Tanzania has experienced strong and rapid economic growth, with its annual GDP growth averaging around seven percent in the last decade. It is expected that this growth trajectory will be sustained with the discovery of natural gas deposits. Tanzania is urbanizing rapidly and its economic development is and will be shaped by its rapid urbanization and its emerging role as a regional hub.

The Tanzania Country Economic Memorandum 2014 emphasized the importance of cities in the economic growth of the country as they are driving the growth of non-farm businesses and can be the gateways to export markets that Tanzania needs to grow.