|
|
|
Background:
|
Burundi's
first democratically elected president was assassinated
in October 1993 after only one hundred days in office.
Since then, some 200,000 Burundians have perished in
widespread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu
and Tutsi factions. Hundreds of thousands have been
internally displaced or have become refugees in
neighboring countries. Burundi troops, seeking to secure
their borders, briefly intervened in the conflict in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. A new
transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001,
signed a power-sharing agreement with the largest rebel
faction in December 2003 and set in place a provisional
constitution in October 2004. Implementation of the
agreement has been problematic, however, as one
remaining rebel group refuses to sign on and elections
have been repeatedly delayed, clouding prospects for a
sustainable peace. |
|
Location:
|
Central
Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
3 30 S,
30 00 E |
|
Map references:
|
Africa
|
|
Area:
|
total:
27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km
water: 2,180 sq km |
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly
smaller than Maryland |
|
Land boundaries:
|
total:
974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the
Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
|
Coastline:
|
0 km
(landlocked) |
|
Maritime claims:
|
none
(landlocked) |
|
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; wet seasons from February to
May and September to November, and dry seasons from June
to August and December to January |
|
Terrain:
|
hilly and
mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains
|
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest
point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Heha 2,670 m |
|
Natural resources:
|
nickel,
uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper,
platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium,
tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone |
|
Land use:
|
arable
land: 35.05%
permanent crops: 14.02%
other: 50.93% (2001) |
|
Irrigated land:
|
740 sq km
(1998 est.) |
|
Natural hazards:
|
flooding,
landslides, drought |
|
Environment - current issues:
|
soil
erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of
agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little
forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of
trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife
populations |
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party
to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
|
Geography - note:
|
landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed;
the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most
remote headstream of the White Nile |
|
Population:
|
6,370,609
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 2005 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14
years: 46% (male 1,479,941/female 1,450,808)
15-64 years: 51.3% (male 1,617,864/female
1,653,331)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 66,199/female
102,466) (2005 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total:
16.6 years
male: 16.27 years
female: 16.95 years (2005 est.) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
2.22%
(2005 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
39.66
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
17.43
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
0
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
|
Sex ratio:
|
at
birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total:
69.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.87 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 62.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
|
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total
population: 50.29 years
male: 49.61 years
female: 50.99 years (2005 est.) |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
5.81
children born/woman (2005 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
6% (2003
est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
250,000
(2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
25,000
(2003 est.) |
|
Major infectious diseases:
|
degree
of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2004) |
|
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.) |
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi
local long form: Republika y'u Burundi
local short form: Burundi
former: Urundi |
|
Government type:
|
republic
|
|
Capital:
|
Bujumbura
|
|
Administrative divisions:
|
16
provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, 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 holiday:
|
Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
|
Constitution:
|
13 March
1992; provided for establishment of a plural political
system; supplanted on 20 October 2004 by a provisional
constitution approved by the parliament which extended
the transition; a 28 February 2005 popular referendum
ratified the new constitution which set ethnic quotas
for government positions, and tentatively scheduled
general elections for April 2005 |
|
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 branch:
|
chief
of state: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30
April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as
president for the second half of the three-year
transitional government inaugurated on 1 November 2001;
Vice President Frederic NGENZEBUHORO (since 11 November
2004)
head of government: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE
(since 30 April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was
sworn in as president for the second half of the
three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1
November 2001; Vice President Frederic NGENZEBUHORO
(since 11 November 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by
president
elections: NA; current president assumed power on
30 April 2003 as part of the transitional government
established by the 2000 Arusha Accord; note - next
presidential election is scheduled for 22 April 2005
|
|
Legislative branch:
|
bicameral, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee
Nationale (expanded from 121 to approximately 140 seats
under the transitional government inaugurated 1 November
2001; members are elected by popular vote to serve
five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; term length is
undefined, the current senators will likely serve out
the three-year transition period)
elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was
scheduled to be held in 1998, but was suspended by
presidential decree in 1996; elections are currently
planned to be held by April 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party -
FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA 21.4%, other 7.56%; seats by
party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16, civilians 27, other
parties 13 |
|
Judicial branch:
|
Supreme
Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of
Appeal (there are three in separate locations);
Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level
and 123 small local tribunals) |
|
Political parties and leaders:
|
the three
national, mainstream, governing parties are: Unity for
National Progress or UPRONA [Jean-Baptiste MANWANGARI,
secretary general]; Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU
[Jean MINANI, president]; National Council for the
Defense of Democracy, Front for the Defense of Democracy
of CNDD-FDD [Pierre NKURUNZIZA, president]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after
1998, included are: National Resistance Movement for the
Rehabilitation of the Citizen or MRC-Rurenzangemero [Epitace
BANYAGANAKANDI]; Party for National Redress or PARENA
[Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
loosely
organized Hutu and Tutsi militias, often affiliated with
Hutu and Tutsi extremist parties or subordinate to
government security forces |
|
International organization participation:
|
ACCT, ACP,
AfDB, AU, CEPGL, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC,
IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador Antoine NTAMOBWA
chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574
FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador James Howard YELLIN
embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura
mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura
telephone: [257] 223454
FAX: [257] 222926 |
|
Flag description:
|
divided
by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and
bottom) and green panels (hoist side and outer 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 - overview:
|
Burundi
is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an
underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is
predominantly agricultural with roughly 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.
