Hassan Magulumali
Tanzania has significantly reduced its reliance on foreign aid to finance the national budget, marking a major step toward greater fiscal independence and increased domestic resource mobilization, the government has announced.
Speaking on August 3, 2026, during the launch of four implementation tools for the Tanzania Development Vision 2050 at the State House in Dar es Salaam, Minister of State in the President’s Office for Planning and Investment, Prof. Kitila Mkumbo, said the country’s dependence on donor funding has fallen sharply over the past six years.
The event was attended by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, senior government officials, and representatives from business associations across Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.
Prof. Mkumbo said the share of foreign aid in the national budget has declined from 7.1 percent in the 2020/21 financial year to just 0.9 percent in the 2026/27 budget, reflecting the government’s growing ability to finance its development agenda through domestic revenues.
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He explained that the 2020/21 national budget, valued at TSh34 trillion, included TSh2.5 trillion in foreign aid, accounting for 7.1 percent of total government expenditure.
By comparison, the 2023/24 budget, which stood at TSh48.4 trillion, received TSh1.4 trillion in donor support, reducing the aid share to 3.1 percent.
Prof. Mkumbo noted that the trend continued in the 2025/26 financial year, when the government’s TSh56.49 trillion budget included TSh900 billion in foreign assistance, representing 2.6 percent of the total budget.
For the 2026/27 financial year, Tanzania’s budget has increased to TSh62.33 trillion, while foreign aid has dropped to TSh565.1 billion, accounting for only 0.9 percent of total expenditure.
The minister said the declining reliance on external assistance demonstrates Tanzania’s commitment to strengthening economic resilience, expanding domestic revenue collection, and financing national development priorities with locally generated resources.
The announcement came during the unveiling of key implementation frameworks for the Tanzania Development Vision 2050, a long-term national strategy aimed at transforming the country’s economy and achieving sustainable, inclusive growth.
