Share of global plastic waste imports in Tanzania
Tanzania: Share of global plastic waste imports was 0.0% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Share of global plastic waste imports in Tanzania, 1995–2023
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Tanzania recorded 0.0% for share of global plastic waste imports in 2023.
That represents a change of up 78.1% on the previous year and down 32.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global plastic waste imports in Tanzania peaked at 0.1% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1996.
That places Tanzania 82nd out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of global plastic waste imports in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 0.0% | — |
| 1996 | 0.0% | -86.7% |
| 1997 | 0.0% | +960.3% |
| 1998 | 0.0% | +49.8% |
| 1999 | 0.0% | -60.6% |
| 2000 | 0.0% | +23184.1% |
| 2001 | 0.0% | -92.9% |
| 2002 | 0.0% | +555.3% |
| 2003 | 0.0% | -80.5% |
| 2004 | 0.0% | -67.9% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | +2772.6% |
| 2006 | 0.0% | -69.9% |
| 2007 | 0.0% | -28.7% |
| 2008 | 0.0% | +554.7% |
| 2009 | 0.0% | -44.7% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | +93.4% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | +66.5% |
| 2012 | 0.0% | +8.6% |
| 2013 | 0.0% | +75.4% |
| 2014 | 0.0% | +133.7% |
| 2015 | 0.0% | -12.9% |
| 2016 | 0.0% | -40.7% |
| 2017 | 0.0% | +23.1% |
| 2018 | 0.1% | +129.2% |
| 2019 | 0.0% | -22.8% |
| 2020 | 0.0% | -11.3% |
| 2021 | 0.0% | -65.8% |
| 2022 | 0.0% | -52.6% |
| 2023 | 0.0% | +78.1% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 0.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.0%, 1.8× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 0.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.0%, 5.0× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global plastic waste imports in Tanzania changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +23184.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2005 | +2772.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1997 | +960.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5 |
| 2000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More environment data for Tanzania
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.29 Percentage change (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.06 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 5.16 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global plastic waste imports in Tanzania?
- Share of global plastic waste imports in Tanzania was 0.0% in 2023, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 0.1% in 2018.
- What is the lowest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1996.
- How does Tanzania rank for share of global plastic waste imports?
- Tanzania ranks 82nd out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of global plastic waste imports rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Tanzania data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global plastic waste imports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.