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Tanzania vs. Rwanda

Demographics

TanzaniaRwanda
Population62,092,761 (July 2021 est.)

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
12,943,132 (July 2021 est.)

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
Age structure0-14 years: 42.7% (male 12,632,772/female 12,369,115)

15-24 years: 20.39% (male 5,988,208/female 5,948,134)

25-54 years: 30.31% (male 8,903,629/female 8,844,180)

55-64 years: 3.52% (male 954,251/female 1,107,717)

65 years and over: 3.08% (male 747,934/female 1,056,905) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 39.95% (male 2,564,893/female 2,513,993)

15-24 years: 20.1% (male 1,280,948/female 1,273,853)

25-54 years: 33.06% (male 2,001,629/female 2,201,132)

55-64 years: 4.24% (male 241,462/female 298,163)

65 years and over: 2.65% (male 134,648/female 201,710) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 18.2 years

male: 17.9 years

female: 18.4 years (2020 est.)
total: 19.7 years

male: 18.9 years

female: 20.4 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate2.81% (2021 est.)1.8% (2021 est.)
Birth rate33.71 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)27.18 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate5.17 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-3.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.86 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.91 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.81 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female

total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 31.51 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 34.36 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 28.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 27.16 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 29.73 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 24.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 69.9 years

male: 68.12 years

female: 71.74 years (2021 est.)
total population: 65.48 years

male: 63.55 years

female: 67.47 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate4.45 children born/woman (2021 est.)3.42 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate4.7% (2020 est.)2.5% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Tanzanian(s)

adjective: Tanzanian
noun: Rwandan(s)

adjective: Rwandan
Ethnic groupsmainland - African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 tribes), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar - Arab, African, mixed Arab and AfricanHutu, Tutsi, Twa (Pygmy)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS1.7 million (2020 est.)220,000 (2020 est.)
ReligionsChristian 63.1%, Muslim 34.1%, folk religion 1.1%, Buddhist <1%, Hindu <1%, Jewish <1%, other <1%, unspecified 1.6% (2020 est.)

note: Zanzibar is almost entirely Muslim
Protestant 49.5% (includes Adventist 11.8% and other Protestant 37.7%), Roman Catholic 43.7%, Muslim 2%, other 0.9% (includes Jehovah's Witness), none 2.5%, unspecified 1.3% (2012 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths32,000 (2020 est.)2,500 (2020 est.)
LanguagesKiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages; note - Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages

major-language sample(s):
The World Factbook, Chanzo cha Lazima Kuhusu Habari ya Msingi. (Kiswahili)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Kinyarwanda (official, universal Bantu vernacular) 93.2%, French (official) <0.1, English (official) <0.1, Swahili/Kiswahili (official, used in commercial centers) <0.1, more than one language, other 6.3%, unspecified 0.3% (2002 est.)

major-language sample(s):
Inkoranya nzimbuzi y'isi, isoko fatizo y'amakuru y'ibanze. (Kinyarwanda)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic

total population: 77.9%

male: 83.2%

female: 73.1% (2015)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 73.2%

male: 77.6%

female: 69.4% (2018)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and Rift Valley fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies
degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

animal contact diseases: rabies
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 9 years

male: 9 years

female: 9 years (2019)
total: 11 years

male: 11 years

female: 11 years (2019)
Education expenditures3.4% of GDP (2014)3.1% of GDP (2018)
Urbanizationurban population: 36% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 4.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 17.6% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.07% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 92.3% of population

rural: 56.2% of population

total: 68.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 7.7% of population

rural: 43.8% of population

total: 31.8% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 92% of population

rural: 76.9% of population

total: 79.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 8% of population

rural: 23.1% of population

total: 20.5% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 82.1% of population

rural: 29.5% of population

total: 46.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 17.9% of population

rural: 70.5% of population

total: 53.1% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 88.4% of population

rural: 79.4% of population

total: 80.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 11.6% of population

rural: 20.6% of population

total: 19.1% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population262,000 Dodoma (legislative capital) (2018), 7.047 million DAR ES SALAAM (administrative capital), 1.182 million Mwanza (2021)1.170 million KIGALI (capital) (2021)
Maternal mortality rate524 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)248 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight14.6% (2018)7.7% (2019/20)
Health expenditures3.6% (2018)7.5% (2018)
Physicians density0.01 physicians/1,000 population (2016)0.13 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate8.4% (2016)5.8% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth19.8 years (2015/16 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 20-49
22.7 years (2014/15 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-49
Demographic profile

Tanzania has the largest population in East Africa and the lowest population density; almost a third of the population is urban. Tanzania's youthful population - about two-thirds of the population is under 25 - is growing rapidly because of the high total fertility rate of 4.8 children per woman. Progress in reducing the birth rate has stalled, sustaining the country's nearly 3% annual growth. The maternal mortality rate has improved since 2000, yet it remains very high because of early and frequent pregnancies, inadequate maternal health services, and a lack of skilled birth attendants - problems that are worse among poor and rural women. Tanzania has made strides in reducing under-5 and infant mortality rates, but a recent drop in immunization threatens to undermine gains in child health. Malaria is a leading killer of children under 5, while HIV is the main source of adult mortality

For Tanzania, most migration is internal, rural to urban movement, while some temporary labor migration from towns to plantations takes place seasonally for harvests. Tanzania was Africa's largest refugee-hosting country for decades, hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Great Lakes region, primarily Burundi, over the last fifty years. However, the assisted repatriation and naturalization of tens of thousands of Burundian refugees between 2002 and 2014 dramatically reduced the refugee population. Tanzania is increasingly a transit country for illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region who are heading to southern Africa for security reasons and/or economic opportunities. Some of these migrants choose to settle in Tanzania.

Rwanda's fertility rate declined sharply during the last decade, as a result of the government's commitment to family planning, the increased use of contraceptives, and a downward trend in ideal family size. Increases in educational attainment, particularly among girls, and exposure to social media also contributed to the reduction in the birth rate. The average number of births per woman decreased from a 5.6 in 2005 to 4.5 in 2016. Despite these significant strides in reducing fertility, Rwanda's birth rate remains very high and will continue to for an extended period of time because of its large population entering reproductive age. Because Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, its persistent high population growth and increasingly small agricultural landholdings will put additional strain on families' ability to raise foodstuffs and access potable water. These conditions will also hinder the government's efforts to reduce poverty and prevent environmental degradation.

The UNHCR recommended that effective 30 June 2013 countries invoke a cessation of refugee status for those Rwandans who fled their homeland between 1959 and 1998, including the 1994 genocide, on the grounds that the conditions that drove them to seek protection abroad no longer exist. The UNHCR's decision is controversial because many Rwandan refugees still fear persecution if they return home, concerns that are supported by the number of Rwandans granted asylum since 1998 and by the number exempted from the cessation. Rwandan refugees can still seek an exemption or local integration, but host countries are anxious to send the refugees back to Rwanda and are likely to avoid options that enable them to stay. Conversely, Rwanda itself hosts almost 160,000 refugees as of 2017; virtually all of them fleeing conflict in neighboring Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Contraceptive prevalence rate38.4% (2015/16)53.2% (2014/15)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 85.9

youth dependency ratio: 81

elderly dependency ratio: 4.9

potential support ratio: 20.4 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 74.2

youth dependency ratio: 68.8

elderly dependency ratio: 5.4

potential support ratio: 18.4 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook