New report on Tanzania shows income inequality declining as rural-urban disparities remain

Abstract

A new report on the Dimensions of Inequality in Tanzania was released Monday in Dar es Salaam by the Social Development Policy Division (SDPD) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and REPOA, a Tanzanian independent research institution. With a Gini coefficient of 0.43, overall inequality in Africa remains high relative to other regions. However, Tanzania is one of the few countries in Africa where inequality has declined by nearly 8 percent from 0.39 in 2001 to 0.36 in 2012, according to the report. The study was commissioned by the ECA as part of its Africa-wide project on "Promoting Equality: Strengthening the Capacity of Select Developing Countries to Design and Implement Equality-Oriented Public Policies and Programmes". The country report focused on presenting the status and trends on inequality in Tanzania across several dimensions. According to the report, youth unemployment, rather than the overall unemployment is the biggest inequality and development challenge. Women in Tanzania are one and a half times more likely to be unemployed at 12.3 per cent than men at 8.2 per cent with implications for household income and welfare in general. The report, which provides the most current national rates on inequality in Tanzania includes data that illustrates wide variation by location, gender and by income status on various forms of inequality in the country.