| Burundi |
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| 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. More than 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 September of 2006 but still faces many challenges. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: Bujumbura
geographic coordinates: 3 23 S, 29 22 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 27,830 sq km |
| Area Land: 25,650 sq km |
| Area Water: 2,180 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Coastline: 0 km (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; 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 Extremes Lowest Point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m |
| Elevation Extremes 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: 35.57% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 13.12% |
| Land Use Other: 51.31% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: 210 sq km (2003) |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Population: 8,390,505
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 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 46.3% (male 1,951,879/female 1,930,371) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 51.2% (male 2,131,759/female 2,162,093) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 2.6% (male 85,522/female 128,881) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 16.7 years |
| Median Age Male: 16.4 years |
| Median Age Female: 16.9 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 3.593% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 41.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 13.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.03 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.011 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 0.986 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.664 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 61.93 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 68.91 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 54.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 51.29 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 50.48 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 52.12 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 6.48 children born/woman (2007 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.) |
| 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 |
| Literacy Total Population: 51.6% |
| Literacy Male: 58.5% |
| Literacy Female: 45.2% (2003 est.) |
| Administrative Divisions: 17 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rurale, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi |
| Legal System: based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Economy |
| Overview: Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an 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 15 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. Burundi grew about 5 percent in 2006. Delayed disbursements of funds from the World Bank may add to budget pressures in 2007. Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $5.744 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 5% (2006 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 44.9% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 20.9% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 34.1% (2006 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% |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998) |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 11% (2006 est.) |
| Industries: light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: 18% (2001) |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 137 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 0.6% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 99.4% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 157.4 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Exports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 30 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2004) |
| Oil Production: 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil Consumption: 3,100 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: $55.68 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
| Exports Partners: Germany 24.6%, Belgium 11.2%, Netherlands 8.1%, Switzerland 5.9%, US 4.7% (2005) |
| Imports: $207.3 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
| Imports Partners: Kenya 17.1%, Tanzania 10%, Belgium 9.9%, Italy 7.7%, France 5.1%, Uganda 5%, China 4.7% (2005) |
| Debt External: $1.2 billion (2003) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $105.5 million (2003) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 27,700 (2004) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 153,000 (2005) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: primitive system |
| Telephone System Domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay |
| Telephone System 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 Service Providers-ISPs: 1 (2000) |
| Internet Users: 25,000 (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Waterways: mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2003) |
| Airports: 8 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: 5.9% (2006 est.) |
| Disputes International: conflicts among Tutsi, Hutu, other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces have abated somewhat in the Great Lakes region; UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) completed its mandate in December 2006 after a three-year peace-keeping mission |
Refugees And Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 20,359 (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
IDPs: 100,000 (armed conflict between government and rebels; most IDPs in northern and western Burundi) (2006) |