msemakweli
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 20, 2014
- 1,627
- 880
ECONOMY OF TANZANIA
The Ministry of Finance, led by the Cabinet Minister for Finance, is responsible for developing and executing the Tanzanian government's public finance policy and economic policy. The Bank of Tanzania is Tanzania's central bank and is primarily responsible for maintaining price stability, with a subsidiary responsibility for issuing Tanzanian shilling notes and coins.
Tanzania has a social market economy, which contains central elements of a free market economy such as private property, free foreign trade, exchange of goods, and free formation of prices, combined with active implementation of regulative measures by the government. The government also provides for various social securities (health insurance, universal education etc), unlike in a free market economy. In addition, the Government of Tanzania also controls finance, directly supports various state-owned enterprises in "strategic sectors" of the economy and has created "national champions" (National champions are large-scale companies that are deemed competitive in national, regional, or international markets and are owned either by the state or predominantly by Tanzanian nationals. They are expected not only to seek profit but also to "advance the interests of the nation."), high dependence on the export market for growth, and a high rate of savings.
Finance
Financial services, banking and the insurance sector are an important part of the economy. The largest banks in the country, in terms of assets, being; FBME Bank Ltd., CRDB Bank Plc., National Microfinance Bank Ltd. Plc., the National Bank of Commerce Ltd., Standard Chartered Bank Ltd., Exim Bank Ltd., Stanbic Bank Ltd., Citibank Ltd., Barclays Bank Ltd., and Diamond Trust Bank Ltd. The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, the Tanzanian branch of the East African Stock Exchange, is one of the largest in the region.
Agriculture
Tanzania has become a large producer of agricultural products. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and EAC subsidies have combined to make Tanzania the leading agricultural producer and exporter in East Africa.
Tea, coffee, flowers, fruits, sisal, cloves, poultry, dairy, beef, and pork, as well as internationally recognized processed foods are the primary Tanzanian agricultural exports.
Tourism
Tanzania is a well endowed country when it comes to tourist attraction sites, and accordingly, it has one of the largest tourism industries on the continent. The country receives in excess of ten million tourists annually, and generates billions of dollars in revenue from tourism.
Tanzania's most well known tourist attractions are located in the North of the Country and include Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain and, at 5895m, the world's highest free standing mountain. Although positioned close to the equator, Mount Kilimanjaro is famous for its snow-capped peak looming over the plains of the savannah. The mountain has become a major tourist attraction for mountaineers and trekkers from around the world.
Serengeti National Park is among the best-known big game safari destinations in Africa and one of the most popular tourist attractions in Tanzania. It is famous for its annual wildlife migration of wildebeest and zebra. The migration of the wildebeest and zebra herds in huge armies offers a spectacular wildlife show.
The Ngorongoro Reserve is an extinct volcanic caldera with excellent game viewing from the crater rim. The reserve has large herds of wildebeest and zebra, and lions and the endangered black rhinoceros. There are 3 main safari circuits: the Northern, being the most popular and best suited for the first time visitors, the Western (Mahale Mountains National Park and Gombe Stream National Park) and the Southern (Ruaha, Mikumi and Udzungwa Mountains National Parks and the Selous Game Reserve). Tourism is also focused on the coast, especially the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia. Game fishing and diving are the main attractions in these islands. There is also a wide variety of destinations for cultural tourism such as Maasai boma and Bushmen settlements.
Infrastructure
The national railway network, state owned and operated by the Tanzania Railways Company, consists of electrified standard gauge railways that interconnect all the major cities in the country. The country is part of the East African Railways master plan which connects together all railways in the East African Community member states. Rail connections also exist to all other neighboring countries such as Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and the DRC. There is a planned underwater connection between the mainland coastal city of Bagamoyo and the island city of Zanzibar. Intra-urban connections are also well developed with both underground services and tramway services complementing bus services.
High speed trains are operated by the state owned Tanzania Trains Limited. To aid the company function properly, the government has granted it exclusive monopoly over long distance passenger travel. But the railway also thrives because of a planning system that encourages the building of commercial developments and housing alongside the railway route. Tanzania Railways Company, which is the country's second largest land owner, owns the land around the railways and lets it out; nearly a third of its revenue comes from shopping malls, blocks of offices, flats and the like. This money is reinvested in the networks.
There are hundreds of thousands of serviceable roadway in Tanzania, ranking it one of the most extensive networks of the African continent. The Dodoma capital city region is enveloped with a dense network of roads and highways that connect it with virtually all parts of the country. Tanzanian roads also handle substantial international traffic, connecting with cities in neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, DRC, Malawi etc.
