Urban population in Tanzania
Tanzania: Urban population was 26.02 million in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Urban population in Tanzania, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Tanzania recorded 26.02 million for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.9% on the previous year and up 60.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Tanzania peaked at 26.02 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 483,977, in 1960.
That places Tanzania 37th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 574,665 | 483,977 | 732,083 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.71 million | 844,675 | 2.65 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.75 million | 2.83 million | 4.72 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.06 million | 4.94 million | 7.27 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.59 million | 7.60 million | 12.00 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.99 million | 12.62 million | 19.73 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.20 million | 20.64 million | 26.02 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More climate change data for Tanzania
- Population growth 2.9% (2025)
- Population, total 70.55 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 4.8% (2025)
- Urban population 36.9% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 14.2% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 5.18 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 6.2% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 39.9% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 32.3% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 2.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Tanzania?
- Urban population in Tanzania was 26.02 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 26.02 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 483,977 in 1960.
- How does Tanzania rank for urban population?
- Tanzania ranks 37th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 60.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Tanzania data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.