Tanzania




                                 Geography


Location:
     Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean between Kenya and
     Mozambique
Map references:
     Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     945,090 sq km
land area:
     886,040 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than twice the size of California
note:
     includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar
Land boundaries:
     total 3,402 km, 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 claims:
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International 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:
arable land:
     5%
permanent crops:
     1%
meadows and pastures:
     40%
forest and woodland:
     47%
other:
     7%
Irrigated land:
     1,530 sq km (1989 est.)




Environment:
current issues:
     soil degradation; deforestation; desertification; destruction of coral
     reefs threatens marine habitats; recent droughts affected marginal
     agriculture
natural hazards:
     the tsetse fly and lack of water limit agriculture; flooding on the
     central plateau during the rainy season
international agreements:
     party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
     Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified -
     Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note:
     Mount Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa


                                  People


Population:
     27,985,660 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.5% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     45.48 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     19.42 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     109.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     43.25 years
male:
     41.52 years
female:
     45.03 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     6.2 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Tanzanian(s)
adjective:
     Tanzanian
Ethnic divisions:
mainland:
     native African 99% (consisting of well over 100 tribes)
     Asian, European, and Arab 1%
Zanzibar:
     NA
Religions:
mainland:
     Christian 45%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 20%
Zanzibar:
     Muslim 99% plus




Languages:
     Swahili (official; widely understood and generally used for
     communication between ethnic groups and is used in primary education),
     English (official; primary language of commerce, administration, and
     higher education)
note:
     first language of most people is one of the local languages
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1978)
total population:
     46%
male:
     62%
female:
     31%
Labor force:
     732,200 wage earners
by occupation:
     agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 10% (1986 est.)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     United Republic of Tanzania
conventional short form:
former:
     United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar
Digraph:
     TZ
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Dar es Salaam
note:
     some government offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which is
     planned as the new national capital by the end of 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:
     26 April 1964; 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
National holiday:
     Union Day, 26 April (1964)
Constitution:
     25 April 1977; major revisions October 1984




Legal system:
     based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts
     limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
     jurisdiction
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
     President Ali Hassan MWINYI (since 5 November 1985); First Vice
     President John MALECELA (since 9 November 1990); Second Vice President
     and President of Zanzibar Salmin AMOUR (since 9 November 1990)
     election last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held NA October 1995);
     results - Ali Hassan MWINYI was elected without opposition
head of government:
     Prime Minister John MALECELA (since 9 November 1990)
cabinet:
     Cabinet; appointed by the president from the National Assembly
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
National Assembly (Bunge):
     elections last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held NA October 1995);
     results - CCM was the only party; seats - (241 total, 168 elected) CCM
     168
Judicial branch:
     Court of Appeal, High Court
Political parties and leaders:
     Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM or Revolutionary Party), Ali Hassan MWINYI;
     Civic United Front (CUF), James MAPALALA; National Committee for
     Constitutional Reform (NCCK), Mabere MARANDO; Union for Multiparty
     Democracy (UMD), Abdullah FUNDIKIRA; Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo
     (CHADEMA), Edwin I. M. MTEI, chairman
Member of:
     ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-6, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
     ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO,
     ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU,
     WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Charles Musama NYIRABU
chancery:
     2139 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     (202) 939-6125
FAX:
     (202) 797-7408
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Peter Jon DE VOS
embassy:
     36 Laibon Road (off Bagamoyo Road), Dar es Salaam
mailing address:
     P. O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam
telephone:
     [255] (51) 66010 through 13




FAX:
     [255] (51) 66701
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 58% of GDP,
     provides 85% of exports, and employs 90% of the work force. Industry
     accounts for 8% 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, the International Monetary Fund, and
     bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's
     deteriorated economic infrastructure. Growth in 1991-93 featured a
     pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output
     of minerals led by gold.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $16.7 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     3.2% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $600 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     21% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     NA%
Budget:
revenues:
     $495 million
expenditures:
     $631 million, including capital expenditures of $118 million (1990
     est.)
Exports:
     $418 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     coffee, cotton, tobacco, tea, cashew nuts, sisal
partners:
     FRG, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Kenya, Hong Kong, US
Imports:
     $1.51 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, cotton
     piece goods, crude oil, foodstuffs
partners:
     FRG, UK, US, Japan, Italy, Denmark
External debt:
     $6.44 billion (1992)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 9.3% (1990); accounts for 8% of GDP




Electricity:
capacity:
     405,000 kW
production:
     600 million kWh
consumption per capita:
     20 kWh (1991)
Industries:
     primarily agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal
     twine), diamond and gold mining, oil refinery, shoes, cement,
     textiles, wood products, fertilizer
Agriculture:
     accounts for over 58% 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, vegetables; small numbers of cattle, sheep,
     and goats; not self-sufficient in food grain production
Illicit drugs:
     growing role in transshipment of Southwest Asian heroin destined for
     US and European markets
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $400 million; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $9.8
     billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $44 million; Communist
     countries (1970-89), $614 million
Currency:
     1 Tanzanian shilling (TSh) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
     Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1 - 486.75 (January 1994), 405.27
     (1993), 297.71 (1992), 219.16 (1991), 195.06 (1990), 143.38 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     1 July-30 June


                              Communications


Railroads:
     969 km total; all of 1.067-meter gauge; connects with Zambia railroad
     at Tazara
Highways:
total:
     81,900 km
paved:
     3,600 km
unpaved:
     gravel, crushed stone 5,600 km; improved, unimproved earth 72,700 km
Inland waterways:
     Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa
Pipelines:
     crude oil 982 km
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 29,145 GRT/39,186 DWT, cargo 3,
     oil tanker 1, passenger-cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1
Airports:
total:
     109
usable:
     100
with permanent-surface runways:
     12
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     4
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     40
Telecommunications:
     fair system operating below capacity; open wire, radio relay, and
     troposcatter; 103,800 telephones; broadcast stations - 12 AM, 4 FM, 2
     TV; 1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Tanzanian People's Defense Force (TPDF; including Army, Navy, and Air
     Force), paramilitary Police Field Force Unit, Militia
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 6,011,564; fit for military service 3,480,179
Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GDP