The World Factbook (1990)/Tanzania
Tanzania
_Tanzania.jpg)
See regional map VII
Geography
Total area: 945,090 km²; land area:
886,040 km²
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 claim:
- Extended 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: 5% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 40% meadows and pastures; 47% forest and woodland; 7% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: lack of water and tsetse fly limit agriculture; recent droughts affected marginal agriculture; Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa
People
Population: 25,970,843 (July 1990),
growth rate 3.4% (1990)
Birth rate: 50 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 107 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 54 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 7.1 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Tanzanian(s); adjective—Tanzanian
Ethnic divisions: mainland—99% native African consisting of well over 100 tribes; 1% Asian, European, and Arab
Religion: mainland—33% Christian, 33% Muslim, 33% indigenous beliefs; 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: 79%
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);
Head of Government—First Vice President and Prime Minister Joseph Sinde WARIOBA (since 6 November 1985)
Political parties and leaders: only party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM or Revolutionary Party), Julius Nyerere, party chairman
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: President—last held 27 October 1985 (next to be held October 1990); results—Ali Hassan Mwinyi was elected without opposition;
National Assembly—last held 27 October 1985 (next to be held October 1990); results—CCM is the only party; seats—(244 total, 168 elected) CCM 168
Communists: no Communist party; a few Communist sympathizers
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Charles Musama NYIRABU; Chancery at 2139 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-6125; US—Ambassador Edmond 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 40% of GDP, provides
85% of exports, and employs 90% of the
work force. Industry accounts for about
10% 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 $235; real growth rate 4.5% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 29% (1989)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $568 million; expenditures $835 million, including capital expenditures of $230 million (FY89)
Exports: $394 million (f.o.b., FY89); commodities—coffee, cotton, sisal, cashew nuts, meat, tobacco, tea, diamonds, coconut products, pyrethrum, cloves (Zanzibar); partners—FRG, UK, US, Netherlands, Japan
Imports: $1.3 billion (c.i.f., FY89); commodities—manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, cotton piece goods, crude oil, foodstuffs; partners—FRG, UK, US, Iran, Japan, Italy
External debt: $4.5 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 6% (1988 est.)
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
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $387 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $8.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $44 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $607 million
Currency: Tanzanian shilling (plural—shillings); 1 Tanzanian shilling (TSh) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1—192.901 (January 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 29,174 GRT/39,186 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: 103 total, 92 usable; 13 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 includes Army, Navy, and Air
Force; paramilitary Police Field Force
Unit; Militia
Military manpower: males 15-49, 5,351,192; 3,087,501 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: 3.3% of GDP (1985)