Tanzania attains lower middle income status five years early

Tanzania moved from low income to lower-middle-income level. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

Tanzania will now have access to international credit markets after the World Bank declared it a lower middle income country. However, this ends its eligibility for low-cost loans and preferential access to regional trading blocs.

Tanzania joined Benin from Africa in moving up the ladder from the low income to lower-middle-income categories after attaining the World Bank's new minimum gross national income (GNI) per capita threshold of $1,036 this year.