Yearbook 2012
Tanzania. During the year, the British defense industry group BAE Systems agreed to contribute to Tanzania’s education system as a form of damages for corruption in the arms trade. BAE would pay the equivalent of over SEK 300 million following a settlement with the country’s anti-corruption authority. The money would be used for textbooks in 16,000 elementary schools, and the country’s 175,000 teachers would receive books with teacher guidance. The settlement was described as the first of its kind.
In March it was announced that Statoil and ExxonMobil had made a large natural gas discovery off the coast of Tanzania, the largest to date in the Tanzanian area. The Zafarani field is close to the border with Mozambique. According to Statoil, the field was the largest gas discovery the company made outside Norway.
Following intense pressure from the opposition, President Jakaya Kikwete in May decided to dismiss six ministers suspected of corruption. According to a state audit report, there had been misuse of public funds in at least seven government departments. The dismissed ministers were responsible for important areas: finance, energy, tourism, trade, transport and health care.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Provides most commonly used acronyms and abbreviations for Tanzania. Also includes location map, major cities, and country overview.
In April, around 30,000 people attended the funeral of Tanzania’s most popular movie actor, Steven Kanumba. The 28-year-old Kanumba, who died suddenly, was beloved for his roles in soap operas and films that were shown in many African countries.
A severe disaster occurred in July when a passenger ferry on the way from Dar es-Salaam sank in bad weather outside Zanzibar. At least 144 people were killed. 145 people could be rescued, but it was unclear how many had been on board.
In October, 126 people were arrested since outraged Muslims vandalized Christian churches in Dar es Salaam. Five churches had been set on fire for information that a Christian boy was kissing on a Koranic book. President Kikwete called for calm, warning that Tanzania’s long history of religious tolerance was threatened. Police arrested a controversial Muslim preacher and accused him of inciting hatred.
During the year, the government decided to revoke the refugee status of the more than 36,000 Burundians who remained in the last refugee camp in Tanzania since the civil war and the genocide in Burundi in the 1990s. Soldiers were posted around the Kigoma camp that would be closed at the end of the year, when the Burundians would be rejected.
An old border dispute between Tanzania and Malawi was revived during the year when the Malawian government licensed a British company to look for oil in the northeastern part of Lake Malawi. In August, the presidents of both countries met to discuss the conflict. It was agreed to stop oil exploration in the disputed area while negotiations were underway. If the dispute was not resolved it would be taken to international arbitration.
Tanzania’s economy continued to grow at an estimated GDP growth of about 7% during the year. Abundant rains produced good harvests and increased agricultural production, and gold and diamond production increased sharply at the beginning of the year compared to the same period the year before.
Population 2012
According to countryaah, the population of Tanzania in 2012 was 51,482,522, ranking number 26 in the world. The population growth rate was 3.030% yearly, and the population density was 58.1199 people per km2.
