Water
Tanzania is endowed with extensive water resources—including rivers, lakes, and underground sources—anchored by Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa and second-largest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Tanganyika, the world's second-deepest freshwater lake, and Lake Nyasa, providing the foundation for irrigation, fisheries, hydropower, and universal water access targets under Tanzania Development Vision 2050.
Water cuts across multiple sectoral priorities in Tanzania, from human development and sanitation to productive uses in agriculture and fisheries.
The country's hydrological endowment supports a fisheries sector that contributed 1.7% to GDP in 2024/2025 and employs about six million Tanzanians within its value chain.
Water also features as one of the headline goals of TDV 2050, which targets universal access to safe and clean water and sanitation for all Tanzanians.
Tanzania's Water Endowment
Tanzania's geography is shaped by some of Africa's most significant water bodies, which underpin both economic activity and ecological richness.
Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the second-largest freshwater lake in the world.
Lake Tanganyika ranks as the world's second-deepest freshwater lake.
Lake Nyasa, also known as Lake Malawi, is shared with neighboring Malawi and Mozambique.
The Zanzibar Archipelago, off the country's Indian Ocean coast, contributes diverse marine landscapes that further expand Tanzania's blue economy footprint.
The country also benefits from extensive rivers and underground sources, which provide significant opportunities for irrigation.
Water and the Fisheries Economy
Tanzania's water resources directly sustain a fisheries sector that contributed 1.7% to GDP in 2024/2025 and supports the livelihoods of approximately six million Tanzanians across its value chain.
In 2023, Tanzania produced 513,802.47 tonnes of fisheries products[1].
Natural water fishing accounted for 479,976.62 tonnes of that total.
Freshwater fishing contributed 85% of the natural water catch, while marine (sea) fishing contributed 15%.
Aquaculture added 33,825.85 tonnes, with products including farmed fish, seaweed, seagrass, and sea cucumbers.
The value of harvested fish from natural waters and aquaculture increased to TZS 3,429 billion in 2024/2025, up from TZS 3,174 billion in 2023/2024.
By April 2025, total fishery product exports reached 44,317.78 tonnes, representing a 7.38% increase compared to 41,271.07 tonnes in 2023/2024.
Nile Perch fillets were the main fishery product exported during this period.
Water for Irrigation and Agricultural Productivity
Tanzania's extensive water resources—rivers, lakes, and underground sources—create significant opportunities for irrigation expansion.
Diverse climatic conditions and rainfall patterns ranging from bimodal to unimodal mean that total rainfall failure across all regions is very rare.
Priority investment areas tied to water resources include productive infrastructure such as irrigation systems and water harvesting facilities.
These complement broader commercial farming opportunities across the agricultural corridors and post-harvest facilities such as pack houses and cold storage.
FY 2025/26 Budget: Human Development and Water Access
The FY 2025/26 National Budget explicitly identifies water access as a human development priority alongside health and education infrastructure.
Under the FY 2025/26 plan, the Government commits to fostering human development with investments in education, health, water, environment, youth training, and land management.
This is paired with a human resource development strategy that prioritizes vocational training and rare skills to lift workforce productivity.
The budget emphasizes increased private sector participation through innovative financing mechanisms, including Public-Private Partnerships, consistent with the development strategy.
Policy Framework
Vision 2050 Water Targets
Tanzania Development Vision 2050 sets universal access to safe and clean water and sanitation as a headline social goal, alongside affordable clean energy and decent housing.
Water access is embedded within the broader human capital and social development priority, which calls for heavy investment in education, healthcare, clean water, and social protection programs to strengthen the nation's workforce.
Regulatory Authority
The Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) is the dedicated regulator covering water utilities, providing the supervisory framework for service delivery in the sector.
Alignment with Long-Term Flagship Investments
Water is one of the cross-cutting investments that reinforce Tanzania's long-term flagship projects, alongside energy, ports, roads, the SGR, and ICT backbone systems.
These investments ensure that the country's economic transformation is spatially coordinated and sustainably anchored while integrating regional and domestic value chains.
Investment Opportunities Linked to Water
Irrigation systems and water harvesting facilities are listed among the priority productive infrastructure investment areas in agriculture.
Aquaculture offers commercial scope across farmed fish, seaweed, seagrass, and sea cucumbers, building on the 33,825.85 tonnes produced in 2023.
Processing and export of fishery products—led by Nile Perch fillets, which drove exports to 44,317.78 tonnes by April 2025—offer downstream value-addition opportunities.
Water utilities and sanitation infrastructure represent a long-horizon opportunity tied to the Vision 2050 universal access target, with PPP structures explicitly encouraged for sustainable financing of human development infrastructure.
Last Update: May 2026
References
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