What Tanzania produces
The economy, industry by industry. Most Tanzanians farm; gold earns more abroad than anything else the country sells; and the ports, the parks and the lakes each carry an economy of their own. Each sector has its own page, and each product sits under the sector it belongs to.
- 01
Mining
A tenth of the economy in 2024, and gold is the country's largest export by far. Also the only tanzanite on earth, diamonds, coal, and new projects in graphite, uranium and nickel.
About 47% of goods exports in the year to June 2026.
Mined at Mererani, Manyara, and nowhere else.
Diamonds
The Williamson mine at Mwadui, Shinyanga, since the 1940s.Page in preparation
Coal and iron
Ngaka in Ruvuma; Liganga and Mchuchuma in Njombe.Page in preparation
Critical minerals
Graphite in Lindi, uranium in Ruvuma, nickel in Kagera.Page in preparation
- 02
Agriculture
What most Tanzanians do for a living — about 65% of jobs in 2025, on World Bank estimates. The export crops each have their own country: tobacco in Tabora, cashew on the southern coast, coffee on the mountains, cotton in the Lake Zone, cloves on Pemba.
Coffee
Arabica on the mountains, robusta in Kagera; about 320,000 smallholders.Page in preparation
Sugar
The irrigated estates of Kilombero, Mtibwa, Moshi and Kagera.Page in preparation
Cashew
A record 617,683 tonnes in 2025/26, mostly from the southern coast.Page in preparation
Tobacco
The largest crop export: USD 600 million in the year to April 2026.Page in preparation
Sisal
First planted near Pangani in 1893.Page in preparation
Cotton, tea, cloves and avocado
The other export crops, each tied to its own regions.Page in preparation
Where it happensTaboraMtwaraSimiyuKilimanjaroMbeyaMorogoroTangaPemba
- 03In preparation
Energy
Natural gas from the south coast, the Julius Nyerere hydropower dam on the Rufiji, and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline from Uganda to Tanga.
- 04In preparation
Ports and transport
Dar es Salaam port and the transit trade to Zambia, the DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and Malawi, the standard-gauge railway, TAZARA and the Central Line.
- 05In preparation
Tourism as an industry
Parks, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar as an economy, not a holiday: who earns what, and where the money goes.
- 06In preparation
Fisheries
Nile perch and dagaa on Lake Victoria, the sardines of Lake Tanganyika, and the artisanal fleets of the coast.
Last reviewed 2026-09-21
Editorial — fact-check complete
Checked against
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) — TanzaniaWorld Bank, World Development Indicators
- Tanzania's mining sector surpasses GDP target, hits 10.1 percent contribution (April 2025)The Citizen
- Exports in the year ending June 2026 — from the Bank of Tanzania Monthly Economic ReviewTanzaniaInvest