Tanzania Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in tanzania, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Market Overview
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Basic Economic Statistics: (2025)

•    Real GDP growth:                              5.5% (2025 - IMF) 
•    GDP:                                                $87.34 billion (2025 IMF) 
•    Gross National Income per capita:  $1,300 (2025 IMF)
•    Consumer price inflation:                   3.3% (2025 IMF) 
•    Total Exports:             $17 billion (2025 Bank of Tanzania) 
o    Goods Exports          $9.9 billion (2025)  
o    Service Exports        $6.9 billion (2025) 
•    Total Imports:             $17.1 billion (2025 Bank of Tanzania) 
o    Goods Imports          $14.1 billion (2025)
o    Services Imports       $3 billion (2025) 
•    Currency - Tanzanian Shilling (TZS):    $1 = 2,530 TZS (May 2026)
•    Avg short-term (up to 1 year) lending rate: 15.5% (April 2026 Bank of Tanzania

Overview 

The United Republic Tanzania is an attractive market for U.S. exporters due to its relatively large population of roughly 67 million people, making Tanzania the 23rd largest country by population and the largest East African market. Tanzania offers a transportation corridor to the broader East Africa region via the port of Dar es Salaam, which handles the majority of imports bound for Tanzania’s six landlocked neighbors. Sustained economic growth led to the World Bank upgrading Tanzania to lower-middle class income status in 2020.  

Tanzania’s diverse, relatively stable economy provides long-term prospects for investment and economic growth. Despite President Samia expressing interest in attracting foreign investment, many of Tanzania’s economic policies remain rooted in its post-Independence socialist past. Tanzania’s business environment is challenging, hindered by predatory tax practices, poor regulatory coordination, and opaque decision-making. Corruption is endemic, and major projects in oil, gas, and minerals face significant and opaque delays.

Agricultural commodities, gold, and textiles dominate Tanzania’s exports to the United States and aircraft, machinery, agricultural products, plastics, chemicals and milling products dominate American exports to Tanzania. According to USTR data, U.S. goods exports to Tanzania in 2025 totaled $189.1 million, down 66.6 percent ($376.7 million) from 2024. U.S. goods imports from Tanzania totaled $241.7 million in 2025, up 18.0 percent ($37.0 million) from 2024. Tanzania’s major trading partners are China, India, EU, Kenya and South Africa.

Tanzania is included in the U.S.’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) as an eligible Sub-Saharan African country, granting it duty-free trade with the United States for a wide range of products, which aims to promote mutual economic growth, investment, and industry diversification. Through this preferential trade framework, Tanzania benefits from increased exports, supporting job creation and industrial development. AGOA is currently authorized through the end of fiscal year 2026.

Political Environment

Following the death of President John Magufuli (elected in October 2020) in March 2021, Tanzania underwent a peaceful, constitutionally mandated transfer of power to Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan.  President Samia has continued to implement the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ruling party’s manifesto while introducing her own priorities, including re-engaging with international partners and revitalizing the private sector to attract foreign investment.

Since independence, Tanzania has maintained a relatively high degree of peace and stability compared to many of its regional neighbors. The country has held six multi-party national elections since 1995. However, the most recent elections in October 2025 were marked by widespread public protests calling for constitutional reform to address long-standing concerns over electoral integrity, public service accountability, freedom of expression, and citizen safety. The elections were marred by significant violence. The Tanzanian Commission of Inquiry (COI) reported 518 dead, but there are other reports that put the figure in the thousands. Many international observers questioned the legitimacy of the official election results, which claimed President Samia won with 98 percent of the vote.

Visit State Department’s website for background on the Tanzania political and economic environment

  • World Bank - Country Overview
  • World Bank Publication – Tanzania Economic Update – Raising the Bar
  • CIA World Fact Book

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