Tanzania

D

Manufacturing and Energy

Most manufacturing in Tanzania involves the processing of raw agricultural materials into products such as beer, sugar, cigarettes, and sisal twine. The government has also encouraged non-agricultural manufacturing, and Tanzania exports cement, textiles, metal products, and other goods to neighboring countries. Some 91 percent of Tanzania’s electricity is produced in hydroelectric plants; major facilities are on the Pangani and Great Ruaha rivers.

E

Currency and Foreign Trade

The currency unit is the Tanzanian shilling (1,128.90 Tanzanian shillings equal U.S.$1; 2005 average). Tanzania nationalized most banks in 1967, but the state-owned Bank of Tanzania (1966) began allowing privately owned banks to operate in the mid-1990s.

In 2003 the imports of Tanzania were valued at $2.2 billion, and exports totaled $1,218 million. Gold, cashews, tobacco, coffee, cotton, tea, diamonds, cloves, and sisal made up the bulk of exports. Main imports were petroleum, machinery, transportation equipment, iron and steel and other metals, and food and live animals. Principal trading partners for exports are the United Kingdom, France, India, Japan, and Netherlands; chief partners for imports are South Africa, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. Tanzania is also a member of the five-nation East African Community (EAC) and its customs union, which means that Tanzania enjoys duty-free trading with the other member nations. Considerable foreign exchange is also derived from tourists, some 590,000 of whom visited Tanzania in 2005. Most come to see Kilimanjaro and Serengeti National Park.

F

Transportation and Communications

Tanzania has 2,600 km (1,616 mi) of railroad, including lines linking Dar es Salaam to Lake Tanganyika, with branches to Mwanza, Mpanda, and Arusha. The Tanzania-Zambia Railway (Tazara), opened in 1975, provides a link between Dar es Salaam and Zambia. All these lines were rehabilitated and expanded in the 1990s. Tanzania’s road network is generally poor. Only 9 percent (2003) of roads are paved. Ferries link the mainland with Zanzibar and the other major islands. The major seaports are Dar es Salaam and Mtwara. Airports serving Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, and elsewhere provide domestic and international connections. The national airline is Air Tanzania.

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Tanzania has a national radio network and several local radio and television stations. Among the country’s daily newspapers are the influential Uhuru and the Daily News, both published in Dar es Salaam.

V

Government

The United Republic of Tanzania was formed on April 26, 1964, by the adoption of an Act of Union between Tanganyika, on the mainland, and the island of Zanzibar. The nation is governed under the constitution of 1977, as amended. The internal affairs of Zanzibar are administered under a constitution of 1985.

A

Executive

The chief executive of Tanzania is a president, who is popularly elected to a five-year term. The president appoints a vice president, prime minister, and cabinet.