📜 A long story
Tanzania, 1800 → today
Tanzania grew from 3 million in 1800 to 66.6 million; a newborn can expect 26 more years of life than in 1950, and output per person is 4.5× its 1950 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 3 million people lived in Tanzania.
1900
4.98 million people.
1.7× the 1800 level
1950
7.63 million people.
1.5× the 1900 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1936.
2023
66.6 million people, the latest year in this series.
8.7× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1973.
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1995.
Reached 20 times the 1800 level in 2020.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1950
In 1950, a newborn in Tanzania could expect to live 41 years, on average.
2023
67 years, the latest year in this series.
+26 years since 1950
Passed 50 years in 1977.
Passed 60 years in 2009.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1950
In 1950, Tanzania produced about Int$676 per person, in 2011 prices.
2022
Int$3,060, the latest year in this series.
4.5× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1950 level in 2003.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 15% between 1977 and 1985 (Int$993 → Int$843).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1950
In 1950, fossil fuels and industry in Tanzania emitted about 0.1 t of CO₂ per person.
2024
0.3 t, the latest year in this series.
4.5× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1950 level in 1967.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 54% between 1973 and 1980 (0.2 t → 0.1 t).
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.