Dar es Salaam CITY PROFILING REPORT 2025

The Dar es Salaam City Profiling Report 2025 provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic, social, and governance landscape of Tanzania's largest city. It highlights a city experiencing rapid population growth and economic expansion, yet struggling with high levels of central government control, significant infrastructure deficits in water and sanitation, and a high prevalence of informal settlements.

• Dar es Salaam is one of the world's fastest-growing cities, with a population that grew from 22,500 in 1913 to 5.4 million in 2022. It is projected to become a megacity exceeding 10 million people by 2030 and reaching 13.4 million by 2035.
• Informal settlements are pervasive in Dar es Salaam, with UN-HABITAT estimating that 80% of the city's territory is informal. Only approximately 30% of the population lives in formal housing.
• The city's economy is a major national driver, contributing about 17% to Tanzania's national GDP and accounting for 33% of total national employment as of 2018. However, the informal sector remains dominant, contributing 22.5% of GDP and 41.5% of total employment.
• Local governance is characterized by extreme centralization. Local Government Authorities (LGAs) depend on the central government for approximately 75% to 90% of their revenue, and the central government appoints executive directors, reducing the autonomy of elected councils.
• Water and sanitation services are inadequate. While 79.5% of households have access to piped water, only 18% of flush toilets are connected to the sewer system. Approximately 50% of the total excreta generated in the city is not safely contained on-site.
• Solid waste management is poorly executed, with 4,600 tons of waste generated daily. Much of this is transported to the Pugu Kinyamwezi landfill, which is described as an open dumping site due to failed engineered plans and fund constraints.
• Energy access for lighting is high at 86% for grid electricity, but cooking fuels remain a concern; 43% of households still use charcoal, with demand quadrupling between 1990 and 2018 due to its low cost.
• The city's road network is underdeveloped, with only 0.13km of paved roads per capita, the lowest among the ten profiled SADC cities. Traffic congestion is a major challenge driven by rapid population growth and inadequate infrastructure.
• Public transport is heavily reliant on daladalas (minibuses), which account for 60% of passenger trips. To reduce this dependence, the city is implementing a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, with Phase 1 opened in 2016 and Phase 2 intended for February 2025.
• Environmental risks are significant, particularly recurring flooding caused by sea level rise, river overflows, and poor drainage. The 2018 floods alone cost $100 million and reduced the city's GDP by 2%.

APA

Mongae, M. (2025). Dar es Salaam CITY PROFILING REPORT 2025. Good Governance Africa. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2025/11/Dar-es-Salaam-African-Cities-Report-2025.pdf

Chicago

Mongae, Mmabatho. Dar es Salaam CITY PROFILING REPORT 2025. Good Governance Africa, 2025. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2025/11/Dar-es-Salaam-African-Cities-Report-2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mongae |first1=Mmabatho |title=Dar es Salaam CITY PROFILING REPORT 2025 |publisher=Good Governance Africa |date=2025 |url=https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2025/11/Dar-es-Salaam-African-Cities-Report-2025.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mongae2025dar, author = {Mongae, Mmabatho}, title = {{Dar es Salaam CITY PROFILING REPORT 2025}}, institution = {Good Governance Africa}, year = {2025}, url = {https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2025/11/Dar-es-Salaam-African-Cities-Report-2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }