Abstract:

Tanzania is an important part of China's 'the Belt and Road' strategy, and China has become the largest trade partner of Tanzania. For the extensive cooperation in infrastructure, housing and public services, spatial pattern of population in Tanzania aroused broad attention. Based on the national census and regional statistics data of Tanzania, population density analysis, distribution concentration index, gravity center model, and population growth shift model were used to analyze Tanzania's population spatial distribution pattern and evolution since its economic reform in the late 1980s. The results shows that: (1) Divided by the central railway line, the population of Tanzania showed a characteristic of sparse distribution in the south and dense distribution in the north; (2) There was a growing trend of uneven population distribution during the period of 1988-2012. The population gravity center was always in the central-north region and had a tendency to continue to move northward; (3) Population movement to urban areas was the major process of population redistribution. The capacity of core cities in attracting migrants was growing. The Dar Es Salaam region experienced most rapid population growth that led to significant negative population growth shift in its surrounding areas; (4) Infrastructure such as railways and ports had evident effect on population agglomeration.

Key words: population distribution, evolution of spatial pattern, population growth shift model, Tanzania, the Belt and Road