from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Burundi
Introduction
Background: Burundi's first democratically elected president was
assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in
office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between
Hutu and Tutsi factions. Over 200,000 Burundians
perished during the conflict that spanned almost a
dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were
internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring
countries. An internationally brokered power-sharing
agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and
the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition
process that led to an integrated defense force,
established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a
majority Hutu government in 2005. The new government,
led by President Pierre NKURUNZIZA, signed a South
African brokered ceasefire with the country's last
rebel group in the summer of 2006 but still faces many
challenges.
Geography
Location: Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the
Congo
Geographic 3 30 S, 30 00 E
coordinates:
Map Africa
references:
Area: total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km
water: 2,180 sq km
Area - slightly smaller than Maryland
comparative:
Land total: 974 km
boundaries: border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233
km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime none (landlocked)
claims:
Climate: equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude
variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average
annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17
degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the
average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual
rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to
May and September to November), and two dry seasons
(June to August and December to January)
Terrain: hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east,
some plains
Elevation lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
extremes: highest point: Heha 2,670 m
Natural nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt,
resources: copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower,
niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin,
limestone
Land use: arable land: 35.57%
permanent crops: 13.12%
other: 51.31% (2005)
Irrigated 210 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural flooding, landslides, drought
hazards:
Environment - soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the
current expansion of agriculture into marginal lands;
issues: deforestation (little forested land remains because of
uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss
threatens wildlife populations
Environment - party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
international Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
agreements: Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo
note: watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria,
is the most remote headstream of the White Nile
People
Population: 8,090,068
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into
account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS;
this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant
mortality and death rates, lower population and growth
rates, and changes in the distribution of population by
age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006
est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.3% (male 1,884,825/female 1,863,200)
15-64 years: 51.1% (male 2,051,451/female 2,082,017)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 83,432/female 125,143)
(2006 est.)
Median age: total: 16.6 years
male: 16.4 years
female: 16.9 years (2006 est.)
Population 3.7% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 42.22 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 13.46 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration 8.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 63.13 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 70.26 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 55.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 50.81 years
expectancy at male: 50.07 years
birth: female: 51.58 years (2006 est.)
Total 6.55 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 6% (2003 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 250,000 (2003 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - 25,000 (2003 est.)
deaths:
Major degree of risk: very high
infectious food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea,
diseases: hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2005)
Nationality: noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian
Ethnic groups: Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%,
Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000
Religions: Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%),
indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%
Languages: Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along
Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.6%
male: 58.5%
female: 45.2% (2003 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi
local long form: Republique du Burundi/Republika y'u
Burundi
local short form: Burundi
former: Urundi
Government republic
type:
Capital: name: Bujumbura
geographic coordinates: 3 23 S, 29 22 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC
during Standard Time)
Administrative 17 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura
divisions: Rurale, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi,
Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro,
Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi
Independence: 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian
administration)
National Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
holiday:
Constitution: 28 February 2005; ratified by popular referendum
Legal system: based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary
law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult
Executive chief of state: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26
branch: August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA -
Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President
Marina BARAMPAMA - Hutu (since 8 September 2006)
head of government: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since
26 August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA
- Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President
Marina BARAMPAMA - Hutu (since 8 September 2006)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president
elections: the president is elected by popular vote to
a five-year term (eligible for a second term); note -
the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the
post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds
majority of the parliament; vice presidents nominated
by the president, endorsed by parliament
election results: Pierre NKURUNZIZA was elected
president by the parliament by a vote of 151 to 9; note
- the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the
post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds
majority of the legislature
Legislative bicameral Parliament or Parlement, consists of a
branch: National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (minimum 100
seats - 60% Hutu and 40% Tutsi with at least 30% being
women; additional seats appointed by a National
Independent Electoral Commission to ensure ethnic
representation; members are elected by popular vote to
serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; 34 by
indirect vote to serve five year terms, with remaining
seats assigned to ethnic groups and former chiefs of
state)
elections: National Assembly - last held 4 July 2005
(next to be held in 2010); Senate - last held 29 July
2005 (next to be held in 2010)
election results: National Assembly - percent of vote
by party - CNDD-FDD 58.6%, FRODEBU 21.7%, UPRONA 7.2%,
CNDD 4.1%, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2.1%, others 6.2%; seats
by party - CNDD-FDD 59, FRODEBU 25, UPRONA 10, CNDD 4,
MRC-Rurenzangemero 2; Senate - percent of vote by party
- NA%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 30, FRODEBU 3, CNDD 1
Judicial Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court;
branch: Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate
locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the
province level and 123 small local tribunals)
Political the three national, mainstream, governing parties are:
parties and Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Leonce
leaders: NGENDAKUMANA, president]; National Council for the
Defense of Democracy, Front for the Defense of
Democracy or CNDD-FDD [Hussein RADJABU, president];
Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Aloys RUBUKA,
president]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998,
included are: National Council for the Defense of
Democracy or CNDD; National Resistance Movement for the
Rehabilitation of the Citizen or MRC-Rurenzangemero
[Epitace BANYAGANAKANDI]; Party for National Redress or
PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA]
Political none
pressure
groups and
leaders:
International ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD,
organization ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
participation: IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO
(subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Celestin NIYONGABO
representation chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
in the US: Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574
FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia Newton MOLLER
representation embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura
from the US: mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura
telephone: [257] 223454
FAX: [257] 222926
Flag divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top
description: and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and fly side)
with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing
three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged
in a triangular design (one star above, two stars
below)
Economy
Economy - Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an
overview: underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is
predominantly agricultural with more than 90% of the
population dependent on subsistence agriculture.
Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports,
which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The
ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily
on weather conditions and international coffee and tea
prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population,
dominates the government and the coffee trade at the
expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. An
ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade resulted
in more than 200,000 deaths, forced more than 48,000
refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others
internally. Only one in two children go to school, and
approximately one in 10 adults has HIV/AIDS. Food,
medicine, and electricity remain in short supply.
Political stability and the end of the civil war have
improved aid flows and economic activity has increased,
but underlying weaknesses - a high poverty rate, poor
education rates, a weak legal system, and low
administrative capacity - risk undermining planned
economic reforms.
GDP $5.404 billion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $730 million (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 1.1% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $700 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 46.3%
composition by industry: 20.3%
sector: services: 33.4% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 2.99 million (2002)
Labor force - agriculture: 93.6%
by occupation: industry: 2.3%
services: 4.1% (2002 est.)
Unemployment NA%
rate:
Population 68% (2002 est.)
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 1.8%
income or highest 10%: 32.9% (1998)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 33.3 (1998)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 16% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 11.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $215.4 million
expenditures: $278 million; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Agriculture - coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes,
products: bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides
Industries: light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap;
assembly of imported components; public works
construction; food processing
Industrial 18% (2001)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 141.3 million kWh (2003)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 0.6%
production by hydro: 99.4%
source: nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - 141.4 million kWh (2003)
consumption:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2003)
exports:
Electricity - 10 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic
imports: Republic of the Congo (2003)
Oil - 0 bbl/day (2003)
production:
Oil - 3,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: NA bbl/day
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Current $-29 million (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $52 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides
commodities:
Exports - Germany 24.4%, Belgium 11.1%, Netherlands 8%,
partners: Switzerland 5.8%, US 4.6%, Pakistan 4% (2005)
Imports: $200 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs
commodities:
Imports - Kenya 12.9%, Tanzania 10.6%, Belgium 10.4%, Italy 8.1%,
partners: France 5.4%, Uganda 5.3%, China 5%, India 4.1% (2005)
Reserves of $105 million (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $1.2 billion (2003)
external:
Economic aid - $105.5 million (2003)
recipient:
Currency Burundi franc (BIF)
(code):
Currency code: BIF
Exchange Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,138 (2005), 1,100.91
rates: (2004), 1,082.62 (2003), 930.75 (2002), 830.35 (2001)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 27,700 (2004)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 153,000 (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: primitive system
system: domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone
communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay
international: country code - 257; satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 440,000 (2001)
Television 1 (2001)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 25,000 (1997)
Internet .bi
country code:
Internet 160 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 1 (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 25,000 (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 8 (2006)
Airports - total: 1
with paved over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)
runways:
Airports - total: 7
with unpaved 914 to 1,523 m: 4
runways: under 914 m: 3 (2006)
Roadways: total: 14,480 km
paved: 1,028 km
unpaved: 13,452 km (1999)
Waterways: mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2003)
Ports and Bujumbura
terminals:
Military
Military National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales,
branches: FDN): Army (includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing),
National Gendarmerie (being disbanded) (2006)
Military 16 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military
service age service (2001)
and
obligation:
Manpower males age 16-49: 1,676,855
available for females age 16-49: 1,656,366 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 16-49: 955,616
for military females age 16-49: 932,767 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 91,331
reaching females age 16-49: 90,685 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $43.9 million (2005 est.)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 5.6% (2005 est.)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - Tutsi, Hutu, other conflicting ethnic groups,
international: associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various
government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes
region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda in
an effort to gain control over populated and natural
resource areas; government heads pledge to end
conflict, but localized violence continues despite the
presence of about 6,000 peacekeepers from the UN
Operation in Burundi (ONUB) since 2004; although some
150,000 Burundian refugees have been repatriated, as of
February 2005, Burundian refugees still reside in camps
in western Tanzania as well as the Democratic Republic
of the Congo
Refugees and refugees (country of origin): 48,424 (Democratic
internally Republic of the Congo)
displaced IDPs: 145,000 (armed conflict between government and
persons: rebels; most IDPs in northern and western Burundi)
(2005)