1988 Edition

Climate

tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)

temperate; warm; occasional frost in uplands

Coastline

3,060 km

Comparative area

nearly as large as Texas

about the size of Maryland

Contiguous zone

24 nm

Continental shelf

edge of continental margin or 200 nm

Environment

subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); deforestation

soil exhaustion; soil erosion; deforestation

Ethnic divisions

68% Burman, 9% Shan, 7% Karen, 4% Raljome, 3% Chinese, 2% Indian, 7% other

Africans — 85% Hutu (Bantu), 14% Tutsi (Hamitic), 1% Twa (Pygmy); other Africans include around 70,000 refugees, mostly Rwandans and Zairians; non-Africans include about 3,000 Europeans and 2,000 South Asians

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Infant mortality rate

96/1,000 (1986)

121/1,000 (1983)

Labor force

14.8 million (est. 1985/86); 66.1% agriculture, 12.0% industry, 10.6% government, 9.7% trade, 1.6% other

about 1.9 million (1983); 93.0% agriculture, 4.0% government, 1.5% industry and commerce, 1.5% services

Land boundaries

5,850 km total

974 km total

Land use

15% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures; 49% forest and woodland; 34% other; includes 2% irrigated

43% arable land; 8% permanent crops; 35% meadows and pastures; 2% forest and woodland; 12% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Language

Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages

Kirundi and French (official); Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)

Life expectancy

57

42.3

Literacy

78%

25%

Nationality

noun — Burmese; adjective — Burmese

noun — Burundian(s); adjective— Burundi

Organized labor

Workers' Asiayone or association (1.8 million members) and Peasants' Asiayone (7.6 million members) integrated into the country's sole political party

sole group is the Union of Burundi Workers (UTB); by charter, membership is extended to all Burundi workers (informally); figures denoting active membership unobtainable

Population

38,822,484 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.08%

5,005,504 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.92%

Religion

85% Buddhist, 15% indigenous beliefs, Muslim, Christian, or other

about 67% Christian (62% Roman Catholic, 5% Protestant), 32% indigenous beliefs, 1% Muslim

Special notes

strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes

landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed

Terrain

central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands

mostly rolling to hilly highland; some plains

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

676,550 km2; land area: 657,740 km2

27,830 km2; land area: 25,650 km2

Administrative divisions

seven divisions (predominantly Burman population) and seven states (based on ethnic minorities), subdivided into townships, village-tracts (rural), and wards (urban)

15 provinces, subdivided into arrondissements and communes according to a 1982 redistricting

Branches

Council of State rules through a Council of Ministers; National Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw or People's Congress) has legislative power

executive (President and Cabinet); judicial; legislature (National Assembly) reestablished in 1982

Capital

Rangoon

Bujumbura

Communists

est. 15,000 (primarily as an insurgent group on the northeast frontier)

no Communist party

Elections

National Assembly and local People's Councils elected in 1985 Political parties and leaders: governmentsponsored Burma Socialist Program Party only legal party; U Ne Win, party chairman

new constitution approved by national referendum in November 1981; election to National Assembly held in October 1982 Political parties and leaders: National Party of Unity and Progress (UPRONA), a Tutsi-led party, declared sole legitimate party in 1966; second national party congress held in 1984; Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza confirmed as party president for five-year term

Government leader

U SAN YU, President and Chairman of Council of State (since November 1981)

Col. Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA, President and Head of State (since 1976)

Legal system

People's Justice system and People's Courts instituted under 1974 constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

based on German and French civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

AfDB, EAMA, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNE SCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

Independence Day, 4 January

Independence Day, 1 July

Official name

Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma

Republic of Burundi

Other political or pressure groups

Kachin Independence Army; Karen Nationalist Union, several Shan factions (all insurgent groups)

Suffrage

universal over age 18 Burma (continued) Burundi

universal adult

Type

republic

republic

Agriculture

accounts for 64% of total employment and about 27% of GDP; main crops — paddy, beans, pulses, maize, oilseeds, sugarcane, peanuts; almost 100% self-sufficient; most rice grown in deltaic land; an illegal producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade

major cash crops — coffee, cotton, tea; main food crops — manioc, yams, peas, corn, sorghum, bananas, haricot beans