The Julius Nyerere International Airport, located in the vicinity of Dar es Salaam, is the largest and busiest airport in the country, handling the vast majority of popular and commercial traffic and connecting Dar es Salaam with virtually all major cities across the world. Air Tanzania is the national carrier airline, although numerous private airline companies provide domestic and international travel services. There are five major ports in Tanzania, the largest of which is in Bagamoyo, which also is the largest and busiest on the African continent. Others are Tanga, Mtwara, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. The port of Bagamoyo has a capacity to handle up to 20 million containers annually!
Science and technology
Research and development efforts form an integral part of the economy.
The government launched a campaign aimed into modernisation and innovation. Top priorities for the country's technological development include:
Tanzania has vast amounts of minerals including gold, diamonds, coal, iron, uranium, nickel, chromium, tin, platinum, coltan, niobium, natural gas, and others. Commercial production of natural gas from the Songo Songo Island in the Indian Ocean off the Rufiji Delta commenced in 2004, with the gas being transported by pipeline to Dar es Salaam. The bulk of the gas is converted to electricity by both public utility and private operators. A new gas field is being brought on stream in Mnazi Bay. It was announced in February 2012 that the collapsed volcano Mount Ngualla, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Mbeya, contained one of the largest rare earths oxide deposits in the world. Tanzania is also a major producer of gold, and is ranked fifteenth in the world and third-largest in Africa after South Africa and Ghana and just ahead of Mali. The value of the gold produced in Tanzania is over US$2.5 billion. The country is also known for Tanzanite, a type of precious gemstone that is found only in Tanzania.
The exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market strengthened considerably. Oil and natural gas export earnings have allowed Tanzania to increase its foreign reserves to over $30 billion, the third largest foreign exchange reserves in Africa. Prudent and sound macroeconomic policies that called for the storage of excess income in the Tanzania National Wealth Fund have helped the country to a very great extent. The country repaid most of its debts,leaving it with one of the lowest foreign debts among African economies. The Tanzania National Wealth Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Republic of Tanzania, consists of a Reserve Fund, which is invested abroad in low-yield securities and used when mineral incomes fall, and the National Welfare Fund, which invests in riskier, higher return vehicles, as well as national government budget expenditures.
Furthermore, the National Welfare Fund serves as an important tool for absorbing excessive liquidity, reducing inflationary pressure and insulating the economy of Tanzania from volatility of raw material export earnings. The Reserve Fund is capped at 10% of GDP, and any excess funds that the reserve fund produces are given to the National Welfare Fund. The National Welfare Fund also has accumulated monies from taxes and duties it collects on the production and export of oil, gas and other mineral exports. The Tanzania National Wealth Fund is controlled by the Ministry of Finance, and the ministry publishes a monthly report in mass media on the Fund's accumulation, spending and balance and reports quarterly and annually to the Government on accumulation, investment and spending of the Fund's capital. The Government then reports quarterly and annually on the Fund's accumulation, spending and investment of capital to both chambers of the Tanzanian Parliament (Senate and National Assembly).
Smart specialisation
This refers to the strategic approach to economic development through targeted support for a region's areas of greatest strategic potential, developing multi-stakeholder governance mechanisms, setting strategic priorities and using smart policies to maximize the knowledge-based development potential of a region, regardless of whether it is strong or weak, high-tech or low-tech. The Central Government launched the Strategies for Smart Specialization Platform to provide professional advice to the regions in the development and implementation of their Research and Innovation strategies for smart specialization. The Platform is an in-house service of the Central Government, located in Dar es Salaam. It is overseen by a steering team consisting of ten Directorates General and with input from a Mirror Group of high-level experts and network representatives. The Platform both assists in developing policies and methodology and functions as a learning community. It is an arena where the regions meet each other, academic experts, Central Government staff and others to discuss, share experiences, jointly develop understanding of policies/concepts and assist their evolution. The work of the platform is developed according to the needs of the regions.
This approach has helped the regions to identify and capitalize on their areas of greatest potential in as far as economic development is concerned
DEMOGRAPHICS OF TANZANIA
The country has a population of over 60 million. Population distribution is extremely uneven, with density varying from 1 person per square kilometre (3 /mi[SUP]2[/SUP]) in arid regions to 51 per square kilometre (133 /mi[SUP]2[/SUP]) in the well-watered mainland highlands, to 134 per square kilometre (347 /mi[SUP]2[/SUP]) in Zanzibar. More than 80 percent of the population is urban.
