Economy - overview:
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for half 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 The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's out-of-date economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty. Growth in 1991-2002 featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals, led by gold. Oil and gas exploration and development played an important role in this growth. Recent banking reforms have helped increase private sector growth and investment. Continued donor support and solid macroeconomic policies should support continued real GDP growth of 5% in 2003.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $22.5 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
5.2% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $630 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 48.1%
industry: 15.4%
services: 36.5% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
36% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1993)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
38.2 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.8% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
13.495 million
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues: $1.01 billion
expenditures: $1.38 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.)
Industries:
agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine), diamond and gold mining, oil refining, shoes, cement, textiles, wood products, fertilizer, salt
Industrial production growth rate:
8.4% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production:
2.906 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 18.9%
hydro: 81.1%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
2.752 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
50 million kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
17,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (January 2002 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
11.33 billion cu m (January 2002 est.)
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
Exports:
$863 million f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities:
gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton
Exports - partners:
India 15.4%, Germany 7.8%, Belgium 6.7%, Japan 6.7%, Netherlands, UK (2001)
Imports:
$1.67 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities:
consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, crude oil
Imports - partners:
South Africa 13.3%, Japan 10.7%, UK 6.3%, Kenya 6.2%, Australia (2001)
Debt - external:
$6.8 billion (2002 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$963 million (1997)
Currency:
Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
Currency code:
TZS
Exchange rates:
Tanzanian shillings per US dollar - NA (2002), 876.412 (2001), 800.409 (2000), 744.759 (1999), 664.671 (1998)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June
NOTE: The information regarding Tanzania on this page is re-published from the 2003 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Geography 2003 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Tanzania Economy 2003 should be addressed to the CIA.