Is prostitution legal in Tanzania?
Illegal
Selling sex is a criminal offense, though it is widespread.
Tanzania is one of 101 countries classified “Illegal” for sex work — 46% of the 219 with data. (Also searched as prostitution.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Prostitution in Africa
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Burundi
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in Burundi, with recent crackdowns by law enforcement.
- Rwanda
- Illegal Selling sex is illegal for all parties, though a draft decriminalization bill was debated in 2017.
- Malawi
- Legal & regulated Selling sex is legal and prevalent, although living off the proceeds of prostitution is illegal.
- Uganda
- Illegal Selling sex is illegal under the 1950 Penal Code.
- Kenya
- Varies by region National law does not criminalize selling sex, but municipal by-laws like Nairobi's ban make it illegal in specific areas.
- Zambia
- Legal & regulated Selling sex is legal, while soliciting and procuring are prohibited.
Other laws in Tanzania
- Same-Sex Activity
- Illegal
- Pornography
- Illegal
- Divorce
- Heavily restricted
- Incest Laws
- Criminal offense
- Marriage Age
- 18+
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.