While Dodoma is Tanzania's political capital, Dar es Salaam is the country's largest city and economic and financial heart.
It is by law illegal for the Tanzanian state to collect data on ethnicity and ancestry, although some surveys are allowed to do so.
Majority of the population comprises of native black Africans, though it also includes people of Arab, Indian, and Pakistani origin, and small European and Chinese communities.
Largest cities
The largest cities in the country, by order of size are;
EDUCATION IN TANZANIA
The issue of education was a very hot and contentious issue at some point in the development of the country. It was clear that the country's education system had failed and some radical changes had to be done to salvage it. After deliberation and a lot of money spent, finally a new system of education was developed that has proved to be quite efficient.
The Tanzanian educational system is highly centralized and organized. It is divided into three stages:
The teachers in public primary and secondary schools are all state civil servants, making the ministry the largest employer in the country. Professors and researchers in Tanzania's universities are also employed by the state.
At the primary and secondary levels, the curriculum is the same for all Tanzanian students in any given grade, which includes public, semi-public and subsidized institutions. However, there exist specialized sections and a variety of options that students can choose.
Full time education is compulsory for all students aged between 6 and 18 years. Education up to secondary school level is usually tax-funded.
The official language of instruction in all schools is English, though Kiswahili is taught as a compulsory subject up to 9[SUP]th[/SUP] grade.
Primary schools, including pre-primary schools, are regulated by local authorities. Secondary schools are regulated by regional governments and the Central government regulates all institutes of higher learning.
Students normally enter university from age 18 onwards, and study for an academic degree. Tax funded higher education was abolished, and thus university applicants are required to compete for scholarships based on academic ability. The best students countrywide are usually sponsored to go and study abroad in prestigious institutions. These scholarships are usually awarded by both the government and the private sector.
The typical first degree offered at universities is the bachelor's degree, and usually lasts for three years. Some institutions now offer an undergraduate master's degree as a first degree, which typically lasts for four years. During a first degree students are known as undergraduates. Some universities offer a vocationally based foundation degree, typically two years in length for those students who hope to continue on to a first degree but wish to remain in employment.
Students who have completed a first degree are eligible to undertake a postgraduate degree, which might be a:
There are National key secondary schools and universities (Twiga league) which are recognized as prestigious and which receive a high level of support from the central government. National secondary schools admit top notch students from each of the country's regions, unlike regional and district schools which are restricted to students from their jurisdictions. There is a distinct hierarchy among universities, with the Twiga League containing most of the country's more prestigious, research-led and research-focused universities. The state does not control university syllabuses, but it does influence admission procedures through the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU), which approves and monitors access agreements to safeguard and promote fair access to higher education.
HEALTHCARE IN TANZANIA
Tanzania provides universal health coverage, which allows virtually all access to preventive, curative and rehabilitative services at an affordable cost. It is largely funded by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), and also forms a bulk of the Ministry of health's budget.
All residents of Tanzania are required by the law to have health insurance coverage. People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance program administered by local governments. Patients are free to select physicians or facilities of their choice and cannot be denied coverage. Hospitals, by law, must be run as non-profit and be managed by physicians. For-profit corporations are not allowed to own or operate hospitals. Clinics must be owned and operated by physicians.
Medical fees are strictly regulated by the government to keep them affordable. Depending on the family income and the age of the insured, patients are responsible for paying 10%, 20% or 30% of medical fees with the government paying the remaining fee.Also, monthly thresholds are set for each household, again, depending on income and age, and medical fees exceeding the threshold are waived or reimbursed by the government. Uninsured patients are responsible for paying 100% of their medical fees, but fees are waived for low-income households receiving government subsidy. Fees are also waived for homeless people when they are brought to the hospital by ambulance.
The healthcare system follows the administrative structure of the country and is divided into national, regional and municipal administrative levels.
CULTURE OF TANZANIA
Languages
Tanzania is a multilingual country, seeing as the country is host to over 120 ethnic communities. There are many languages spoken in the country, but no one language is spoken natively by a majority or a large plurality of the population.
Kiswahili is the national language of Tanzania while English is the official language
Literature
Music and dance
The music of Tanzania stretches from traditional African music to the string-based taarab to a distinctive hip hop known as bongo flava.
