Demographics of Tanzania
Encyclopedia
This article is about the demographic
features of the population
of Tanzania
, including population density
, ethnicity
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Population distribution in Tanzania
is extremely uneven. Density varies from 1 person per square kilometre (3 per sq. mi.) in arid regions to 51 per square kilometre (133 per sq. mi.) in the mainland's well-watered highlands to 134 per square kilometre (347 per sq. mi.) on Zanzibar
. More than 80% of the population is rural. Dar es Salaam
is the capital and largest city; Dodoma
, located in the centre of Tanzania, has been designated the new capital, although action to move the capital has stalled.
The African population consists of more than 120 ethnic groups, of which the Sukuma
, Haya
, Nyakyusa
, Nyamwezi
, and Chagga have more than 1 million members. The majority of Tanzanians, including such communities as the Hehe
, Sukuma and the Nyamwezi, are Bantu
speaking groups. Groups of Nilotic or related origin include the nomadic Maasai and the Luo, both of which are found in greater numbers in neighbouring Kenya
. Two small groups speak languages of the Khoisan
family peculiar to the Bushman
and Khoikhoi
peoples. Cushitic
-speaking peoples, originally from the Ethiopia
n highlands, reside in a few areas of Tanzania. Other Bantu speaking were refugees from Mozambique
.
Although much of Zanzibar's African population came from the mainland, one group known as Shirazis traces its origins to the island's early Persia
n settlers. Non-Africans residing on the mainland and Zanzibar account for 1% of the total population. The Asian community, including Hindus
, Sikh
s, Shi'a
and Sunni Muslims
, Parsis and Goans, has declined by 50% in the past decade to 50,000 on the mainland and 4,000 on Zanzibar. An estimated 70,000 Arab
s and 20,000 Europeans (90% of which are Anglo-African
) reside in Tanzania.
Generally, each ethnic group has its own language, but the national language is Swahili
, a Bantu language with a strong Arabic
influence, and more recently a large number of English
borrowings. The other official language is English
. Other spoken languages are Indian languages and Portuguese
(both spoken by Mozambican blacks and Goans).
Some 45,000 Tanzanian-born people are currently living abroad, the overwhealming majority of these reside in the United Kingdom (over 32,000), whilst thousands also live in Canada
, the United States
and various Europe
an nations.
Note:
Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of increased mortality due to AIDS
; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2010 estimate).
0–14 years: 44.3% (male 7,988,898; female 7,938,979)
15–64 years: 53.1% (male 9,429,959; female 9,634,102)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 405,803; female 524,713) (2003 est.)
0–14 years: 43% (male 8,853,529/female 8,805,810)
15–64 years: 54.1% (male 10,956,133/female 11,255,868)
65 years and over: 2.9% (male 513,959/female 663,233) (2009 est.)
total: 17.8 years
male: 17.6 years
female: 18.1 years (2008 est.)
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
total: 70.46 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 63.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
male: 77.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 50.06 years
female: 52.88 years (2008 est.)
largely of Indian descent, European settlers, and Arabs (Many of whom are the results of mixed Arab and African ancestry).
Under the leadership of Julius Nyerere
, the Tanzanian government guaranteed equal representation for all Tanzanian people, regardless of race of ethnic origins. Asian-Africans, who are known for their shrewd managagement, are a significant minority of the population in particular and own many small businesses. The generally affluent white population of European descent also numbers some 20,000 to 22,000. Although a few can trace their ancestry back to Tanzania's original German colonials, most are English-speaking with British roots. Like the Arabs, their community congregates largely in the coastal cities.
Shortly after Tanzania gained independence, many Europeans were encouraged to stay on permanently, possibly because their unique skillset as administrators, commercial farmers, and professionals were still very much needed in the new nation.
or Kiswahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar
), many local languages (see also::Category:Languages of Tanzania)
note:
Swahili is the mother tongue of the Bantu speaking people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Swahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws heavily on a variety of sources, including Arabic and English, and it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages.
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write Swahili, English, or Arabic
total population: 78.2%
male: 85.9%
female: 70.7% (2003 est.)
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
features of the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, including population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
, ethnicity
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Population distribution in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
is extremely uneven. Density varies from 1 person per square kilometre (3 per sq. mi.) in arid regions to 51 per square kilometre (133 per sq. mi.) in the mainland's well-watered highlands to 134 per square kilometre (347 per sq. mi.) on Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
. More than 80% of the population is rural. Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
is the capital and largest city; Dodoma
Dodoma
Dodoma , officially Dodoma Urban District, population 324,347 , is the national capital of Tanzania, and the capital of the Dodoma region. In 1973, plans were made to move the capital to Dodoma...
, located in the centre of Tanzania, has been designated the new capital, although action to move the capital has stalled.
The African population consists of more than 120 ethnic groups, of which the Sukuma
Sukuma
The Sukuma is the largest ethnic group in Tanzania, with an estimated 5.5 million members representing about 16 percent of the country's total population. Sukuma means "north" and refers to "people of the north"...
, Haya
Haya language
Haya is a Niger–Congo language spoken by the Haya people of Tanzania, in the south and southwest coast of Lake Victoria. In 1991, the population of Haya speakers was estimated at 1,200,000 people .-References:...
, Nyakyusa
Nyakyusa
The Nyakyusa are an African ethnic and linguistic group who live in the fertile mountains of southern Tanzania and northern Malawi—former German East Africa. They speak the Nyakyusa language, a member of the Bantu language family...
