Tanzania lies in the East of Africa between 1° and 12° south and between the Indian Ocean and the East African rift valley. From the eastern coast the land slopes upwards to the west where tableland and mountainous country 900 and 1,200 m are marked characteristics formed by the East and Central African rift valleys and vulcanos which have formed in the rift zones. The highest of these vulcanos is Kilimanjaro at 5,895 m which is also the highest mountain in Africa. A tropical-humid climate predominates along the coast whilst the interior of Tanzania has a moderate tropical highland climate. In the eastern rift zones and on the southeastern slopes of the vulcanos precipitation of 1,500 mm to 2,000 m occurs due to orographic rain with more than 10 wet months. Along the coast, the monsoon brings moderate rainfall (500 to 1,000 mm) with 5 to 6 wet months. The highland in the interior is relatively dry with 3 to 4 wet months and annual precipitation of below 500 mm.
According to official estimations in 1988, 23,997 million inhabitants live on 945,087 kmē (25.4 inhabitants per kmē). Although the population in urban areas is constantly rising, around 85% of the Tanzanian population lives in the country in approx. 8,700 villages. 98.5% of the population are Africans belonging to 120 different tribes. 1.5% of the population are Asian, Arabian and European.
According to the World Bank in 1992, the economic situation in Tanzania continued to deteriorate in the past year, and the country is now second on the list of the poorest countries in the world. Per capita income among the Tanzanian population fell from US$ 130 in 1991 to US$ 110. Reasons stated for this are, amongst others, the lack of incentives for agricultural production, industry not working to capacity which only contributes 8% of the GDP, a lack of consideration for environmental problems in economic development and a high population growth rate (1990: 3.5%).
The Tanzanian economy is primarily marked by agriculture. The agricultural sector contributes around 44% to the GDP and the majority of the population are dependent on this for their existence. In addition to providing food for the population, agriculture makes a contribution of almost 60% to earnings from exports. Important export products are coffee, cotton, cashew nuts and tea. 90% of cropland is cultivated by smallholders, the rest by export-oriented plantation and state-owned companies. 6% of the total area is arable land and 37% pastureland of which a considerable area can only be used occasionally for grazing (dependent on seasonal precipitation). Only about 2% of the arable land is irrigated. Mixed farming with arable farming and animal husbandry is not widespread in Tanzania. As the yields are centrally dependent on the quality of soil and on precipitation the best arable land is situated northeast of Kilimanjaro.
A reduction in reliance on foreign oil is the major priority as Tanzania had to spend 60% of its foreign currency income on purchasing oil up to 1985. For this reason the development and utilisation of domestic energy resources and the efficient utilisation of energy have been given a major priority in the second "Union" 5-year development plan from 1988-89/1992-93.
According to the National Environmental Management Council and the 1992 World Bank Report, Tanzania is facing a series of very serious environmental problems. The central problem is an insufficient supply of water at all for the population and in particular, a supply of clean water. Erosion is leading to diminished fertility of the land. This is assumed to result in a 0.5 - 1.5% reduction annually in the GNP. Smoke emissions in the households stemming from the use of firewood, dung and straw as energy for cooking are already showing adverse effects on women and children. The World Bank Report compares this to a health risk of smoking several packets of cigarettes per day and is taken far more seriously than the increasing air pollution in cities.