Since October 1993 an ethnic-based war has resulted in
more than 200,000 deaths, forced 450,000 refugees into
Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally.
Doubts about the prospects for sustainable peace
continue to impede development. Only one in two children
go to school, and approximately one in ten adults has
HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in
short supply. |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$4.001
billion (2004 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
3% (2004
est.) |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power parity - $600 (2004 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 48.1%
industry: 19%
services: 32.9% (2004 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
2.99
million (2002) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture 93.6%, industry 2.3%, services 4.1% (2002
est.) |
|
Unemployment rate:
|
NA |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
68% (2002
est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest
10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
42.5
(1998) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
8.5%
(2004 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed):
|
10.7% of
GDP (2004 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $152.5 million
expenditures: $187.7 million, including capital
expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products:
|
coffee,
cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, 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 production growth rate:
|
18%
(2001) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
132
million kWh (2002) |
|
Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil
fuel: 0.6%
hydro: 99.4%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001) |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
137.8
million kWh (2002) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh
(2002) |
|
Electricity - imports:
|
15
million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (2002) |
|
Oil - production:
|
0 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption:
|
2,750
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
|
Oil - exports:
|
NA |
|
Oil - imports:
|
NA |
|
Current account balance:
|
$-59.5
million (2004 est.) |
|
Exports:
|
$31.84
million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
|
Exports - commodities:
|
coffee,
tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
|
Exports - partners:
|
Germany
19.6%, Belgium 8.2%, Pakistan 6.7%, US 5.6%, Rwanda
5.6%, Thailand 5.4% (2004) |
|
Imports:
|
$138.2
million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
|
Imports - commodities:
|
capital
goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
|
Imports - partners:
|
Kenya
13.7%, Tanzania 11.2%, US 8.9%, Belgium 8.5%, France
8.4%, Italy 6%, Uganda 5.6%, Japan 4.6%, Germany 4.5%
(2004) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$76.89
million (2004 est.) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$1.133
billion (2002) |
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$92.7
million (2000) |
|
Currency (code):
|
Burundi
franc (BIF) |
|
Currency code:
|
BIF |
|
Exchange rates:
|
Burundi
francs per US dollar - 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003),
930.75 (2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000) |
|
Fiscal year:
|
calendar
year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
23,900
(2003) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
64,000
(2003) |
|
Telephone system:
|
general assessment: primitive 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 broadcast stations:
|
AM 0, FM
4, shortwave 1 (2001) |
|
Radios:
|
440,000
(2001) |
|
Television broadcast stations:
|
1 (2001)
|
|
Televisions:
|
25,000
(1997) |
|
Internet country code:
|
.bi |
|
Internet hosts:
|
22 (2003)
|
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
|
1 (2000)
|
|
Internet users:
|
14,000
(2003) |
|
Highways:
|
total:
14,480 km
paved: 1,028 km
unpaved: 13,452 km (1999 est.) |
|
Waterways:
|
mainly on
Lake Tanganyika (2004) |
|
Ports and harbors:
|
Bujumbura
|
|
Airports:
|
8 (2004
est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total:
1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total:
7
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
|
Military branches:
|
National
Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales, FDN): Army
(includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing), National
Gendarmerie (2005) |
|
Military service age and obligation:
|
16 years
of age for compulsory and voluntary military service
(2001) |
|
Manpower available for military service:
|
males
age 16-49: 1,379,793 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service:
|
males
age 16-49: 693,956 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
|
males:
84,597 (2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$38.7
million (2004) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
6% (2004)
|
|
Disputes - international:
|
Tutsi,
Hutu, other conflicting ethnic groups, 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 internally displaced persons:
|
refugees (country of origin): 60,288 (Democratic
Republic of the Congo)
IDPs: 140,000 (armed conflict between government
and rebels; most IDPs in northern and western Burundi)
(2004) |
|
This page was last updated on
20 October, 2005 |
|
|
| |
|
|
