Average Salary in Tanzania

Table of Contents

Average Hourly Wage in Tanzania

Tanzania’s average hourly earnings are 7,280 TZS. An hour’s labour in Tanzania pays an average of 7,280 TZS. This is about $3.30 (USD).

The hourly wage in Tanzania varies greatly according to the economic sector.

Depending on what kind of work the person does, the hourly wage may vary. The average wage of the agricultural sector is 3,960 TZS while the non-agricultural sector pays an average of 10,000 TZS per hour.

However, it should be noted that these are national figures; in Dar es Salaam for example hourly wages are much higher than the national averages.

How much does a Tanzanian worker make?

Tanzanians earn roughly 1,260,000 TZS every month. Salary is from 319,000 TZS to 1,118,000 TZS based on education. The average salary in Tanzania is 608,414 TZS per year or 14,971.62 TZS per month.

Most of the population works under informal conditions. This is a situation where there are no payroll documents or no written contracts between the employee and employer. This type of employment accounts for over 90% of jobs in Tanzania.

The highest-paid occupation is managerial and technical work, earning around 1,118,000 TZS per month; the lowest-paid occupation is unskilled manual labour and teacher assistants working at schools and earning 319,000 TZS a month.

Comparing Salaries based on Years of Experience

How does a person’s income grow over time?

A person’s income grows over time due to the accumulation of experience. A person typically starts off with a low salary because they have little past work experience. However, as their work experience accumulates, so does their earning potential.

In Tanzania, the median income is TZN 7,973 (about $3.50), and in the United States, it is around US$31,000. Tanzanian workers with years of experience above the median of seven years make a median income of about TZS7,473 (about US9.80),

In Tanzania, workers with 14 years or more working experience beyond the national average have a salary that is 4% higher than Tanzanians with seven to 13 years of work experience beyond this figure.

This means that Tanzanian workers who are very experienced typically make around $3,360 (TZS 7,473) less per year.

Average Salary Increase by Level Of Experience in Tanzania

It has become common to expect a rise in one’s salary automatically at certain milestones in life and/or career.

There are, however, no set rules stating that an increase must occur when reaching a specific anniversary date or having completed a certain number of years with the company.

When an employee does deserve a pay rise it is usually calculated according to his performance and personal achievements within the industry. There may not necessarily be any correlation between the level of experience and expected salary growth.

Considering only white-collar workers in Tanzania, even considering they are on average more likely than working-class people to have had higher education (43% vs 27%), there appear to be only minimal differences in pay rises across professional levels.

Managerial employees are said to be the only group that, on average, got a little less than 5%raise in their salaries at their first year anniversary. Employees with a few years of experience (1-2 years) surprisingly -for our previous expectations- got more than 6% rise in their salaries.

The same happened for senior employees (3+ years), who saw an average increase of around 7% in their salary upon reaching one year with the company.

Comparing Salaries Based on Education

How does your degree of education affect your salary?

Education levels have a notable effect on salaries, according to a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute.

Education pays off for a variety of reasons: it increases your knowledge and skills, which makes workers more valuable to employers; it helps people acquire better jobs with higher pay, and it broadens job opportunities.

As both the level of education required by jobs and the overall cost of that education continues to rise, attaining higher levels of education is even more important for succeeding in today’s economy.

In Tanzania, workers with bachelor’s degrees earned an average monthly salary of 118,184 Tanzanian Shilling compared to 34,784 Tanzanian Shilling for those with lower secondary education.

Is a Master’s degree or MBA worth the investment?

There are many reasons that getting a Master’s degree or MBA is worth the investment.

First, it will help you get higher-paying jobs. Second, it shows employers that you are committed to your career and giving them what they need.

Third, because of the time required for both degrees, if you can’t afford to pay for them outright while completing these degrees your future earning potential will be improved with interest-free loans from government programs.

If you are in Tanzania, investing in your Master’s degree or MBA will pay off. The average salary of someone holding a master’s degree is 240,000 Tanzanian Shilling which is three times more than those with undergraduate degrees (average of 100,000 Tanzanian Shilling).

Tanzanian Public Versus Private Sector Salaries

Public sectors salaries earn more per month than private-sector salaries in Tanzania. Public service jobs are found in government organizations and agencies, schools, hospitals, and other institutions that provide services to the public.

Public sectors workers tend to have higher incomes because governments often pay high wages as a way to attract qualified candidates for their organisations. Many people look at the public sector as a place to build their careers and receive incentives such as experience or higher education.

