# The World Factbook (1990)/Tanzania

pages 304–305
​Tanzania
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)