Poverty and Human Development Report 2009 - UNDP in Tanzania

Table 44: Percent of Males and Females Aged 15 Years and Older by Main
Activity, 2000/01 and 2007
Main Activity
Male
Dar es Salaam Other Urban Rural
Tanzania
Mainland
2000/01 2007 2000/01 2007 2000/01 2007 2000/01 2007
farming/livestock/forest 2.8 3.4 25.4 24.6 77.0 69.8 63.7 55.0
Government employee 4.4 6.4 6.9 6.9 1.8 2.4 2.8 3.6
employee-other 27.1 31.4 16.7 15.9 3.4 4.4 7.2 9.1
self employed/unpaid
helper
40.8 35.2 37.5 30.0 11.2 10.9 17.4 16.8
student 10.0 8.9 4.7 12.2 2.6 5.0 3.4 6.7
not active/homemaker 14.9 14.6 8.9 10.4 4.1 7.4 5.5 8.7
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Female
farming/livestock/forest 3.3 2.9 28.3 30.1 74.8 74.9 62.8 59.4
Government employee 3.1 4.1 3.6 4.0 0.6 0.9 1.2 1.8
employee-other 11.2 12.8 6.5 7.9 1.1 2.0 2.6 4.2
self employed/unpaid
helper
28.5 27.3 31.3 23.1 11.6 6.7 15.7 11.8
student 7.3 7.2 3.9 9.5 1.5 3.5 2.2 5.0
not active/homemaker 46.6 45.7 26.3 25.3 10.5 12.0 15.4 17.8
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
source: hBs 2007
Poverty Incidence by Occupation and Place of Residence
Chapter 2
even though the majority of tanzanians continue to be engaged in agriculture, it remains the least
remunerative sector in the economy. Among households whose heads identified agriculture as
their main activity, the rate of poverty is highest: 38.7%. the combination of a large portion of the
population engaged in agriculture and high poverty rates explains why 74% of all poor people
are primarily dependent on agriculture (table 45). these data indicate that income poverty is an
overwhelmingly agricultural phenomenon.
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