Visual Arts
Sports
The most popular sport in Tanzania is, by far, football. The TFF (Tanzania Football Federation) is the sport's regulator in the country. The national soccer team of Tanzania is known as Taifa stars. The team has become very successful lately, and is ranked favourably in the African continent. The Vodacom Super League is the national football league and is second only to Uganda's in the East African region. It is aired by DSTVs supersport channel to an audience of over 100 million Africans. Major football teams in the country include Simba SC, Yanga FC, Azam FC, Kagera Sugar, Prisons FC, Mbeya FC e.t.c. The East African Community countries have together launched a bid to host the coming World Cup and the chances are high that they shall be selected to host, for the second time in Africa, the World Cup.
Other sports such as basket ball, tennis, biking, water sports, hockey, volleyball and rugby have also become increasingly popular in Tanzania. The International Rugby Federation recognises Tanzania's rugby league as one of the finest on the continent, after South Africa's and Kenya's. Tanzanian golfers and swimmers have also become very successful worldwide.
The Tanzanian Olympic Council of the Ministry of tourism, culture, youth and sports organizes teams to go and represent the country in the Olympic Games. The country also participates in the East African Games, the Commonwealth Games and the All Africa Games.
Cuisine
Tanzanian cuisine is both unique and widely varied. Along the coastal regions (Dar es Salaam, Tanga, Bagamoyo, Zanzibar, and Pemba), spicy foods are common, and there is also much use of coconut milk. Regions in Tanzania's mainland also have their own unique foods. Some typical mainland Tanzanian foods include rice (wali), ugali (maize porridge), chapati (a kind of bread), nyama choma (grilled meat), mshikaki (marinated beef), fish, pilau, biryani, and ndizi-nyama (plantains with meat). Commonly used vegetables include bamia (okra), mchicha (a kind of spinach), njegere (green peas), maharage (beans), and kisamvu (cassava leaves).
Famous Snacks: maandazi (fried dough), isheti, kashata, kebab (kabaab), samosa (sambusa), mkate wa kumimina (Zanzibar rice bread), vileja, vitumbua (rice patties), bagia, and many others.
Since a large proportion of Khoja Indians had migrated into Tanzania, a considerable proportion of Tanzanian cuisine has been influenced by Indian cuisine. Famous chefs such as Mohsin Asharia have revolutionized dishes such as kashata korma tabsi and voodo aloo. Many Khoja Indians own restaurants in the heart of Dar es Salaam, and have been welcomed by indigenous Tanzanians.
Beverages - Many people drink tea (chai) in Tanzania. Usually tea is drunk in the morning, during breakfast with chapati and maandazi, and at times at night during supper. Coffee is second, and is usually taken in the evening, when the sun is down, and people are on the front porch, playing cards or bao. Many people drink coffee with kashata (a very sweet tasting snack made from coconut meat or groundnuts).
There are also local beverages depending on the different tribes and regions.
Local Brews: for coastal regions, such as Tanga and Dar es Salaam, mnazi/tembo is widely consumed. Other brews include wanzuki and mbege among the Chagga, and lubisi, nkencha, nkonyagi, and mbandule among the Haya found on the shores of Lake Victoria.
Cinema, animation and media
Fashion and design
Tanzania has managed to distinguish itself and emerge as the fashion capital of Africa. Zanzibar, Arusha and Dar es Salaam are Tanzania's main fashion capitals, and Zanzibar was named Africa's fashion capital, surpassing other major capitals such as Lagos and Cape Town.
Major Tanzanian fashion labels are regarded as among the finest fashion houses in Africa and the world at large. The country has also produced some of Africa's most successful supermodels.
Tanzania is also prominent in the field of design, notably interior design, architectural design, industrial design and urban design. The country has produced some well-known furniture designers.
Today, Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam are the nation's leaders in architectural design and industrial design. The city of Zanzibar hosts Africa's largest design fair and many other major design and architecture-related events and venues.
National holidays and symbols
The Ministry of Finance, led by the Cabinet Minister for Finance, is responsible for developing and executing the Tanzanian government's public finance policy and economic policy. The Bank of Tanzania is Tanzania's central bank and is primarily responsible for maintaining price stability, with a subsidiary responsibility for issuing Tanzanian shilling notes and coins.
Tanzania has a social market economy, which contains central elements of a free market economy such as private property, free foreign trade, exchange of goods, and free formation of prices, combined with active implementation of regulative measures by the government. The government also provides for various social securities (health insurance, universal education etc), unlike in a free market economy. In addition, the Government of Tanzania also controls finance, directly supports various state-owned enterprises in "strategic sectors" of the economy and has created "national champions" (National champions are large-scale companies that are deemed competitive in national, regional, or international markets and are owned either by the state or predominantly by Tanzanian nationals. They are expected not only to seek profit but also to "advance the interests of the nation."), high dependence on the export market for growth, and a high rate of savings.
