Overview of the Country

Background:

Official name: United Republic of Tanzania 1
Capital: Dodoma 1
Location: Eastern Africa 1
Official language: English 1
National language: 1 (Swahili) 1
Population: 67,438,106 (2023) 2
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) : US$ 79.16 Billion (2023) 3
GNI per capita, PPP (current international) : US$ 3,900 (2023) 3
Membership of Regional Economic Community (REC) : East African Community (EAC)

Additional resources:

Sources:

  1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation
  2. Population Data Portal
  3. World Bank

Critical Sector Strategic Priorities in Education in Tanzania Mainland include: 1

  • Universal Basic Education
  • Expansion of TVET
  • Equitable Access
  • Improvement of Education Quality
  • Resource Allocation and Management
  • Monitoring and Evaluation

Critical Sector Strategic Priorities in Education in Zanzibar include: 2

  • Access to Quality Education
  • Improvement of Learning Outcomes
  • Quality Assurance
  • Infrastructure Development
  • Teacher Training and Deployment
  • Institutional Reform and Leadership
  • Inclusive Education
  • Education Financing

Governance Structure for Education:

  • The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST - Tanzania) has the responsibility of managing and coordinating the provision of Education in the country by preparing various policies, laws and guidelines from the level of primary education to higher education. In addition, the Ministry is responsible for managing and coordinating the development of Science, Technology and Innovation; along with its use in various fields including business, industry, and agriculture.
  • The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT - Zanzibar) is responsible for developing and implementing educational policies, ensuring quality education, promoting vocational training, and managing educational infrastructure to enhance access and equity across the region.
  • The National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NACTVET - Tanzania Mainland) coordinates and regulates the provision of technical and vocational education and training.

Education System Structure:

The education system structure for Tanzania Mainland is structured into three main parts: 1

  • Formal education includes pre-primary to university levels, organized into a 1-7-4-2-3+ system, providing 12 years of compulsory basic education. 
  • Professional training covers teacher education and technical and vocational education and training (TVET). 
  • Adult education offers alternative learning paths for literacy and vocational skills.

The education system structure for Zanzibar includes the following: 2

  • Pre-primary education: it has a duration of 2years, and it is for ages from 4-5 years. Language of instruction is Kiswahili.
  • Primary education: it is for 6 years and for ages 6-11 years. It is compulsory and language of instruction is Kiswahili with a transition to English for Mathematics and Science from standard 5. Students take the Standard 6 Exam at the end of this phase.
  • Secondary education: There is ordinary secondary (forms 1-4) and advanced secondary (forms 5-6). The former is for 4 years, and the latter is for 2 years. Form 6 Exam, which qualifies students for higher education.
  • Higher Education: these are universities and colleges that offer undergraduate, diploma, and advanced degrees.

Additionally, there is inclusive education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

Additional resources:

Sources:

  1. Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, Tanzania. Education sector development plan (2016/17 – 2020/21). Tanzania Mainland
  2. Zanzibar (Tanzania UR). Ministry of Education and Vocational Training Zanzibar. (2017). Zanzibar Education Development Plan II 2017/2018–2021/2022
  School age population 1 Gros enrolment ratio 1 Completion rate 2 Out-of-school rate 2
Pre-primary 1,973,434 (2023) x N/A N/A
Primary 12,279,467 (2023) 95.51% (2022) 68.34% (2019) 14.98% (2021)
Lower secondary 6,142,171 (2023) 37.69% (2021) 23.55% (2019) 50.51% (2021)
Upper secondary 2,782,193 (2023) 5.94% (2021) 11.50 % (2019) 83.60% (2021)

Additional resources:

Sources: 

  1. UIS Data
  2. UIS SDG4 Data

Proportion of children and young people achieving at least a minimum proficiency level by sex: 1

  Reading Mathematics
In grades 2/3 x x
At the end of primary 47.80% (2013) 6.39% (2013)
At the end of lower secondary x x

Percentage of children aged 7-14 who demonstrate foundational reading skills by successfully completing three foundational reading tasks, by sex, 2017/18: 1

  Percentage who correctly read 90% of words in a story Percentage of children who demonstrate foundational reading skills Percentage of children who demonstrate foundational numeracy skills
Males x x x
Females x x x
Total x x x

Share of children not able to read and understand an age-appropriate text by age 10, adjusted for the out-of-school children: 51% 2

Additional Resources:

  •  

Sources:

