note: Zanzibar elects a president who is head of government for matters internal to Zanzibar; Amani Abeid KARUME was reelected to that office on 30 October 2005
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ballot by popular vote for five-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 December 2005 (next to be held in December 2010); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Jakaya KIKWETE elected president; percent of vote - Jakaya KIKWETE 80.3%, Ibrahim LIPUMBA 11.7%, Freeman MBOWE 5.9%
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (274 seats; 232 members elected by popular vote, 37 allocated to women nominated by the president, 5 to members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives; to serve five-year terms); note - in addition to enacting laws that apply to the entire United Republic of Tanzania, the Assembly enacts laws that apply only to the mainland; Zanzibar has its own House of Representatives to make laws especially for Zanzibar (the Zanzibar House of Representatives has 50 seats elected by universal suffrage to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 December 2005 (next to be held in December 2010)
election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CCM 206, CUF 19, CHADEMA 5, other 2, women appointed by the president 37, Zanzibar representatives 5 Zanzibar House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CCM 30, CUF 19; 1 seat was nullified with a rerun to take place soon
Judicial branch:
Permanent Commission of Enquiry (official ombudsman); Court of Appeal (consists of a chief justice and four judges); High Court (consists of a Jaji Kiongozi and 29 judges appointed by the president; holds regular sessions in all regions); District Courts; Primary Courts (limited jurisdiction and appeals can be made to the higher courts)
Political parties and leaders:
Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Party of Democracy and Development) or CHADEMA [Bob MAKANI]; Chama Cha Mapinduzi or CCM (Revolutionary Party) [Jakaya Mrisho KIKWETE]; Civic United Front or CUF [Ibrahim LIPUMBA]; Democratic Party [Christopher MTIKLA] (unregistered); Tanzania Labor Party or TLP [Augustine Lyatonga MREME]; United Democratic Party or UDP [John CHEYO]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-6, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SADC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ombeni Yohana SEFUE
chancery: 2139 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6125
FAX: [1] (202) 797-7408
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mark GREEN
embassy: 140 Msese Road, Kinondoni District, Dar es Salaam
mailing address: P. O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam
telephone: [255] (22) 2666-010 through 2666-015
FAX: [255] (22) 2666-701, 2668-501
Flag description:
divided diagonally by a yellow-edged black band from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is blue
Economy Tanzania
Economy - overview:
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for more than 40% 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 IMF, and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's out-of-date economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty. Long-term growth through 2005 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 7% in 2007.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$48.94 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$16.18 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
7.3% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,300 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 42.8%
industry: 18.4%
services: 38.7% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
20.04 million (2007 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%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 26.9% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
34.6 (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
21.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3.148 billion
expenditures: $3.577 billion (2007 est.)
Public debt:
19.7% of GDP (2007 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, salt, soda ash; cement, oil refining, shoes, apparel, wood products, fertilizer
Industrial production growth rate:
8.2% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
1.88 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 18.9%
hydro: 81.1%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
1.199 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - imports:
136 million kWh (2005)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:
25,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:
24,800 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
21.73 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:
-$1.495 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$2.134 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton
Exports - partners:
China 8.8%, India 8.8%, Netherlands 6.2%, Japan 5.3%, UAE 4.2%, Germany 4.2% (2006)
Imports:
$4.835 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, crude oil
Imports - partners:
South Africa 9.8%, China 9.4%, Kenya 7.8%, India 6.8%, UAE 5.9%, Zambia 5.7% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$1.505 billion (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.908 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$4.379 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$NA
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$587.9 million (2005)
Currency (code):
Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
Currency code:
TZS
Exchange rates:
Tanzanian shillings per US dollar - 1,255 (2007), 1,251.9 (2006), 1,128.93 (2005), 1,089.33 (2004), 1,038.42 (2003)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June
Communications Tanzania
Telephones - main lines in use:
169,135 (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
6.72 million (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: telecommunications services are inadequate; system operating below capacity and being modernized for better service; small aperture terminal (VSAT) system under construction
domestic: fixed-line telephone network inadequate with less than 1 connection per 100 persons; mobile-cellular service, aided by multiple providers, is increasing; trunk service provided by open-wire, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and fiber-optic cable; some links being made digital
international: country code - 255; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean, 1 Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 12, FM 11, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios:
8.8 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
3 (1999)
Televisions:
103,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.tz
Internet hosts:
20,757 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
6 (2000)
Internet users:
384,300 (2005)
Transportation Tanzania
Airports:
124 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 10
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 114
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 63
under 914 m: 34 (2007)
Pipelines:
gas 287 km; oil 891 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 3,690 km
narrow gauge: 969 km 1.067-m gauge; 2,721 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:
total: 78,891 km
paved: 6,808 km
unpaved: 72,083 km (2003)
Waterways:
Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, and Lake Nyasa principal avenues of commerce with neighboring countries; rivers not navigable (2005)
Merchant marine:
total: 9 ships (1000 GRT or over) 24,801 GRT/31,507 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 4
registered in other countries: 2 (Honduras 1, St Kitts and Nevis 1) (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Dar es Salaam
Military Tanzania
Military branches:
Tanzanian People's Defense Force (Jeshi la Wananchi la Tanzania, JWTZ): Army, Naval Wing (includes Coast Guard), Air Defense Command (includes Air Wing), National Service (2007)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service (2007)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 9,108,177 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 5,278,833 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.2% (2005 est.)
Transnational Issues Tanzania
Disputes - international:
Tanzania still hosts more than a half-million refugees, more than any other African country, mainly from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite the international community's efforts at repatriation; disputes with Malawi over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 352,640 (Burundi); 127,973 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2007)
Illicit drugs:
growing role in transshipment of Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for South African, European, and US markets and of South Asian methaqualone bound for southern Africa; money laundering remains a problem
This page was last updated on 15 July, 2008
The World Factbook
Thailand
Introduction Thailand
Background:
A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict. Thailand is currently facing separatist violence in its southern ethnic Malay-Muslim provinces.
Geography Thailand
Location:
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma
Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 100 00 E
Map references:
Southeast Asia
Area:
total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km
water: 2,230 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming
Land boundaries:
total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km
Coastline:
3,219 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:
tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid
Terrain:
central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m
Natural resources:
tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 27.54%
permanent crops: 6.93%
other: 65.53% (2005)
Irrigated land:
49,860 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
409.9 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic / industrial / agricultural):
total: 82.75 cu km/yr (2%/2%/95%)
per capita: 1,288 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts
Environment - current issues:
air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore
People Thailand
Population:
65,493,298
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 21.2% (male 7,104,776/female 6,781,453)