Rising temperatures, longer dry spells, more intense heavy rainfall and sea level rise make Tanzania the 26th most vulnerable country to climate risks. Thirty-two percent of the population lives in urban areas, and 75 percent of that population lives in informal settlements that are increasingly at risk from water scarcity, flooding and heat extremes. The agricultural sector makes up about 25% of GDP and employs 75-80% of the population. In rural areas, there is high dependence on rainfed agriculture. About 80% of agricultural production comes from rainfed, low-input smallholder farms highly vulnerable to weather variability. Livelihoods and food supply also depend on coastal and inland fisheries, which are increasingly threatened by warming ocean and freshwater temperatures, and sedimentation after heavy rains. Sea level rise is putting coastal infrastructure, coastal populations (about 25 percent of the total population), and coastal ecosystems at risk of inundation, salinisation and storm surge.
Diarrheal diseases and malaria, both leading causes of death in Tanzania, are likely to escalate due to increasing temperatures and heavy rainfall. Ninety three percent of the population remain at risk to malaria. New cases are emerging in historically malaria-free regions. Projected increased flooding threatens further outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, as just 61% percent of the population has access to improved drinking water sources and only 19% to improved sanitation.
View the Tanzania Climate Justice infographic
View the Tanzania Climate Justice action plan