  1. The World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE) for Tanzania

School infrastructure and facilities:

  Electricity 1 Single‐sex basic sanitation facilities 1
Primary x x
Lower Secondary x x
Upper Secondary x x

Additional Resources:

Sources: 

  1. UIS SDG4 Data
  Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months 1 Proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education 1 Share of youth not in employment, education or training (NEET) 2 Gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education 2
15-64 years old  15-24 years old
Both sexes 11.00% (2020)  30.20% (2020) 0.06% (2017) 14.4% (2020) 5.43% (2022)
Male 12.18% 33.08% 0.09% 9.1% 5.98%
Female 9.90% 27.52 % 0.04% 19.3%  4.88%
  Number of people 15-35 years old: 5,440, 928 (2024) of whom:3 Percentage
Employed 19,363,093 76.1%
Unemployed 686,905 13.4%
Inactive 2,485,579 9.8 %
Student 2,907,899 11.4%
Total 913, 723  

Total number of accredited Higher Education institutions: 54 4

Additional Resources:

Sources:

  1. UIS SDG4 Data
  2. ILO
  3. Africa Youth Employment Clock
  4. Tanzania Commission for Universities
  Gender Parity Index (GPI) Gross enrolment ratio 1 Adjusted Gender Parity Index (GPIA) Gross enrolment ratio 2 Proportion of schools with adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities 2
Primary 1.04 (2022) N/A x
Lower secondary 1.09 (2021)  N/A x
Upper secondary 0.76 (2021) N/A x
Tertiary No data found No data found N/A

Additional Resources:

Sources:

  1. UIS SDG4 Data
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP 1 Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure 1
3.26% (2023) 13.70% (2023)

Additional Resources: 

Sources: 

  1. UIS SDG4 Data 
  15+ years 15-24 years 25-64 years 65+ years
Literacy rate by age group 1 82.02% (2022) 88.4% (2022) 80.88% (2022) 53.28% (2022)
  Both sexes Males Females
Literacy rate by sex 1 x 85.53% (2022) 78.70% (2022)

Additional Resources:

Sources:

  1. UIS SDG4 Data
  Proportion of schools with access to internet for pedagogical purposes 1 Proportion of secondary schools with access to computers for pedagogical purposes 1
Lower secondary x x
Upper secondary x x

Additional Resources:

Sources:

  1. UIS SDG4 Data
Refugees and asylum seekers 1 Internally Displaced Persons due to conflict or natural disasters 2
234,296 31,000

Sources:

  1. UNHCR Operational Data Portal – UNHCR
  2. Global Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
  Yes/No Source / Additional Resources
Education Sector Plan Yes

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. (2018)

Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (2017). 
Zanzibar Education Development Plan II 2017/2018–2021/2022 
Related strategic documents Yes

The U. R. of Tanzania. Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. (2020)

Tanzania UR. Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.
National Commitment Statement Yes Tanzania National Statement
Early Childhood Education Policy No United Republic of Tanzania Country Profile for Early Childhood Development
National Teacher’s Standards No

The U. R. of Tanzania. Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. (2016). Pre-primary and primary teacher deployment strategy 2019-2021:

Guidelines for teachers deployment in pre-primary and primary schools (2020)
The National Credit and Qualifications Framework Yes

Tanzania Qualifications Framework

University Qualification Framework (UQF)
Higher Education Accreditation body Yes

The Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU)

UNESCO Higher Education Policy Observatory Country Profile
National inclusive policy Yes

The U. R. of Tanzania. Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. (2017). National Strategy for Inclusive Education, 2018-2021

GEMR Inclusion Profile
Gender Policy Yes

United Republic of Tanzania, Ministry of Community Development, Gender, and Children. (n.d.). National strategy for gender development

National Strategy for Gender Development

Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups
Math and science policy No  
Youth policy Yes

GEMR - ICT in Education Profile

EdTech Hub Work in Tanzania
ICT Country Profile Yes

GEMR - ICT in Education Profile

EdTech Hub Work in Tanzania
Resilience plan Yes

Education Sector Development Plan (2016/17 –2020/21) Tanzania Mainland

Zanzibar Education Development Plan II 2017/2018–2021/2022
Climate Change Education and Communication No GEMR Climate Change Profile
Private sector: Non-State actors in Education Yes GEMR-Non-State Actors in Education Profile
Sexuality education Yes GEMR-Comprehensive Sexuality Education Profile
Education Scenario for 2043 Yes Future Projections and Strategic Outlook on Education