Economy of Tanzania
Dar es Salaam, the financial centre of Tanzania | |
| Currency | Tanzanian shilling (TSh) |
|---|---|
| 1 July – 30 June | |
Trade organisations | AU, AfCFTA (signed), EAC, SADC, WTO |
Country group |
|
| Statistics | |
| Population | 72,995,550 (2025) |
| GDP | |
| GDP rank | |
GDP growth |
|
GDP per capita |
|
GDP per capita rank | |
GDP by sector |
|
| 3.9% (2020 est.) | |
| 12% (2014) | |
Population below poverty line |
|
| 40.5 medium (2017) | |
Labour force |
|
Labour force by occupation | Agriculture: 50% |
| Unemployment | 2.2% (2017) |
Main industries | agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine); mining (diamonds, gold, and iron), salt, soda ash; cement, oil refining, shoes, apparel, wood products, fertilizer |
| External | |
| Exports | $5.6685 billion (105th; October 2015) |
Export goods | gold, tobacco, cashews, sesame seeds, refined petroleum |
Main export partners | India 27% United Arab Emirates 11% South Africa 9% Kenya 5% Rwanda 5% (2022) |
| Imports | $10.441 billion (FOB; October 2015) |
Import goods | refined petroleum, palm oil, packaged medicines, cars, wheat |
Main import partners | China 30% India 18% United Arab Emirates 11% Democratic Republic of the Congo 5% Saudi Arabia 2% (2022) |
FDI stock | $12.715 billion (2013) |
| –4.002 billion (October 2015) | |
Gross external debt | $15.4 billion (October 2015) |
| Public finances | |
| 37% of GDP (2017 est.) | |
| $4,383.6 million (4.5 months of imports; 2013) | |
| –1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.) | |
| Revenues | $12.88 billion (2022 est.) |
| Expenses | $14.91 billion (2022 est.) |
| Economic aid | $490 million (recipient; 2014) |
| B+ (Fitch; 2024) | |
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars. | |
The economy of Tanzania is a lower-middle income economy that is centered around manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, and financial services. Tanzania's economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a market economy since 1985. Although the total GDP has increased since these reforms began, GDP per capita dropped sharply at first, and only exceeded the pre-transition figure in around 2007.
The value of Tanzania's GDP at current prices reached USD 174.7 billion in 2022. Tanzania has the 2nd largest economy in East Africa after Kenya, and the 7th largest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
It has sustained relatively high economic growth compared to global trends, as is characteristic of African nations. According to World Bank data, the last 5 years have seen the slowest growth since 2000. The medium-term outlook is so far positive, with growth projected at 8 percent in 2020/21, which is supported by large infrastructure spending.
On 7 September 2021, the IMF approved US$567.25 million in emergency financial assistance to support Tanzania’s efforts in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by addressing the urgent health, humanitarian, and economic costs.