Tanzania

Economy - overview:
Tanzania is in the bottom ten percent of the world’s economies in terms of per capita income. The economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for more than 40% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the work force. Topography and climatic conditions, however, limit cultivated crops to only 4% of the land area. Industry traditionally featured the processing of agricultural products and light consumer goods. The World Bank, the IMF, and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania’s out-of-date economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty. Long-term growth through 2005 featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals led by gold. Recent banking reforms have helped increase private-sector growth and investment. Continued donor assistance and solid macroeconomic policies supported real GDP growth of 7.1% in 2008.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$54.26 billion (2008 est.)
$50.67 billion (2007)
$47.29 billion (2006)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$20.63 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
7.1% (2008 est.)
7.1% (2007 est.)
6.7% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,300 (2008 est.)
$1,300 (2007 est.)
$1,200 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 27%
industry: 22.7%
services: 50.3% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
20.38 million (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 26.9% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
34.6 (2000)
Investment (gross fixed):
24.2% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $4.216 billion
expenditures: $4.658 billion (2008 est.)
Public debt:
22% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9.3% (2008 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
16.4% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
16.03% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$2.263 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$2.885 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$2.25 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$587.9 million (2005)
Agriculture - products:
coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), cashew nuts, tobacco, cloves, corn, wheat, cassava (tapioca), bananas, fruits, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats
Industries:
agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine); diamond, gold, and iron mining, salt, soda ash; cement, oil refining, shoes, apparel, wood products, fertilizer
Industrial production growth rate:
10% (2008 est.)
Electricity - production:
2.682 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
2.225 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
123 million kWh (2006 est.)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
27,270 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
26,760 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
146 million cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
146 million cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
6.513 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
-$2.275 billion (2008 est.)
Exports:
$2.49 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities:
gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton
Exports - partners:
China 10.3%, India 9.7%, Netherlands 6.5%, Germany 6.3%, UAE 4.9% (2007)
Imports:
$5.901 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities:
consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, crude oil
Imports - partners:
China 12%, Kenya 8%, South Africa 7.7%, India 6.9%, UAE 5.9% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.624 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external:
$5.311 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$NA
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA
Exchange rates:
Tanzanian shillings (TZS) per US dollar - 1,178.1 (2008 est.), 1,255 (2007), 1,251.9 (2006), 1,128.93 (2005), 1,089.33 (2004)