Economy of Tanzania

Economy of Tanzania
Dar es Salaam, the financial centre of Tanzania
CurrencyTanzanian shilling (TSh)
1 July – 30 June
Trade organisations
AU, AfCFTA (signed), EAC, SADC, WTO
Country group
Statistics
PopulationIncrease 70,641,120 (2024)[3]
GDP
  • Increase $120.950 billion (nominal, 2024 est.)[4]
  • Increase $333.995 billion (PPP, 2024 est.)[5]
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • 5.4% (2018) 5.8% (2019e)
  • 2.5% (2020f) 5.5% (2021f)[6]
GDP per capita
  • Increase $2,790 (nominal, 2024 est.)[4]
  • Increase $6,695 (PPP, 2024est.)[4]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
3.9% (2020 est.)[8]
12% (2014)[9]
Population below poverty line
  • 26.4% (2018)[10]
  • 76.6% on less than $3.20/day (2017)[11]
40.5 medium (2017)[12]
Labour force
  • Increase 30,643,514 (2022)[15]
  • Increase 82.2% employment rate (2014)[16]
Labour force by occupation
Agriculture: 50%[17]: page 56 
Unemployment2.2% (2017)[18]
Main industries
agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine); mining (diamonds, gold, and iron), salt, soda ash; cement, oil refining, shoes, apparel, wood products, fertilizer[7]
External
ExportsIncrease $5.6685 billion (105th; October 2015)[19]
Export goods
gold, tobacco, cashews, sesame seeds, refined petroleum
Main export partners
 India 27%
 United Arab Emirates 11%
 South Africa 9%
 Kenya 5%
 Rwanda 5% (2022)[20]
ImportsDecrease $10.441 billion (FOB; October 2015)[19]
Import goods
refined petroleum, palm oil, packaged medicines, cars, wheat
Main import partners
 China 30%
 India 18%
 United Arab Emirates 11%
 Democratic Republic of the Congo 5%
 Saudi Arabia 2% (2022)[20]
FDI stock
$12.715 billion (2013)[21]
–4.002 billion (October 2015)[19]
$15.4 billion (October 2015)[19]
Public finances
Positive decrease 37% of GDP (2017 est.)[7]
–1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[7]
Revenues$12.88 billion (2022 est.)
Expenses$14.91 billion (2022 est.)
Economic aid$490 million (recipient; 2014)[22]
n/a (TBD)
$4,383.6 million (4.5 months of imports; 2013)[19]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Tanzania is a lower-middle income economy[23][24] that is centered around Manufacturing, Tourism, Agriculture, and financial services.[25] Tanzania's economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a market economy since 1985. Although total GDP has increased since these reforms began, GDP per capita dropped sharply at first, and only exceeded the pre-transition figure in around 2007.[26]

Following the rebasing of the economy in 2014, the GDP increased by a third to $58.1 billion.[27]

In 2020, the real GDP of Tanzania grew by 4.8% reaching US$89.5 billion versus US$82.9 billion in 2019. This growth made it the 2nd largest economy in East Africa after Kenya, and the 7th largest in Sub-Saharan Africa.[28]

It has sustained relatively high economic growth compared to global trends, as is characteristic of African nations. According to World Bank data, the last 5 years have seen the slowest growth since 2000. The medium-term outlook is so far positive, with growth projected at 6 percent in 2020/21, which is supported by large infrastructure spending.[29][30]

The World Bank (WB) expects the economic growth of Tanzania to slow to 2.5% in 2020[31] due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has affected the labor market, the production capacity, and productivity. Tourism has halted, and exports of manufacturing and agricultural goods slumped.

On 7 September 2021, the IMF approved US$567.25 million in emergency financial assistance to support Tanzania’s efforts in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic[32] by addressing the urgent health, humanitarian, and economic costs.

The IMF projects a GDP growth for Tanzania of +4.0% and +5.1% in 2021 and 2022,[33] and 6.0% in 2026.

According to the World Bank, the GDP of Tanzania expanded by 4.6% in 2022, up from 4.3% in 2021.

The value of Tanzania's GDP at current prices reached USD 105.1 billion in 2022.[34]

The World Bank projects Tanzania's GDP growth to reach 5.1% in 2023.

  1. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Census Information Dissemination Platform". sensa.nbs.go.tz. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  5. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  6. ^ Global Economic Prospects, June 2020. World Bank. 8 June 2020. p. 80. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1553-9. ISBN 978-1-4648-1553-9. S2CID 225749731. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d "AFRICA :: TANZANIA". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  8. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2020". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  9. ^ "BoT: Weighted Average Interest Rate Structure" (PDF). Bank of Tanzania. 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  10. ^ "Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) - Tanzania". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Poverty headcount ratio at $3.20 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) - Tanzania". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  12. ^ "GINI index (World Bank estimate) - Tanzania". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Human Development Index (HDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI)". hdr.undp.org. UNDP. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Labor force, total - Tanzania". data.worldbank.org. World Bank & ILO. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate) - Tanzania". data.worldbank.org. World Bank & ILO. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Statistical Abstract 2013, National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzania Ministry of Finance, July 2014, accessed 22 October 2014" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2015.
  18. ^ Human Development Data (1990–2017). (30 January 2019). Human Development Reports. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/data#a%7C
  19. ^ a b c d e "BoT: Monthly Economic Review" (PDF). Bank of Tanzania. November 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  20. ^ a b "The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  21. ^ "World Investment Report 2014: Investing in the SDGs: An Action Plan" (PDF). UNCTAD. 2014. p. 210. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  22. ^ "UK and international donors suspend Tanzania aid after corruption claims". The Guardian. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  23. ^ "New World Bank country classifications by income level: 2020-2021". World Bank. 1 July 2020.
  24. ^ "Tanzania joins middle income status ahead of schedule". The Citizen. 2 July 2020.
  25. ^ Mascarenhas, Adolfo C.; Bryceson, Deborah Fahy; Ingham, Kenneth; Chiteji, Frank Matthew (8 September 2020). "Tanzania". Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  26. ^ "Tanzania: The Story of an African Transition" (PDF). International Monetary Fund. 2009.
  27. ^ "UPDATE 2-Tanzania's GDP expands by 32 pct after rebasing – officials". Reuters. 19 December 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  28. ^ "The Economy of Tanzania - 2021 Update". TanzaniaInvest. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  29. ^ "Tanzania's economy on the rise in 2020". Expogr. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Tanzania, Kenya among the top 10 economies in Africa". The Citizen. 12 June 2020.
  31. ^ "Overview". World Bank. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  32. ^ "IMF Approves USD 567.25 M to Help Tanzania Tackle Covid-19 Pandemic". TanzaniaInvest. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  33. ^ "The Economy of Tanzania in 2021 and 2022 - Nov 2021 Update". TanzaniaInvest. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  34. ^ "Tanzania Economy Archives". TanzaniaInvest. Retrieved 29 April 2023.