Tanzania People - 2023
SOURCE: 2023 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Population
65,642,682 (2023 est.)
Nationality
noun: Tanzanian(s)
adjective: Tanzanian
Ethnic groups
mainland - African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 tribes), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar - Arab, African, mixed Arab and African
Languages
Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages; note - Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages
major-language sample(s):
The World Factbook, Chanzo cha Lazima Kuhusu Habari ya Msingi. (Kiswahili)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Christian 63.1%, Muslim 34.1%, folk religion 1.1%, Buddhist
note: Zanzibar is almost entirely Muslim
Demographic profile
Tanzania has the largest population in East Africa and the lowest population density; more than a third of the population is urban. Tanzania’s youthful population – over 60% of the population is under 25 as of 2020 – is growing rapidly because of the high total fertility rate of 4.4 children per woman, as of 2022. Progress in reducing the birth rate has stalled, sustaining the country’s nearly 3% annual growth rate. The maternal mortality rate has improved since 2000, yet it remains very high because of early and frequent pregnancies, inadequate maternal health services, and a lack of skilled birth attendants – problems that are worse among poor and rural women. Tanzania has made strides in reducing under-5 and infant mortality rates, but a recent drop in immunization threatens to undermine gains in child health. Malaria is a leading killer of children under 5, while HIV is the main source of adult mortality.
For Tanzania, most migration is internal, rural to urban movement, while some temporary labor migration from towns to plantations takes place seasonally for harvests. Tanzania was Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country for decades, hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Great Lakes region, primarily Burundi, over the last fifty years. However, the assisted repatriation and naturalization of tens of thousands of Burundian refugees between 2002 and 2014 dramatically reduced the refugee population. Tanzania is increasingly a transit country for illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region who are heading to southern Africa for security reasons and/or economic opportunities. Some of these migrants choose to settle in Tanzania.
Age structure
0-14 years: 41.5% (male 13,765,789/female 13,475,555)
15-64 years: 55.15% (male 18,076,988/female 18,123,677)
65 years and over: 3.35% (2023 est.) (male 933,786/female 1,266,887)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 87.7
youth dependency ratio: 81.9
elderly dependency ratio: 5.9
potential support ratio: 20.4 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 18.2 years
male: 17.9 years
female: 18.4 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate
2.75% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
32.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Population distribution
the largest and most populous East African country; population distribution is extremely uneven, but greater population clusters occur in the northern half of country and along the east coast as shown in this population distribution map
Urbanization
urban population: 37.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 4.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
262,000 Dodoma (legislative capital) (2018), 7.776 million DAR ES SALAAM (administrative capital), 1.311 million Mwanza, 800,000 Zanzibar (2023)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
19.8 years (2015/16 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49
Maternal mortality ratio
238 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 30.25 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.97 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 27.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 70.48 years
male: 68.72 years
female: 72.29 years (2023 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.33 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
2.13 (2023 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
38.4% (2015/16)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 95.1% of population
rural: 59.4% of population
total: 72% of population
unimproved: urban: 4.9% of population
rural: 40.6% of population
total: 28% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
3.8% of GDP (2020)
Physicians density
0.05 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Hospital bed density
0.7 beds/1,000 population
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 89.4% of population
rural: 29.2% of population
total: 50.4% of population
unimproved: urban: 10.6% of population
rural: 70.8% of population
total: 49.6% of population (2020 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: very high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and Rift Valley fever
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
animal contact diseases: rabies
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
8.4% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 7.81 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0.74 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.38 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 6.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 8.7% (2020 est.)
male: 14% (2020 est.)
female: 3.4% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
14.6% (2018)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
59.5% (2023 est.)
Child marriage
women married by age 15: 5.2%
women married by age 18: 30.5%
men married by age 18: 3.9% (2016 est.)
Education expenditures
3.3% of GDP (2021 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic
total population: 81.8%
male: 85.5%
female: 78.2% (2021)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 9 years
male: 9 years
female: 9 years (2021)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 4.6%
male: 3.7%
female: 5.5% (2021 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Tanzania on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Tanzania 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Tanzania 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 06 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.