Skip to content
News release

Tanzanians want government action on environmental problems affecting their communities

12 Apr 2023 Tanzania
Download (English)
News release
Key findings
  • More than half (54%) of Tanzanians consider pollution a serious problem in their communities (Figure 1).
  • More than eight in 10 respondents (81%) say plastic bags are a major source of pollution in Tanzania (Figure 3).
  • Citizens cite deforestation (33%), trash and plastic disposal (33%), pollution of water sources (13%), and human waste management (9%) as the most important environmental issues in their community (Figure 4).
  • If environmental-protection policies threaten jobs and incomes, two-thirds (68%) of Tanzanians would still want the government to prioritise the environment rather than jobs (Figure 5).
  • Tanzanians assign the primary responsibility for reducing pollution and keeping communities clean to ordinary citizens (46%) and their local and national governments (35% and 13%, respectively). Far fewer look to business and industry (4%) and traditional leaders (1%) (Figure 6).

Most Tanzanians see pollution as a serious problem in their communities, a new Afrobarometer survey shows.

Citizens rank trash disposal and deforestation as the most important environmental issues in their communities and consider plastic bags a major source of pollution in their country.

If environmental-protection policies threaten jobs and incomes, a majority of Tanzanians

would prioritise the environment. A majority also favour tighter regulation of natural resource extraction to reduce its impact on the environment.