Budget

revenues, $3,754 million; expenditures, $4,381 million (FY85/86 est.)

revenues, $121.4 million; expenditures, $146.4 million (1983)

Electric power

826,000 kW capacity; 1,750 million kWh produced, 50 kWh per capita (1986)

34,000 kW capacity; 44 million kWh produced, 9 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$317.27 million (f.o.b., FY85/86); teak and hardwoods, rice, pulses and beans, base metals, ores, marine products, rubber

$83.5 million (1984); coffee (87%), tea, cotton, hides and skins

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

calendar year

Fishing

catch 585,800 metric tons (1983)

GDP

$7.05 billion (in current prices), $190 per capita; real growth rate 6.2%; 7% inflation rate (FY85/86)

$963 million (1984 est), $217 per capita (1985); 3% real growth rate (1983)

Imports

$602.32 million (f.o.b., FY85/86); machinery and transportation equipment, building materials, oil industry equipment

$158 million (1984); textiles, foodstuffs, transport equipment, petroleum products

Major industries

agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products; petroleum refining; mining of copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials

light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imports; public works construction; food processing

Major trade partners

exports — Singapore, Western Europe, China, UK, Japan; imports— Japan, Western Europe, Singapore, UK

US, EC countries

Monetary conversion rate

7.18 kyats=US$l (November 1986)

121.7 Burundi francs=US$ 1 (November 1986)

Natural resources

oil, timber, tin, copper, tungsten, lead, asbestos, some marble, limestone, precious stones; possibly chromium, gypsum

nickel, uranium, rare earth oxide, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited)

Airfields

56 total, 51 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

89 total, 83 usable; 29 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 37 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

8 total, 7 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m

Branches

Army, Air Force

Army, Navy, Air Force

Army (including naval and air units); paramilitary Gendarmerie

Civil air

1 major transport aircraft

17 major transport aircraft (including 3 helicopters)

1 major transport aircraft

Highways

16,500 km total; 1,300 km paved, 7,400 km improved, 7,800 km unimproved

27,000 km total; 3,200 km bituminous, 17,700 km improved earth or gravel, 6,100 km unimproved earth

5,900 km total; 400 km paved, 2,500 km gravel or laterite, 3,000 km improved or unimproved earth

Inland waterways

12,800 km; 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels

Lake Tanganyika; 1 lake port, at Bujumbura, connects to transportation systems of Zaire and Tanzania

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1984, $26.9 million; about 18.1% of central government budget S« refionil m»p VIII and IX

for fiscal year ending 31 March 1987, $249.48 million; about 21.7% of central government budget L Nyanza-Lac,, SttrtfionilmipVII

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1986, $39.3 million; about 18% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 1,772,000; 905,000 fit for military service; no conscription

eligible 15-49, 18,940,000; of the 9,439,000 males 15-49, 5,069,000 are fit for military service; of the 9,501,000 females 15-49, 5,091,000 are fit for military service; 413,000 males and 403,000 females reach military age (18) annually; both sexes are liable for military service

males 15-49, 1,108,000; 580,000 fit for military service; 56,000 reach military age (16) annually

Pipelines

crude, 1,117 km; natural gas, 330km

Ports

4 major, 6 minor

Railroads

1,173 km Ouagadougou to Abidjan (Ivory Coast line); 516 km 1.000meter gauge, single track in Burkina

4,353 km total; all government owned; 3,878 km 1.000-meter gauge, 113 km narrow-gauge industrial lines; 362 km double track

none

Telecommunications

all services only fair; radio-relay, wire, radio communication stations in use; 13,900 telephones (under 0.2 per 100 popl.); 2 AM, 2 FM, 2 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT station Defense Forces

meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service; international service is good; radiobroadcast coverage is limited to the most populous areas; 49,597 telephones (1982/83; 1 per 1,000 popl.); 2 AM, 1 FM, and 1 TV stations (1985); 1 satellite ground station Defense Forces

sparse system of wire and low-capacity radio-relay links; about 6,000 telephones (0.1 per 100 popl.); 2 AM, 2 FM, and 1 TV stations; 1 Indian Ocean satellite ground station Defense Forces