Finance
Financial services, banking and the insurance sector are an important part of the economy. The largest banks in the country, in terms of assets, being; FBME Bank Ltd., CRDB Bank Plc., National Microfinance Bank Ltd. Plc., the National Bank of Commerce Ltd., Standard Chartered Bank Ltd., Exim Bank Ltd., Stanbic Bank Ltd., Citibank Ltd., Barclays Bank Ltd., and Diamond Trust Bank Ltd. The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, the Tanzanian branch of the East African Stock Exchange, is one of the largest in the region.
Agriculture
Tanzania has become a large producer of agricultural products. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and EAC subsidies have combined to make Tanzania the leading agricultural producer and exporter in East Africa.
Tea, coffee, flowers, fruits, sisal, cloves, poultry, dairy, beef, and pork, as well as internationally recognized processed foods are the primary Tanzanian agricultural exports.
Tourism
Tanzania is a well endowed country when it comes to tourist attraction sites, and accordingly, it has one of the largest tourism industries on the continent. The country receives in excess of ten million tourists annually, and generates billions of dollars in revenue from tourism.
Tanzania's most well known tourist attractions are located in the North of the Country and include Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain and, at 5895m, the world's highest free standing mountain. Although positioned close to the equator, Mount Kilimanjaro is famous for its snow-capped peak looming over the plains of the savannah. The mountain has become a major tourist attraction for mountaineers and trekkers from around the world.
Serengeti National Park is among the best-known big game safari destinations in Africa and one of the most popular tourist attractions in Tanzania. It is famous for its annual wildlife migration of wildebeest and zebra. The migration of the wildebeest and zebra herds in huge armies offers a spectacular wildlife show.
The Ngorongoro Reserve is an extinct volcanic caldera with excellent game viewing from the crater rim. The reserve has large herds of wildebeest and zebra, and lions and the endangered black rhinoceros. There are 3 main safari circuits: the Northern, being the most popular and best suited for the first time visitors, the Western (Mahale Mountains National Park and Gombe Stream National Park) and the Southern (Ruaha, Mikumi and Udzungwa Mountains National Parks and the Selous Game Reserve). Tourism is also focused on the coast, especially the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia. Game fishing and diving are the main attractions in these islands. There is also a wide variety of destinations for cultural tourism such as Maasai boma and Bushmen settlements.
Infrastructure
The national railway network, state owned and operated by the Tanzania Railways Company, consists of electrified standard gauge railways that interconnect all the major cities in the country. The country is part of the East African Railways master plan which connects together all railways in the East African Community member states. Rail connections also exist to all other neighboring countries such as Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and the DRC. There is a planned underwater connection between the mainland coastal city of Bagamoyo and the island city of Zanzibar. Intra-urban connections are also well developed with both underground services and tramway services complementing bus services.
Figure 1: East African Railways Masterplan
There are hundreds of thousands of serviceable roadway in Tanzania, ranking it one of the most extensive networks of the African continent. The Dodoma capital city region is enveloped with a dense network of roads and highways that connect it with virtually all parts of the country. Tanzanian roads also handle substantial international traffic, connecting with cities in neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, DRC, Malawi etc.
The Julius Nyerere International Airport, located in the vicinity of Dar es Salaam, is the largest and busiest airport in the country, handling the vast majority of popular and commercial traffic and connecting Dar es Salaam with virtually all major cities across the world. Air Tanzania is the national carrier airline, although numerous private airline companies provide domestic and international travel services. There are five major ports in Tanzania, the largest of which is in Bagamoyo, which also is the largest and busiest on the African continent. Others are Tanga, Mtwara, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. The port of Bagamoyo has a capacity to handle up to 20 million containers annually!
Science and technology
Research and development efforts form an integral part of the economy.