In general, salaries in the private sector are lower than in the public sector because many private companies pay for employees’ expenses and benefits such as medical insurance and family support.

Tanzanian citizens often choose to work in the private sector to avoid long working hours and repetitive tasks because they offer more flexibility and freedom than public sector jobs.

Private sector jobs also provide more opportunities for advancement, but it is sometimes difficult to find positions with high salaries. However, these positions tend to be more competitive than positions available in the public sector because fewer positions are open.

Comparing Gender-Specific Salary in Tanzania

Male workers in Tanzania earn an average of 8% more than female employees across all industries. In 2010, the average salary for a man in Tanzania was 2,969,189 Tanzanian Shillings (TZS).

In comparison, a woman earned an average of TZS 2,611,035 – meaning that men earned approximately 259,4750 Tanzanian Shillings more than females. This is equivalent to 8% of the male median monthly income or about 4 hours and 50 minutes of work at minimum wage for each month.

The gap is slightly larger in rural areas where men earn on average 10% or 347,440 TZS more than women; while it is smaller (2%) in urban areas where male employees earn on average 6% or 256160 TZS more than their female counterparts.

The same pattern is observed across all industrial sectors, as the figure below shows.

Salary Distribution in Tanzania

Pay Scale

In Tanzania, a monthly salary is 319,000 TZS. The minimum is 56,000 TZS while the maximum is 5,771,000 TZS.

Median Wage

One-third of the population earns less than 1,310,000 TZS per month, while the other third earns more. The middle 50% earn between 1,475,500 TZS and 2,652,000 TZS per month.

The median wage (also known as the midpoint) is the amount that divides a list of data into two halves; that is to say, for half of the people/things described in the list or sample population, their income is less than this amount.

Percentiles

25% of the population earns less than 735,000 TZS whereas 75% earn more.

In contrast to percentiles, a median is a numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half.

What is the median vs average salary?

You are doing well if your wage is greater than the average and median. If you make less than both, there is space for development. The average salary is the mean of all salaries in a group.

The median salary is the point where half make more, and half make less. The difference between the two can be seen as a target to shoot for. If you make more than the median salary, you are doing better than half your coworkers, but not as well as a half.

Therefore, if you want to compare yourself to other people who do similar work as you, then see what they make by looking at the median.

Tanzania’s Annual Average Salary Increase Percentage

What is the average yearly pay increase in Tanzania? How often do workers get compensation increases?

Tanzanian employees may expect an average wage rise of around 8% every 18 months. It is estimated that in 2020, Tanzania’s average wage will rise to around TZN 3,915,000.

There is a growing debate in Tanzania about whether to keep up with inflation and increase the minimum wage by at least 15%.

So far the Tanzanian government has been reluctant to raise the minimum wage due to concerns that it would cause unemployment.

The average salary in Tanzania is higher than its neighboring countries because salaries are set by market forces. To get an estimate of how much you could make, business professionals should talk to executives at multinational corporations doing business in the country.

Industry Annual Increment Rates

Energy – 5%
Banking – 7%
Finance – 8.5%
Construction – 2.8%
Education – 4.1%
Healthcare – 5%
Retailers – 10%
Wholesale – 5.7%
Property Development – 8.5%
Telecommunication – 3.0%

Tanzania Bonus and Incentive Rates

How frequently and how much are bonuses given?

Tanzanian workers get an average bonus twice a year, during the Muslim Eid al-Fitr and the Christian Christmas. Workers who are employed at large companies usually get higher bonuses than those that work for small or medium-sized firms.

The amounts given are also often higher when workers stay with the same company rather than changing jobs frequently.

This company runs different types of factories across Tanzania which produces shoes, tires, batteries, soap, soft drinks etc.

Annual production targets must be met by each factory in order to receive an appraisal bonus defined by performance parameters including sales revenue goals, productivity goals and administrative costs savings goals among others.

Bonuses Types

Individualized Performance Bonuses

These are a type of bonus that is intended to reward employees based on how well they perform in their roles. Individualized Performance Bonuses are typically awarded along with their standard counterparts, at the same time and for the same amount.

However, sometimes companies will offer individualized bonuses purely to reward high-performing individuals without any intention or expectation of additional performance from other staff members.

Performance-based pay

This is can be a good way for employees to know that the company is rewarding them at their highest potential.

