Tanzania skyline

Tanzania Economy

Tanzania's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 73.2 billion in 2022.

GDP per capita of USD 1,191 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 5.9% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

Economic structure:

In 2021, services accounted for 45% of overall GDP, manufacturing 8%, other industrial activity 21%, and agriculture 26%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 57% of GDP in 2021, government consumption 9%, fixed investment 43%, and net exports -9%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2021, manufactured products made up 14% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 1%, food 31%, ores and metals 4% and agricultural raw materials 3%, with other categories accounting for 47% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 68% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 21%, food 8%, ores and metals 1% and agricultural raw materials 1%, with other goods accounting for 1% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 7 billion in 2022, while total imports were USD 14 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 5.9% in the decade to 2022. To read more about GDP growth in Tanzania, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

Tanzania's fiscal deficit averaged 2.8% of GDP in the decade to 2021. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Unemployment:

The unemployment rate averaged 2.5% in the decade to 2022. For more information on Tanzania's unemployment click here.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 5.9% in the decade to 2022. Go to our Tanzania inflation page for extra insight.

Monetary Policy:

Tanzania's monetary policy rate ended 2022 at 5.00%, down from 12.00% a decade earlier. See our Tanzania monetary policy page for additional details.

Exchange Rate:

From end-2012 to end-2022 the shilling weakened by 32.2% vs the U.S. dollar. For more info on the shilling, click here.
GDP expanded by a robust 5.3% year on year in Q3, up from 5.2% in Q2. The improvement was mainly driven by the agriculture, mining and financial sectors. Growth should have remained notably above the average for sub-Saharan Africa in Q4: In October–November, merchandise exports grew strongly in annual terms, while a slight decrease in inflation in October–December on average should have supported household spending. However, slower annual growth in private sector credit may have constrained both household spending and investment. In other news, in mid-January, Tanzania signed multiple agreements with Angola to enhance bilateral cooperation, including in the oil and gas sector. This could benefit the energy, healthcare and tourism sectors in the long term.
Projections out to 2033.

41 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 13 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for Tanzania in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2033 on 41 economic indicators for Tanzania from a panel of 13 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the Tanzania economy. To download a sample report on the Tanzania's economy, click here . To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page .

Tanzania Economic Data

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Population (million) 54.7 56.3 58.0 59.7 61.5
GDP (USD bn) 54.5 58.3 62.9 67.6 73.2
GDP per capita (USD) 997 1,036 1,084 1,132 1,191
GDP (TZS bn) 123,989 134,384 145,430 156,375 170,256
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) 4.4 8.4 8.2 7.5 8.9
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) 7.0 7.0 4.8 4.9 4.7
Domestic Demand (ann. var. %) 12.1 4.5 5.0 5.5 5.6
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) 6.4 2.7 5.3 4.9 2.2
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) 2.0 2.3 2.6 3.3 3.1
Fixed Investment (ann. var. %) 17.2 13.8 5.9 4.3 5.6
Exports (G&S, ann. var. %) -5.4 18.0 -17.0 15.7 17.4
Imports (G&S, ann. var. %) 26.4 -3.8 -8.5 22.9 31.5
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) -1.9 -2.0 -2.5 -3.4 -
Public Debt (% of GDP) 40.5 39.1 39.8 42.1 -
Money (ann. var. of M2 %) 3.8 11.8 8.2 17.6 12.1
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, eop) 3.3 3.8 3.2 4.2 4.8
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, aop) 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.7 4.3
Central Bank Rate (%, eop) 7.00 7.00 5.00 5.00 5.00
Exchange Rate (TZS per USD, eop) 2,296 2,295 2,317 2,304 2,332
Exchange Rate (TZS per USD, aop) 2,274 2,304 2,313 2,314 2,324
Current Account Balance (USD bn) -2.3 -1.3 -1.5 -2.4 -5.4
Current Account Balance (% of GDP) -4.2 -2.3 -2.3 -3.5 -7.4
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) -4.2 -3.2 -1.5 -3.2 -7.0
Merchandise Exports (USD bn) 4.3 5.4 6.4 6.8 7.2
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) 8.5 8.6 7.8 10.0 14.2
Merchandise Exports (ann. var. %) -4.8 25.3 18.5 6.0 6.9
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) 16.8 1.1 -9.1 27.7 42.0
Foreign Direct Investment (USD bn) 1.0 1.2 0.9 1.0 1.1
International Reserves (USD bn) 5.0 5.6 4.8 6.4 5.2
International Reserves (months of imports) 7.1 7.8 7.3 7.7 4.4
External Debt (USD bn) 22.4 24.2 25.5 28.5 30.2
External Debt (% of GDP) 41.0 41.4 40.6 42.2 41.2

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