Tanzania returns to the World Bank’s top GovTech tier as digital government systems deepen

DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzania has again been placed among the world’s most digitally mature public sectors after the World Bank classified the country in the top tier of its GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI) 2025, a result government officials say reflects steady progress in how public institutions use ICT to improve services and citizen engagement.

According to the World Bank’s GTMI 2025 assessment, Tanzania is listed in Group A — Extensive GovTech Maturity, a category reserved for countries considered highly advanced in the use of technology across government operations and service delivery. The index assesses GovTech maturity across countries by examining whether the foundations are in place and working in practice — including policies, laws, guidelines, digital systems, and implementation — with the 2025 report noted as having been released in December 2025.

This is the second time Tanzania has been recognised by the World Bank for progress in GovTech maturity. In the earlier GTMI cycle referenced in the same national summary, Tanzania was identified among top global performers in 2022. In that study covering 198 countries, Tanzania reportedly rose from rank 90 in 2021 to rank 26 in 2022, moving from Group B to Group A. In Africa, Tanzania ranked second after Mauritius and was described as leading East Africa.

Regionally, the GTMI 2025 outcome is framed as a continental marker. The summary notes that Tanzania is one of only five African countries placed in the highest GovTech maturity group, alongside Kenya, Egypt, Uganda and Rwanda. For Tanzania’s public sector, the key point is not the label itself, but what the World Bank’s framework rewards: a government building digital services through a coordinated national approach rather than scattered institutional projects.

The GTMI 2025 framework highlighted in the summary assesses four main areas: Core Government Systems, Online Public Service Delivery, Digital Citizen Engagement, and GovTech Enablers. The summary links Tanzania’s progress strongly to the first area, arguing that the country’s maturity is driven substantially by the existence and use of core systems that support day-to-day government administration and enforce consistency.

Core Government Systems cited include platforms for managing public servants and payroll, such as the Human Capital Information Management System (HCIMS), as well as recruitment systems such as the Ajira Portal. The summary also emphasises interoperability — the ability of systems from different public institutions to connect and exchange information — as a central technical and governance priority.

A key interoperability platform highlighted is the Government Enterprise Service Bus (GovESB), described as an important backbone enabling systems across public institutions to “read” each other and exchange data securely and efficiently. The summary states that this approach reduces duplication of information, speeds up service delivery, and strengthens accountability. In public administration terms, interoperability is what prevents digital government from becoming a collection of isolated portals: it enables verification, data-sharing, and consistent workflows across institutions.

Citizen participation and feedback is addressed through Digital Citizen Engagement. The summary notes that Tanzania is taking concrete steps to build systems that enable citizens to participate actively in governance, citing e-Mrejesho as a key tool connecting citizens with government. The platform is presented as enabling citizens to submit opinions, complaints, advice and compliments, and to receive feedback in a timely manner — an approach the summary argues strengthens transparency, accountability and public trust.

The enabling environment is presented as another driver of maturity. Under GovTech Enablers, the summary credits national policies, laws, regulations, standards and e-Government guidelines as catalysts for progress, stating that these structures have enabled government to invest in and manage ICT projects under a unified national direction.

The summary also points to the expansion of online service delivery through platforms such as the Government e-Payment Gateway (GePG), the National e-Procurement System (NeST), and local government service platforms such as TAUSI, arguing that online delivery has improved access, efficiency and affordability for citizens.

Commenting on the assessment, Eng. Benedict Ndomba, Director General of the e-Government Authority (e-GA), said the result reflects a national direction supported by verification. “This achievement is evidence that the country is on the right path in building a digital government,” he said, adding: “The World Bank conducted this study for about a year while collecting evidence and various records on the use of ICT in government across different countries.”

Ndomba urged public institutions to continue implementing ICT projects in line with national laws, regulations, standards and guidelines, strengthen citizen engagement systems, and integrate institutional platforms through GovESB. The operational message is that maturity depends on discipline: consistent compliance, connected systems, and sustained use — not only launches.