The drawback of Individualized Performance Bonuses, on the other hand, is that they can often feel unfair or unjust to employees who do not receive bonuses when others do.

While this is not always the case, it becomes more likely if one particular role has significantly higher responsibilities than another.

Goal-based Rewards

This kind of bonus is a method of motivating employees by incentivizing them with rewards for reaching certain money-related milestones.

Goals can be created around almost any type of product, but since this article discusses monetary incentives it will focus on business areas that are particularly focused on revenue generation or hard costs.

The goals will usually be set in terms of a monetary reward for meeting the goal. However, some organizations use other types of rewards such as gift cards or time off.

Holiday or Year-End Bonus

This is a one-time yearly or seasonal payment that some companies give to employees. It is similar to a gift certificate amounting from $25 up to several thousand dollars, given on a special holiday such as Christmas, New Year’s Day, Hanukkah, Yom Kippur, Eid-ul-Fitr or Diwali.

The purpose of the bonus is usually to reward an employee for good work done over the previous year and the effort towards creating more profitability for the company in order to secure its business in future.

Bonus Rates by Job Title

What qualifies a job for excellent bonuses and a high salary in Tanzania?

Tanzania has a wide range of job markets, which is why salaries and bonuses vary depending on the industry.

Salaries in Tanzania are determined by what you get paid for your work. If your salary is good enough to live comfortably then it’s probably just right. If your salary is low or not what you expected then maybe look at other options. If it’s too high then it may be time to find something else that suits you better.

Generally speaking, jobs with bonuses tend to be more junior or entry-level positions where there’s less responsibility than senior-level positions so more money can go towards the bonus rate. Bonuses are usually an annual thing, not applicable every month.

Seniority Bonus Comparison in Tanzania

Senior workers in Tanzania are people who have worked for their employers long enough to obtain the maximum benefits of a seniority bonus.

This bonus is usually given to employees once they reach a certain point in their employment history, such as five years or ten years.

Seniority bonus is often seen as an incentive for workers to keep working for their employers and may be calculated based on pay rates or monthly salaries.

In Tanzania, there are no laws requiring companies to provide any sort of seniority bonus program for their workers and some companies voluntarily choose to offer this benefit package while others do not.

Employers typically give their employees some extra compensation only if the company is doing well financially and has more profits available that can be dispersed among the workers.

Salary For Popular Jobs

Advertising / Graphic Design / Events

Art Director – 1,340,000 TZS
Creative Director – 1,330,000 TZS
Graphic Designer – 823,000 TZS
Photographer – 746,000 TZS

Architecture

Architect – 1,490,000 TZS
CAD Drafter – 669,000 TZS

Banking

Bank Branch Manager – 2,360,000 TZS
Teller – 494,000 TZSBookkeeper – 702,000 TZS
Finance Manager – 1,620,000 TZS
Accountant – 905,000 TZS
Management Accountant-1,100,000 TZS
Banker – 2,500,000 TZS
Procurement Specialist- 824,000TZS
Business Development Officer – 1,077.286 TZS (entry level)
Cash Management Officer – 776.286 TZS

Marketing / Sales

Marketing Executive- 496.286 Tzs
Marketing Manager – 1,000,000 TZS
Sales Executive- 500,000 TZS

Retail / Wholesale

Cashier – 155.000TZS
Wholesale Officer – 870.000 TZS
Department Head – 1,120.000 TZS
Food and Beverages Sales Clerk- 545.714 TZS
Sales Representative – 815.714 TZS
Retail Sales Assistant- 582.857 TZS

Management / Administration

Customer Service Manager – 1,200.000 TZS
Finance and Management Accountant – 1,100.000 TZS
Executive Secretary- 923.333 TZS
Human Resources Manager -1,400.00 0TZS
Assistant Store Manager- 1,500 000 TZS

Medical Field

Dental Technician- 1,000.000 TZS
Medical Laboratory Technologist – 1,500.000 TZS
Pharmacist –1,400.000 TZS
Physician/ Radiologist- 2,700.000 TZS
Physiotherapist – 3,100.000TZS
Veterinary Doctor- 1,800.000 TZS

Production / Manufacturing / Machinery Operation

Electrical Technician -1 ,800 000 TZS
Mechanical Technician – 800 000 TZS
Production Coordinator- 841.429 TZS
Carpenter/Cooper- 556.429 TZS
Machine Operator – 825.000 TZS
Packaging Operator- 1,050 000 TZS