:Tanzania Government
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador-designate Charles Musama NYIRABU; Chancery at 2139 R Street NW,
Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-6125
US:
Ambassador Edmund DE JARNETTE, Jr.; Embassy at 36 Laibon Road (off Bagamoyo
Road), Dar es Salaam (mailing address is P. O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam);
telephone [255] (51) 66010/13; 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
:Tanzania Economy
Overview:
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy is
heavily dependent on agriculture, which accounts for about 47% 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
was featured by a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase
in output of minerals led by gold.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $6.9 billion, per capita $260 (1989 est.); real
growth rate 4.5% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
16.5% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $495 million; expenditures $631 million, including capital
expenditures of $118 million (FY90)
Exports:
$478 million (f.o.b., FY91 est.)
commodities:
coffee, cotton, sisal, tea, cashew nuts, meat, tobacco, diamonds, gold,
coconut products, pyrethrum, cloves (Zanzibar)
partners:
FRG, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Kenya, Hong Kong, US
Imports:
$1.5 billion (c.i.f., FY91 est.)
commodities:
manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, cotton piece
goods, crude oil, foodstuffs
partners:
FRG, UK, US, Japan, Italy, Denmark
External debt:
$5.2 billion (December 1991 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 4.2% (1988); accounts for 8% of GDP
Electricity:
405,000 kW capacity; 905 million kWh produced, 35 kWh per capita (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 45% 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
Economic aid:
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
:Tanzania Economy
Currency:
Tanzanian shilling (plural - shillings); 1 Tanzanian shilling (TSh) = 100
cents
Exchange rates:
Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1 - 236.01 (February (1992), 219.16 (1991),
195.06 (1990), 143.38 (1989), 99.29 (1988), 64.26 (1987)
Fiscal year:
1 July-30 June
:Tanzania 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
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:
6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,185 GRT/22,916 DWT; includes 2
passenger-cargo, 2 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum tanker
Civil air:
8 major transport aircraft
Airports:
104 total, 94 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3, 659 m; 43 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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
:Tanzania Defense Forces
Branches:
Tanzanian People's Defense Force (TPDF; including Army, Navy, and Air
Force); paramilitary Police Field Force Unit; Militia
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 5,747,542; 3,319,116 fit for military service
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $119 million, about 2% of GDP (FY89 budget)