Tanzanian Department of Information

[Lunakz]

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Department of Information​

Minister of Information, Culture, Arts, Tourism and Sports:

Moses Kilasara

 

[Lunakz]

State of the Nation Review​

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Author: Office of the President
Date: November 2006

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Section 1: Economy
Economic Diversity:
Agriculture - 24% of recorded GDP. Employs 65% of national workforce
Industry - 28% of recorded GDP:

Manufacturing - 8%​

Mining - 9.8%​

Construction - 10.2%​

Services - 48% of recorded GDP

Financial & Insurance - 11.7%​

Transport & Storage - 9.2%​

Tourism - 5.7%​

Other - 21.4%​

Informal Economy:
The informal economy is not recorded in official economic activity statistics. Due to its nature, the informal economy cannot be accurately recorded. Estimates show that between 45%–55% of total economic activity within Tanzania exists within the informal sector, employing an estimated 85% of the national workforce.

Agriculture and Food Provision
Crop Production:

Maize	Cassava	Sweet potato	Banana & Plantain	Rice
Sugarcane	Potato	Beans	Groundnut	Sunflower seed
Sorghum	Sesame seed	Coconut	Mangoes	Pineapple
Orange	Tomato	Cotton	Cashew nuts	Tobacco
Coffee	Tea	Sisal

Key Net Crop Production (Self-Proficiency Ratio, Supply=Demand=100%):
Maize:  135%
Rice: 241%
Legumes: 249%
Bananas: 141%
Potatoes: 153%
Cereals: 113%
Cassava: 107 %
Wheat: 7%
Millet & Sorghum: <100%
Sugar: 57%

Full food self-sufficiency is prevent by:

• Drought and erratic rainfall.
• Poor infrastructure and post-harvest losses.
• Regional production imbalances.
• Shortfalls in wheat, sugar, and sorghum.

Mineral Deposits

Gold	Diamonds	Tanzanite	Ruby	Sapphire
Garnet	Chrysoberyl	Spinel	Zircon	Iron Ore
Nickel	Cobalt	Copper	PGM	REE
Graphite	Coal	Uranium	Natural Gas	Helium
Limestone	Kaolin	Phosphates	Heavy Mineral Sands	Taaffeite

Energy
Electricity Production/Consumption: 1600 MW

Natural gas: 48%​

Hydropower: 31%​

Oil (petrol/diesel): 18%​

Solar: 1% ​

Biofuels: 1% ​

Household Electrification: 38 %
Electricity Consumption Per Capita: 167 kWh/year (3,813 kWh global average)
Fuel Production/Consumption: 36.1 Mtoe.

Biomass (wood, charcoal): 82%​

Oil: 10.7%​

Natural gas: 5.1%​

Coal: 1.5%​

Hydropower: 0.6%​

Other renewables (solar, wind): 1%​

Section 2: Demographics
Populations Size: 67 million
Population growth: 3% annually
Population Age: Mean age is 18 years. 45% of population under the age of 15.
Ethnic Groups: 120 recognised ethnic groups.
Languages: Kiswahili and English as primary, 130 spoken languages within Tanzania.
Religion: 61% Christian, 35% Muslim, 4% traditional African religions or Atheist.
Urbanisation: 34% of the population residing in urban areas.
Refugees: 241,883 registered refugees and asylum seekers.


Section 3: Education

• Free primary and lower secondary education.
• Literacy rate stands at approximately 78%.
• Challenges remain, including overcrowded classrooms, low teacher-to-student ratios, and underfunding.
• To develop education to a quality equal to that of Europe, 1 million new teachers are required (Given 45% of population/29.25 million are between ages of 5 - 18 and current teacher to student ratio is 1:60) and >600,000 new classrooms are required).
• Tertiary education is expanding, yet remains inaccessible to the majority.

Section 4: Health

• Healthcare workforce shortages, especially in rural areas.
• Non-communicable diseases (e.g., diabetes, hypertension) are on the rise.
• Dependence on foreign aid for pharmaceuticals and equipment remains high
• Treatment for mental health and psychiatric issues only exist in urban areas. Mental health is stigmatised within society and therefore few seek treatment.
• FGM is criminalised for those below the age of 18, but not for those of ages 18 and over. FGM remains a common practise in Tanzania, occurring between the ages of 15 to 49. Girls and women subjected to FGM is as high as 57.7% in the province of Manyara, the highest offending province. The lowest offending region is Dar Es Salaam, with 5.3% of girls and women victim to FGM. FGM is mostly practised in the tribes of Gogo, Sandawe, Maasai, Iraq, Chagga, Pare and Nyaturu.
• Maternal Mortality: high - 238 deaths per 100,000 live births

Section 5: Crime
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is prevalent within the rural communities. A survey by a Tanzania Journal of Health Research found that 30.2% of households knew at least one person who had been trafficked. Despite laws against trafficking, 100% of enforcement operations and support for victims is conducted by NGO’s.

Corruption
$1.83 billion per year (2.3 % of GDP) is lost through trade mis‑invoicing—companies manipulating invoices on imports and exports
$3.78 billion per year (4.7% of GPD) is drained from the national budget due to general corruption.
Long-term data suggests corruption depresses GDP significantly.


Section 6: Equality and Civil Rights
LGBT
Homosexuality in Tanzania is criminalised, however these laws are rarely enforced. There are no protections in place for LGBT+ individuals, and individuals experience frequent discrimination in accessing healthcare, housing, education and employment. Due to the current lack of protections, LGBT+ individuals are at a significant risk of violence from the community.

Women's Rights
The Constitution guarantees equality before the law and prohibits gender-based discrimination. However, persistent structural inequalities, social norms, and legal barriers continue to constrain full gender parity.

• Marriage Act (1971): Still permits girls to marry at age 15 with parental consent, contradicting child protection laws and international norms.
• In education, female enrolment stands at 49%. However, drop-out rates for girls are high. This is due to early pregnancies, child marriage, domestic responsibilities.
• GBV: 40% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
• Labour Force: Constitutes 50% of the labour force, however heavily concentrated in informal, low-paying sectors.
• Access to financial services remains gendered, despite mobile banking expansion
• Women perform the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work, unrecognised in economic statistics.
• Deep-rooted cultural beliefs about male authority and female domesticity persist, especially in rural and pastoralist communities.
• Women often lose property or land when widowed or divorced, despite partial legal protections.

Freedom of Expression and Press

• Under previous administrations, there was a significant crackdown on press freedom. Media outlets were suspended, journalists were harassed or arrested, and restrictive laws were introduced.
• Public gatherings, especially those organised by opposition parties or civil society groups, have often been banned or violently dispersed by security forces.
• Laws regulating political activity have been used to restrict dissent.

Arrests and Detentions
Security forces and police have been accused of detaining individuals without due process, particularly those critical of the government.
There have also been reports of torture and ill-treatment in detention centres.