, Nyamwezi
Nyamwezi
The Nyamwezi, or Wanyamwezi, are the second-largest of over 120 ethnic groups in Tanzania. They live in the northwest central area of the country, between Lake Victoria and Lake Rukwa...
, and Chagga have more than 1 million members. The majority of Tanzanians, including such communities as the Hehe
Hehe
The Hehe are an ethnic and linguistic group based in Iringa Region in south-central Tanzania, speaking the Bantu Hehe language. In 1994, the Hehe population was estimated to number 750,000.-History:...
, Sukuma and the Nyamwezi, are Bantu
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
speaking groups. Groups of Nilotic or related origin include the nomadic Maasai and the Luo, both of which are found in greater numbers in neighbouring Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. Two small groups speak languages of the Khoisan
Khoisan languages
The Khoisan languages are the click languages of Africa which do not belong to other language families. They include languages indigenous to southern and eastern Africa, though some, such as the Khoi languages, appear to have moved to their current locations not long before the Bantu expansion...
family peculiar to the Bushman
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
and Khoikhoi
Khoikhoi
The Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
peoples. Cushitic
Cushitic languages
The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family spoken in the Horn of Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan and Egypt. They are named after the Biblical character Cush, who was identified as an ancestor of the speakers of these specific languages as early as AD 947...
-speaking peoples, originally from the Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n highlands, reside in a few areas of Tanzania. Other Bantu speaking were refugees from Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
.
Although much of Zanzibar's African population came from the mainland, one group known as Shirazis traces its origins to the island's early Persia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
n settlers. Non-Africans residing on the mainland and Zanzibar account for 1% of the total population. The Asian community, including Hindus
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s, Shi'a
Shi'a Islam
Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī , meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is...
and Sunni Muslims
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
, Parsis and Goans, has declined by 50% in the past decade to 50,000 on the mainland and 4,000 on Zanzibar. An estimated 70,000 Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s and 20,000 Europeans (90% of which are Anglo-African
Anglo-African
Anglo-Africans are primarily White African people of largely British descent who live or come from Sub-Saharan Africa and are Anglophone. A large majority live in South Africa...
) reside in Tanzania.
Generally, each ethnic group has its own language, but the national language is Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
, a Bantu language with a strong Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
influence, and more recently a large number of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
borrowings. The other official language is English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Other spoken languages are Indian languages and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
(both spoken by Mozambican blacks and Goans).
Some 45,000 Tanzanian-born people are currently living abroad, the overwhealming majority of these reside in the United Kingdom (over 32,000), whilst thousands also live in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and various Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an nations.
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.Population
- 42,746,620 (July 2011 est.)
Note:
Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of increased mortality due to AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2010 estimate).
Age structure
0–14 years: 44.3% (male 7,988,898; female 7,938,979)
15–64 years: 53.1% (male 9,429,959; female 9,634,102)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 405,803; female 524,713) (2003 est.)
0–14 years: 43% (male 8,853,529/female 8,805,810)
15–64 years: 54.1% (male 10,956,133/female 11,255,868)
65 years and over: 2.9% (male 513,959/female 663,233) (2009 est.)
Median age
total: 17.8 years
male: 17.6 years
female: 18.1 years (2008 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/femaleunder 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 70.46 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 63.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
male: 77.51 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 51.45 yearsmale: 50.06 years
female: 52.88 years (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
5.7% of adults are HIV-positive: 6.6% of women and 4.6% of men are infected (2007-2008 ).Ethnic groups
Approximately ninety-nine percent of Tanzanian citizens who live on the mainland are Native African, well over half of whom are members of Bantu language and tribal groups. The remaining one per cent is made up of Asian-AfricansIndians in Tanzania
There are currently over 90,000 people of Indian origin in Tanzania. Many of them are traders and they control a sizeable portion of the Tanzanian economy. Indians have a long history in Tanzania starting with the arrival of Gujarati traders in the 19th century. They came to gradually control the...
largely of Indian descent, European settlers, and Arabs (Many of whom are the results of mixed Arab and African ancestry).
Under the leadership of Julius Nyerere
Julius Nyerere
Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a Tanzanian politician who served as the first President of Tanzania and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985....
, the Tanzanian government guaranteed equal representation for all Tanzanian people, regardless of race of ethnic origins. Asian-Africans, who are known for their shrewd managagement, are a significant minority of the population in particular and own many small businesses. The generally affluent white population of European descent also numbers some 20,000 to 22,000. Although a few can trace their ancestry back to Tanzania's original German colonials, most are English-speaking with British roots. Like the Arabs, their community congregates largely in the coastal cities.
Shortly after Tanzania gained independence, many Europeans were encouraged to stay on permanently, possibly because their unique skillset as administrators, commercial farmers, and professionals were still very much needed in the new nation.
Religions
It is estimated that approximately 45% of the Tanzanian population are Christians, with Muslims making up approximately 38-40%. The remainder of the population is Hindus, Buddhists, animists, and atheists. Most Christians are Roman Catholic, Lutheran or Seventh-Day Adventist, though a number of other Pentecostal churches, Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox are also represented in the country. Most Tanzanian Muslims are Sunni, though there are also populations of Shia, Ahamadiya, Bohora and Sufi. Muslims are concentrated in coastal areas and in mainland areas along former slave routes.Languages
SwahiliSwahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
or Kiswahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
), many local languages (see also::Category:Languages of Tanzania)
note:
Swahili is the mother tongue of the Bantu speaking people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Swahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws heavily on a variety of sources, including Arabic and English, and it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages.
Literacy
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write Swahili, English, or Arabic
total population: 78.2%
male: 85.9%
female: 70.7% (2003 est.)