The government launched a campaign aimed into modernisation and innovation. Top priorities for the country's technological development include:
- Efficient energy use
- Information technology
- Agriculture
- Pharmaceuticals and Biomedical research
Tanzania has vast amounts of minerals including gold, diamonds, coal, iron, uranium, nickel, chromium, tin, platinum, coltan, niobium, natural gas, and others. Commercial production of natural gas from the Songo Songo Island in the Indian Ocean off the Rufiji Delta commenced in 2004, with the gas being transported by pipeline to Dar es Salaam. The bulk of the gas is converted to electricity by both public utility and private operators. A new gas field is being brought on stream in Mnazi Bay. It was announced in February 2012 that the collapsed volcano Mount Ngualla, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Mbeya, contained one of the largest rare earths oxide deposits in the world. Tanzania is also a major producer of gold, and is ranked fifteenth in the world and third-largest in Africa after South Africa and Ghana and just ahead of Mali. The value of the gold produced in Tanzania is over US$2.5 billion. The country is also known for Tanzanite, a type of precious gemstone that is found only in Tanzania.
The exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market strengthened considerably. Oil and natural gas export earnings have allowed Tanzania to increase its foreign reserves to over $30 billion, the third largest foreign exchange reserves in Africa. Prudent and sound macroeconomic policies that called for the storage of excess income in the Tanzania National Wealth Fund have helped the country to a very great extent. The country repaid most of its debts,leaving it with one of the lowest foreign debts among African economies. The Tanzania National Wealth Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Republic of Tanzania, consists of a Reserve Fund, which is invested abroad in low-yield securities and used when mineral incomes fall, and the National Welfare Fund, which invests in riskier, higher return vehicles, as well as national government budget expenditures.
Furthermore, the National Welfare Fund serves as an important tool for absorbing excessive liquidity, reducing inflationary pressure and insulating the economy of Tanzania from volatility of raw material export earnings. The Reserve Fund is capped at 10% of GDP, and any excess funds that the reserve fund produces are given to the National Welfare Fund. The National Welfare Fund also has accumulated monies from taxes and duties it collects on the production and export of oil, gas and other mineral exports. The Tanzania National Wealth Fund is controlled by the Ministry of Finance, and the ministry publishes a monthly report in mass media on the Fund's accumulation, spending and balance and reports quarterly and annually to the Government on accumulation, investment and spending of the Fund's capital. The Government then reports quarterly and annually on the Fund's accumulation, spending and investment of capital to both chambers of the Tanzanian Parliament (Senate and National Assembly).
Smart specialisation
This refers to the strategic approach to economic development through targeted support for a region's areas of greatest strategic potential, developing multi-stakeholder governance mechanisms, setting strategic priorities and using smart policies to maximize the knowledge-based development potential of a region, regardless of whether it is strong or weak, high-tech or low-tech. The Central Government launched the Strategies for Smart Specialization Platform to provide professional advice to the regions in the development and implementation of their Research and Innovation strategies for smart specialization. The Platform is an in-house service of the Central Government, located in Dar es Salaam. It is overseen by a steering team consisting of ten Directorates General and with input from a Mirror Group of high-level experts and network representatives. The Platform both assists in developing policies and methodology and functions as a learning community. It is an arena where the regions meet each other, academic experts, Central Government staff and others to discuss, share experiences, jointly develop understanding of policies/concepts and assist their evolution. The work of the platform is developed according to the needs of the regions.
This approach has helped the regions to identify and capitalize on their areas of greatest potential in as far as economic development is concerned
DEMOGRAPHICS OF TANZANIA
The country has a population of over 60 million. Population distribution is extremely uneven, with density varying from 1 person per square kilometre (3 /mi[SUP]2[/SUP]) in arid regions to 51 per square kilometre (133 /mi[SUP]2[/SUP]) in the well-watered mainland highlands, to 134 per square kilometre (347 /mi[SUP]2[/SUP]) in Zanzibar. More than 80 percent of the population is urban.
While Dodoma is Tanzania's political capital, Dar es Salaam is the country's largest city and economic and financial heart.
It is by law illegal for the Tanzanian state to collect data on ethnicity and ancestry, although some surveys are allowed to do so.
Majority of the population comprises of native black Africans, though it also includes people of Arab, Indian, and Pakistani origin, and small European and Chinese communities.
Largest cities
The largest cities in the country, by order of size are;
| Rank | City | Population in millions |
| 1 | Dar es Salaam | 6.5 |
| 2 | Mwanza | 3.7 |
| 3 | Arusha | 2.8 |
| 4 | Dodoma | 2.5 |
| 5 | Mbeya | 2.3 |
| 6 | Zanzibar | 1.8 |
| 7 | Tanga | 1.6 |
| 8 | Mtwara | 1.4 |
| 9 | Kigoma | 1.2 |
EDUCATION IN TANZANIA
The issue of education was a very hot and contentious issue at some point in the development of the country. It was clear that the country's education system had failed and some radical changes had to be done to salvage it. After deliberation and a lot of money spent, finally a new system of education was developed that has proved to be quite efficient.
The Tanzanian educational system is highly centralized and organized. It is divided into three stages:
- Primary education (elimu ya msingi);
- Secondary education (elimu ya sekondari);
- Higher education (elimu ya juu)
The teachers in public primary and secondary schools are all state civil servants, making the ministry the largest employer in the country. Professors and researchers in Tanzania's universities are also employed by the state.
At the primary and secondary levels, the curriculum is the same for all Tanzanian students in any given grade, which includes public, semi-public and subsidized institutions. However, there exist specialized sections and a variety of options that students can choose.
Full time education is compulsory for all students aged between 6 and 18 years. Education up to secondary school level is usually tax-funded.
The official language of instruction in all schools is English, though Kiswahili is taught as a compulsory subject up to 9[SUP]th[/SUP] grade.
| PRIMARY SCHOOL | Level/Grade | Typical age |
| Infant School | ||
| Nursery school | 0-2 | |
| Kindergarten | 3-6 | |
| Primary school | ||
| 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Grade | 6-7 | |
| 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Grade | 7-8 | |
| 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] Grade | 8-9 | |
| 4[SUP]th[/SUP] Grade | 9-10 | |
| 5[SUP]th[/SUP] Grade | 10-11 | |
| 6[SUP]th[/SUP] Grade | 11-12 | |
| SECONDARY SCHOOL | Middle/Ordinary level school | |
| 7[SUP]th[/SUP] Grade | 12-13 | |
| 8[SUP]th[/SUP] Grade | 13-14 | |
| 9[SUP]th[/SUP] Grade | 14-15 | |
| High/Advanced level school | ||
| 10[SUP]th[/SUP] Grade | 15-16 | |
| 11[SUP]th[/SUP] Grade | 16-17 | |
| 12[SUP]th[/SUP] Grade | 17-18 | |
| HIGHER EDUCATION | Post Secondary education | |
| Tertiary education (college or university) | Ages vary (usually four years, referred to as Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior years). |
Primary schools, including pre-primary schools, are regulated by local authorities. Secondary schools are regulated by regional governments and the Central government regulates all institutes of higher learning.
Students normally enter university from age 18 onwards, and study for an academic degree. Tax funded higher education was abolished, and thus university applicants are required to compete for scholarships based on academic ability. The best students countrywide are usually sponsored to go and study abroad in prestigious institutions. These scholarships are usually awarded by both the government and the private sector.
The typical first degree offered at universities is the bachelor's degree, and usually lasts for three years. Some institutions now offer an undergraduate master's degree as a first degree, which typically lasts for four years. During a first degree students are known as undergraduates. Some universities offer a vocationally based foundation degree, typically two years in length for those students who hope to continue on to a first degree but wish to remain in employment.
Students who have completed a first degree are eligible to undertake a postgraduate degree, which might be a:
- Master's degree (typically taken in one year, though research-based master's degrees may last for two)
- Doctorate (typically taken in three years)
There are National key secondary schools and universities (Twiga league) which are recognized as prestigious and which receive a high level of support from the central government. National secondary schools admit top notch students from each of the country's regions, unlike regional and district schools which are restricted to students from their jurisdictions. There is a distinct hierarchy among universities, with the Twiga League containing most of the country's more prestigious, research-led and research-focused universities. The state does not control university syllabuses, but it does influence admission procedures through the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU), which approves and monitors access agreements to safeguard and promote fair access to higher education.
HEALTHCARE IN TANZANIA
Tanzania provides universal health coverage, which allows virtually all access to preventive, curative and rehabilitative services at an affordable cost. It is largely funded by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), and also forms a bulk of the Ministry of health's budget.
All residents of Tanzania are required by the law to have health insurance coverage. People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance program administered by local governments. Patients are free to select physicians or facilities of their choice and cannot be denied coverage. Hospitals, by law, must be run as non-profit and be managed by physicians. For-profit corporations are not allowed to own or operate hospitals. Clinics must be owned and operated by physicians.
Medical fees are strictly regulated by the government to keep them affordable. Depending on the family income and the age of the insured, patients are responsible for paying 10%, 20% or 30% of medical fees with the government paying the remaining fee.Also, monthly thresholds are set for each household, again, depending on income and age, and medical fees exceeding the threshold are waived or reimbursed by the government. Uninsured patients are responsible for paying 100% of their medical fees, but fees are waived for low-income households receiving government subsidy. Fees are also waived for homeless people when they are brought to the hospital by ambulance.
