or
crushed stone; remainder improved and unimproved earth
Pipelines: 982 km crude oil
Inland waterways: Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa
Ports: Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, Tanga, and Zanzibar are ocean ports;
Mwanza on Lake Victoria and Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika are inland ports
Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,784
GRT/25,860 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 3 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off
cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker
Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft
Airports: 105 total, 93 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
44 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair system of open wire, radio relay, and
troposcatter; 103,800 telephones; stations--12 AM, 4 FM, 2 TV; 1
Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Tanzanian People's Defense Force (TPDF; including Army,
Navy, and Air Force); paramilitary Police Field Force Unit; Militia
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 5,545,022; 3,200,744 fit for
military service
Defense expenditures: $111 million, 3.9% of GDP (1988)