Tanzania at 60: Samia Highlights Key Success

East Africa's economic growth is expected to recover to an average of 4,1 percent in 2021, up from 0,4 percent posted in 2020, according to the African Development Bank's latest economic outlook report for the region. In 2022, average growth is projected to hit 4,9 percent. The report reviews the socio-economic performance of 13 countries: Tanzania, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

President Samia further noted that the country has made progress in human development, with the poverty rate falling from 28,6 percent in 2015 to 26,25 percent in 2020, and the Human Development Index (HDI) rising from 0,37 in 1990 to 0,52 in 2019. According to Human Development report 2020 by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), between 1990 and 2019, Tanzania life expectancy at birth increased by 15,3 years, meaning years of schooling increased by 2,5 years and expected years of schooling increased by 2,6 years.

The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. "Another achievement is that life expectancy has increased from 50 to 66 years, and this can be further improved because the economy is improving all the time," Ms. Samia said.

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division's revised World Population Prospects 2017 report, a Tanzanian's average life expectancy is 66,7 years, up 1,8 years from 2015. Tanzania's life expectancy was 64,9 years in 2015, with women projected to live 66,82 years and men 63,08 years. When compared to the early 1960s, when Tanzania's life expectancy at birth was 45,3 years, this was a more than 20-year improvement.

Life expectancy stayed constant at 52 years from 1980 to 1990, before dropping to 51 years from 1993 and 1997. According to Ms. Samia, the country's greatest achievement is attaining lower-middle-income country status in July 2020. "The more likely it is that the policies we implement will further enhance our economy and keep us from falling behind," President Samia remarked.

She stated that the initiatives and plans in the National Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP) are being built in a framework to assist the economy in moving forward so that the country can work on all of the challenges it encounters in order to propel the economy forward. According to the World Bank's 15^th Tanzania Economic Update, Raising the Bar: Achieving Tanzania's Development Vision, achieving lower-middle-income country status allows Tanzania to assess the quality of previous growth in delivering broad welfare gains and develop a roadmap to guide its further transition to a successful middle-income economy with a high level of human capital development, high-quality livelihood opportunities, and a stable political environment.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania Tel Aviv, Israel.