The healthcare system follows the administrative structure of the country and is divided into national, regional and municipal administrative levels.
CULTURE OF TANZANIA
Languages
Tanzania is a multilingual country, seeing as the country is host to over 120 ethnic communities. There are many languages spoken in the country, but no one language is spoken natively by a majority or a large plurality of the population.
Kiswahili is the national language of Tanzania while English is the official language
Literature
Music and dance
The music of Tanzania stretches from traditional African music to the string-based taarab to a distinctive hip hop known as bongo flava.
Visual Arts
Sports
The most popular sport in Tanzania is, by far, football. The TFF (Tanzania Football Federation) is the sport's regulator in the country. The national soccer team of Tanzania is known as Taifa stars. The team has become very successful lately, and is ranked favourably in the African continent. The Vodacom Super League is the national football league and is second only to Uganda's in the East African region. It is aired by DSTVs supersport channel to an audience of over 100 million Africans. Major football teams in the country include Simba SC, Yanga FC, Azam FC, Kagera Sugar, Prisons FC, Mbeya FC e.t.c. The East African Community countries have together launched a bid to host the coming World Cup and the chances are high that they shall be selected to host, for the second time in Africa, the World Cup.
Other sports such as basket ball, tennis, biking, water sports, hockey, volleyball and rugby have also become increasingly popular in Tanzania. The International Rugby Federation recognises Tanzania's rugby league as one of the finest on the continent, after South Africa's and Kenya's. Tanzanian golfers and swimmers have also become very successful worldwide.
The Tanzanian Olympic Council of the Ministry of tourism, culture, youth and sports organizes teams to go and represent the country in the Olympic Games. The country also participates in the East African Games, the Commonwealth Games and the All Africa Games.
Cuisine
Tanzanian cuisine is both unique and widely varied. Along the coastal regions (Dar es Salaam, Tanga, Bagamoyo, Zanzibar, and Pemba), spicy foods are common, and there is also much use of coconut milk. Regions in Tanzania's mainland also have their own unique foods. Some typical mainland Tanzanian foods include rice (wali), ugali (maize porridge), chapati (a kind of bread), nyama choma (grilled meat), mshikaki (marinated beef), fish, pilau, biryani, and ndizi-nyama (plantains with meat). Commonly used vegetables include bamia (okra), mchicha (a kind of spinach), njegere (green peas), maharage (beans), and kisamvu (cassava leaves).
Famous Snacks: maandazi (fried dough), isheti, kashata, kebab (kabaab), samosa (sambusa), mkate wa kumimina (Zanzibar rice bread), vileja, vitumbua (rice patties), bagia, and many others.
Since a large proportion of Khoja Indians had migrated into Tanzania, a considerable proportion of Tanzanian cuisine has been influenced by Indian cuisine. Famous chefs such as Mohsin Asharia have revolutionized dishes such as kashata korma tabsi and voodo aloo. Many Khoja Indians own restaurants in the heart of Dar es Salaam, and have been welcomed by indigenous Tanzanians.
Beverages - Many people drink tea (chai) in Tanzania. Usually tea is drunk in the morning, during breakfast with chapati and maandazi, and at times at night during supper. Coffee is second, and is usually taken in the evening, when the sun is down, and people are on the front porch, playing cards or bao. Many people drink coffee with kashata (a very sweet tasting snack made from coconut meat or groundnuts).
There are also local beverages depending on the different tribes and regions.
Local Brews: for coastal regions, such as Tanga and Dar es Salaam, mnazi/tembo is widely consumed. Other brews include wanzuki and mbege among the Chagga, and lubisi, nkencha, nkonyagi, and mbandule among the Haya found on the shores of Lake Victoria.
Cinema, animation and media
Fashion and design
Tanzania has managed to distinguish itself and emerge as the fashion capital of Africa. Zanzibar, Arusha and Dar es Salaam are Tanzania's main fashion capitals, and Zanzibar was named Africa's fashion capital, surpassing other major capitals such as Lagos and Cape Town.
Major Tanzanian fashion labels are regarded as among the finest fashion houses in Africa and the world at large. The country has also produced some of Africa's most successful supermodels.
Tanzania is also prominent in the field of design, notably interior design, architectural design, industrial design and urban design. The country has produced some well-known furniture designers.
Today, Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam are the nation's leaders in architectural design and industrial design. The city of Zanzibar hosts Africa's largest design fair and many other major design and architecture-related events and venues.
National holidays and symbols