Agriculture is by far Tanzania's most important economic sector, in terms of both employment provision and contribution to GDP. Unfortunately, the large degree of dependency on this sector renders the Tanzanian economy particularly vulnerable to adverse weather conditions and unfavorable prices in international primary commodity markets. The exceptionally low level of industrial development makes the negative economic impacts associated with agricultural dependency all the more severe.
Industry and mining are relatively small areas of economic activity, though many observers, such as the U.S. State Department, believe that the mining sector offers important prospects for economic growth.