Tanzania - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Tanzania. Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa and one of only three mountain ranges on the continent that has glaciers (the others are Mount Kenya in Kenya and the Ruwenzori Mountains on the Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo border); Tanzania is bordered by three of the largest lakes on the continent: Lake Victoria (the world's second-largest freshwater lake) in the north, Lake Tanganyika (the world's second deepest) in the west, and Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) in the southwest. Mother's mean age at first birth is 19.9 years (2022 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 15-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 238 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Tanzania
Location Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique
Geographic coordinates 6 00 S, 35 00 E
Map references Africa
Tarrain plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south
Natural Resources hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones (including tanzanite, found only in Tanzania), gold, natural gas, nickel
Natural Hazards

flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season; drought

volcanism: limited volcanic activity; Ol Doinyo Lengai (2,962 m) has emitted lava in recent years; other historically active volcanoes include Kieyo and Meru

Irrigated Land 1,840 sq km (2012)
Major rivers (by length in km) Nile (shared with Rwanda [s], Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt [m]) - 6,650 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 4,161 km
Border Countries Burundi 589 km; Democratic Republic of the Congo 479 km; Kenya 775 km; Malawi 512 km; Mozambique 840 km; Rwanda 222 km; Uganda 391 km; Zambia 353 km
Coastline 1,424 km
Climate varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands
Area
Total Area
Land Area 885,800 sq km
Water Area 61,500 sq km
comparative Area more than six times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than twice the size of California
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Elevations
Highest point Kilimanjaro (highest point in Africa) 5,895 m
Lowest point Indian Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation 1,018 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 43.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 14.3% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 2.3% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 27.1% (2018 est.)
Forest 37.3% (2018 est.)
Other 19% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

The largest and most populous East African country; population distribution is extremely uneven, but greater population clusters occur in the northern half of country and along the east coast as shown in this population distribution map

People and Society

In Tanzania, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Mainland - African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 tribes), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar - Arab, African, mixed Arab and African

Population
Pop growth rate 2.72% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 32.5 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 3.8% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 0.7 beds/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 4.27 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 2.1 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 38.4% (2015/16)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 59.5% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic
Education expenditures 3.3% of GDP (2021 est.)
Net Migration rate -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Tanzanian | Tanzanian(s)
Languages
Religions Christian 63.1%, Muslim 34.1%, folk religion 1.1%, Buddhist <1%, Hindu <1%, Jewish <1%, other <1%, unspecified 1.6% (2020 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 41.2% (male 14,039,292/female 13,740,439)
15-64 years 55.4% (male 18,677,388/female 18,708,390)
65 years and over 3.4% (2024 est.) (male 975,224/female 1,321,388)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 87.7
Youth dependency ratio 81.9
Elderly dependency ratio 5.9
Potential support ratio 20.4 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 19.1 years (2024 est.)
Male 18.8 years
Female 19.4 years
Urbanization
Urban population 37.4% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 4.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 262,000 Dodoma (legislative capital) (2018), 7.776 million DAR ES SALAAM (administrative capital), 1.311 million Mwanza, 800,000 Zanzibar (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.74 male(s)/female
Total population 1 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 29.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 32.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 26.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 70.8 years (2024 est.)
Male 69 years
Female 72.6 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 95.1% of population
Improved: rural rural: 59.4% of population
Improved: total total: 72% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 4.9% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 40.6% of population
Unimproved: total total: 28% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 89.4% of population
Improved: rural rural: 29.2% of population
Improved: total total: 50.4% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 10.6% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 70.8% of population
Unimproved: total total: 49.6% of population (2020 est.)
Major Infectious diseases
Degree of risk very high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases malaria, dengue fever, Rift Valley fever, and sexually transmitted diseases: HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B (2024)
Water contact diseases schistosomiasis
Animal contact diseases rabies
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 7.81 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.74 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.38 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 6.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 8.7% (2020 est.)
Male 14% (2020 est.)
Female 3.4% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 5.2%
Women married by age 18 30.5%
Men married by age 18 3.9% (2016 est.)
Demographic profile

Tanzania has the largest population in East Africa and the lowest population density; more than a third of the population is urban. Tanzania’s youthful population – over 60% of the population is under 25 as of 2020 – is growing rapidly because of the high total fertility rate of 4.4 children per woman, as of 2022. Progress in reducing the birth rate has stalled, sustaining the country’s nearly 3% annual growth rate. The maternal mortality rate has improved since 2000, yet it remains very high because of early and frequent pregnancies, inadequate maternal health services, and a lack of skilled birth attendants – problems that are worse among poor and rural women. Tanzania has made strides in reducing under-5 and infant mortality rates, but a recent drop in immunization threatens to undermine gains in child health. Malaria is a leading killer of children under 5, while HIV is the main source of adult mortality.

For Tanzania, most migration is internal, rural to urban movement, while some temporary labor migration from towns to plantations takes place seasonally for harvests. Tanzania was Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country for decades, hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Great Lakes region, primarily Burundi, over the last fifty years. However, the assisted repatriation and naturalization of tens of thousands of Burundian refugees between 2002 and 2014 dramatically reduced the refugee population. Tanzania is increasingly a transit country for illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region who are heading to southern Africa for security reasons and/or economic opportunities. Some of these migrants choose to settle in Tanzania.

All Important Facts about Tanzania

Want to know more about Tanzania? Check all different factbooks for Tanzania below.

Tanzania is found in Eastern Africa