Tanzania's external sector performance in the year ending April 2026 reflects a tension between a robust export growth story — led by gold and tourism — and an equally robust import surge driven by industrial supplies, transport equipment, and capital goods. The net result is a widening current account deficit of USD 2,651.8 million, compared with USD 2,107.1 million in the corresponding period in 2025 — a deterioration of 25.6%.

On a monthly basis, the April 2026 current account deficit was USD 838.4 million — nearly double the USD 437.3 million recorded in April 2025 — reflecting a sharp single-month goods import surge of USD 1,751.3 million against goods exports of USD 788.0 million. Despite this, foreign exchange reserves remained well-buffered at USD 5,722.5 million (4.4 months of projected imports), providing a solid external buffer.

Tanzania's services receipts are a major pillar of its external earnings, contributing USD 7,661.7 million in the year ending April 2026 — equivalent to 40.6% of total exports of goods and services. This represents a 10.4% year-on-year increase from USD 6,942.3 million. Services receipts are structured across three principal categories: Travel (Tourism), Transport, and Other Services.

Travel receipts dominate the services account, contributing 57.2% of total service receipts. The travel category grew by 9.5% to USD 4,385.3 million, supported by a meaningful increase in international tourist arrivals to 2,281,340 in the year ending April 2026, from 2,162,487 in the corresponding period in 2025 — a gain of 118,853 additional arrivals (+5.5%). Transport receipts, reflecting earnings from logistics and transit services, grew robustly to USD 2,834.8 million (+17.1%).

Travel receipts remain Tanzania's single largest services export earner and a critical driver of foreign exchange inflows. In the year ending April 2026, travel receipts grew by 9.5% to reach USD 4,385.3 million, from USD 4,006.3 million in the corresponding period of 2025. International arrivals rose to 2,281,340 from 2,162,487 — a growth of 5.5%. This suggests that average revenue per visitor also increased, rising from approximately USD 1,853 to USD 1,922 — reflecting improvements in higher-value visitor segments and spending per tourist.

On a monthly basis, service receipts were USD 525.8 million in April 2026, higher than USD 493.8 million in April 2025. Travel has consistently accounted for approximately 57% of total service receipts over the year ending April 2026.

Transport receipts — Tanzania's second-largest services export — grew strongly by 17.1% to USD 2,834.8 million in the year ending April 2026, from USD 2,419.3 million in 2025. This category covers earnings from Tanzania's role as a regional transit hub, including port services at Dar es Salaam port (one of East Africa's busiest), railway freight services, and civil aviation transit revenues.

The strong growth in transport receipts reflects the expansion in goods trade volumes flowing through Tanzania to landlocked neighbors (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Zambia, and Malawi), as well as higher freight rates globally due to geopolitical supply chain disruptions. Transport receipts now account for 37.0% of total service receipts.

Other services receipts — comprising construction, insurance, financial, telecommunication, computer and information, charges for use of intellectual property, government, personal, and other business services — declined by 14.5% to USD 441.6 million in the year ending April 2026, from USD 516.7 million in 2025. This contraction is notable and warrants attention, as it may reflect a weakening in knowledge-economy service exports or a decline in remittance-adjacent flows classified here.

Despite the decline, this category represents only 5.8% of total service receipts, limiting the overall impact on the services balance. Tanzania's services export basket remains heavily concentrated in travel and transport — a structural consideration for long-term diversification policy.

Services payments (imports of services) reached USD 3,376.1 million in the year ending April 2026, an increase of 11.3% from USD 3,034.2 million in 2025. The growth in services payments has outpaced services receipts growth in some sub-categories, narrowing the services trade surplus. The three main components are: Freight (transport payments), Travel (Tanzanians travelling abroad), and Other Services (business, professional, and technical services).

Freight payments — the largest component at USD 1,666.2 million — grew sharply by 16.8%, directly linked to the surge in goods imports (+16.4%). Travel payments rose significantly by 39.9% to USD 702.2 million, signaling a meaningful recovery in outbound Tanzanian travel after pandemic-era suppression. Other services payments grew moderately by 4.5% to USD 1,007.7 million.

Freight payments represent the cost Tanzania pays for shipping and logistics services on its imports — largely to international shipping companies. At USD 1,666.2 million, freight constitutes 49.4% of total services payments, making it by far the dominant outflow in the services import account. The 16.8% increase in freight costs directly mirrors the 16.4% growth in goods imports — as more goods are imported, more freight is paid.

The sharp rise in global freight rates due to Red Sea shipping disruptions and port congestion (linked to Middle East geopolitical tensions) has amplified this cost. In April 2026 specifically, services payments reached USD 288.5 million monthly, of which freight constitutes the majority. This structural exposure to global freight rates is a key external vulnerability for Tanzania's services balance.

Travel payments — representing expenditure by Tanzanian residents travelling abroad — show an interesting pattern. From Chart 2.7.5 data (year ending April), travel payments were USD 643.1 million in 2024 and appeared elevated in 2025. In the year ending April 2026, travel payments recorded USD 702.2 million. This outbound travel spend reflects growing middle-class travel, medical tourism abroad, business travel, and student travel. While much smaller than inbound travel receipts (USD 4,385.3 million), the gap represents a healthy net travel surplus of USD 3,683.1 million.

Other services payments grew sharply to USD 1,007.7 million in the year ending April 2026, from USD 667.6 million — a 51.0% increase. This category covers payments for construction, insurance, financial services, telecommunications, information technology, professional and business services, and government services paid to foreign providers. The strong growth reflects Tanzania's increasing integration into global value chains, rising demand for imported professional and digital services, and higher insurance premiums linked to elevated global commodity and energy risks.

Tanzania maintains a structural services trade surplus — a relatively uncommon position among Sub-Saharan African economies — primarily because travel (tourism) receipts far exceed outbound travel payments. The services account surplus for the year ending April 2026 was USD 4,285.6 million, up from USD 3,908.0 million in 2025 (+9.7%).

However, within the services account, the net travel surplus is contracting relative to size as outbound travel grows, and the surge in freight payments and other services payments is eroding the headline services surplus. The services surplus of USD 4,285.6 million partially offsets the goods deficit of USD 5,353.5 million, resulting in a combined goods-and-services deficit of USD 1,067.9 million.

Despite the widening current account deficit, Tanzania's foreign exchange reserves remained robust and adequate. At the end of April 2026, gross official reserves stood at USD 5,722.5 million, compared with USD 5,307.7 million in April 2025 — an increase of USD 414.8 million (+7.8%). This level provides coverage of 4.4 months of projected imports, consistent with both Tanzania's national benchmark and the EAC regional minimum of 4.5 months (being just marginally below, but well above the SADC minimum).

The Tanzanian shilling remained strong against major currencies. In April 2026, the shilling traded at an average of TZS 2,612.46 per USD, compared with TZS 2,684.41 per USD in April 2025 — an annual appreciation of 2.7%. This appreciation was supported by sustained gold export inflows and the Bank of Tanzania's measured market participation, selling USD 15.3 million in April 2026 to maintain orderly market conditions.