Capital

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

name: Dodoma; note - Dodoma was designated the national capital in 1996; Dar es Salaam, the original national capital, is the country's largest city and commercial center 

geographic coordinates: 6 48 S, 39 17 E

time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology: Dodoma, in the native Gogo language, means "it has sunk"; supposedly, one day during the rainy season, an elephant drowned in the area; the villagers in that place were so struck by what had occurred, that ever since the locale has been referred to as the place where "it (the elephant) sunk"

Citizenship

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Tanzania; if a child is born abroad, the father must be a citizen of Tanzania

dual citizenship recognized: no

residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Legal system

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

English common law; judicial review of legislative acts limited to matters of interpretation

Suffrage

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

18 years of age; universal

Area

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

total: 947,300 sq km

land: 885,800 sq km

water: 61,500 sq km

note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar

Land use

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

agricultural land: 43.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 14.3% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 2.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 27.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 37.3% (2018 est.)

other: 19% (2018 est.)

Location

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

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

Age structure

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

0-14 years: 41.5% (male 13,765,789/female 13,475,555)

15-64 years: 55.15% (male 18,076,988/female 18,123,677)

65 years and over: 3.35% (2023 est.) (male 933,786/female 1,266,887)

Birth rate

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

32.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Languages

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

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):
The World Factbook, Chanzo cha Lazima Kuhusu Habari ya Msingi. (Kiswahili)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Life expectancy at birth

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

total population: 70.5 years (2023 est.)

male: 68.7 years

female: 72.3 years

Major urban areas - population

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

262,000 Dodoma (legislative capital) (2018), 7.776 million DAR ES SALAAM (administrative capital), 1.311 million Mwanza, 800,000 Zanzibar (2023)

Median age

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

total: 18.9 years (2023 est.)

male: 18.7 years

female: 19.2 years

Mother's mean age at first birth

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

19.8 years (2015/16 est.)

note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49

Net migration rate

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

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

Population growth rate

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

2.75% (2023 est.)

Total fertility rate

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

4.33 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Urbanization

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

urban population: 37.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 4.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Education expenditures

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

3.3% of GDP (2021 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

total: 9 years

male: 9 years

female: 9 years (2021)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

-1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Industrial production growth rate

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

6.5% (2021 est.)

Labor force

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

29.863 million (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

26.4% (2017 est.)

Unemployment rate

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

2.65% (2021 est.)

2.53% (2020 est.)

2.22% (2019 est.)

Public debt

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

37% of GDP (2017 est.)

38% of GDP (2016 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

3.69% (2021 est.)

3.29% (2020 est.)

3.46% (2019 est.)

Exports

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

$8.555 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$9.659 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$8.307 billion (2018 est.)

Exports - partners

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

India 15%, United Arab Emirates 15%, Switzerland 14%, Uganda 12%, China 7% (2020)

Imports

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

$9.181 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$10.576 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$10.399 billion (2018 est.)

Imports - partners

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

China 34%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 14%, India 12%, United Arab Emirates 6%, South Africa 3% (2020)

Airports

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

166 (2021)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

total: 1,135,608 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2020 est.)

Internet users

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

total: 20.48 million (2021 est.)

percent of population: 32% (2021 est.)

Railways

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

total: 4,097 km (2022)

standard gauge: 421 km (2022)

narrow gauge: 969 km (2022) 1.067 m gauge

broad gauge: 2,707 km (2022) 1.000 m guage

Roadways

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

total: 145,203 km (2022)

paved: 11,201 km (2022)

unpaved: 134,002 km (2022)

Telephones - fixed lines

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

total subscriptions: 72,000 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2021 est.) less than 1

Telephones - mobile cellular

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

total subscriptions: 54 million (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 85 (2021 est.)

Waterways

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

1,594 km (2022) (Lake Tanganyika 673 km, Lake Victoria 337 km, and Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) 584 km are the principal avenues of commerce with neighboring countries; the rivers are not navigable)

Disputes - international

Vereinigte Republik Tansania

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