A wealth of socio-economic data from different sources exists in Tanzania. Access, however to that data is not easy because information is scattered in different ministries and organizations with no overview of which data exists or where to find it. Furthermore, although comprehensive data is collected e.g. in the area of education and health, only a small portion is published in annual publications with much data remaining in the ministry difficult to access by others.
To address this problem the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in collaboration with over 20 Ministries and Government Institutions and supported by UNDP and UNICEF established the Tanzania Socio-Economic Database ( TSED ). The main purpose of TSED is to allow an overall, up-to-date view of the socio-economic situation in Tanzania and to facilitate use of data for analysis by policy makers and other users.
TSED is web-enabled database, and provides a means of organizing, storing and displaying data in a uniform format to facilitate sharing in Tanzania and outside of Tanzania. TSED has been adapted from the DevInfo database technology used globally to monitor the MDGs, and has simple and user-friendly features that makes data accessible and can be used to produce tables, graphs, reports and maps for inclusion in reports, presentations and advocacy materials.

The TSED initiative is also an important tool for NBS to assert itself as the key institution for data collection, management and dissemination.

The National Bureau of Statistics is responsible for the general administration including overseeing the day to day operations of TSED, data provision, management, quality control and release of data. NBS also provides technical support to the participating Institutions using the database, as well as facilitating the dissemination of results of national surveys such as Household Budget Survey (HBS), Integrated Labour Force Survey (ILFS), Population and Housing Census and other data collected through the routine data systems.
In 2003, TSED was rolled-out to Zanzibar. The Office of Chief Government Statistician under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Zanzibar is coordinating all TSED activities in the Islands.