Tanzania Economy - 2005

Economy - overview:
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for almost 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 The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's out-of-date economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty.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. Recent banking reforms have helped increase private sector growth and investment. Continued donor assistance and solid macroeconomic policies supported real GDP growth of nearly 6% in 2004.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $23.71 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.8% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $700 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 43.2%
industry: 17.2%
services: 39.6% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
19 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate:
NA

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):
5.4% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
16.2% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.985 billion
expenditures: $2.074 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt:
5% of GDP (2004 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

Industries:
agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine), diamond, gold and iron mining, soda ash, oil refining, shoes, cement, apparel, wood products, fertilizer, salt

Industrial production growth rate:
8.4% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production:
2.727 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption:
2.566 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
30 million kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
17,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
11.33 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$-327.4 million (2004 est.)

Exports:
$1.248 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton

Exports - partners:
India 10.2%, Netherlands 6.8%, Japan 6.1%, UK 5.3%, China 5.2%, Kenya 4.8%, Germany 4.4% (2004)

Imports:
$1.972 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, crude oil

Imports - partners:
South Africa 13.1%, China 8.8%, India 6.6%, Zambia 5.4%, UAE 5.4%, US 4.8%, UK 4.8%, Kenya 4.3% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.175 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$7.321 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$1.2 billion (2001)

Currency (code):
Tanzanian shilling (TZS)

Exchange rates:
Tanzanian shillings per US dollar - 1,089.33 (2004), 1,038.42 (2003), 966.58 (2002), 876.41 (2001), 800.41 (2000)