Edition 2003 — Burundi — World Factbook

Administrative divisions

16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi

Age structure

0-14 years: 46.7% (male 1,438,759; female 1,409,567) 15-64 years: 50.6% (male 1,516,833; female 1,564,513) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 66,355; female 100,129) (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products

coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides

Airports

7 (2002)

Airports - with paved runways

over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)
total: 1

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 3 (2002) Military Burundi

Area

land: 25,650 sq km
total: 27,830 sq km
water: 2,180 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Maryland

Background

Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only four months 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, intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. More recently, many of these troops have been redeployed back to Burundi to deal with periodic upsurges in rebel activity. A new transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001, was to be the first step toward holding national elections in three years. While the Government of Burundi signed a cease-fire agreement in December 2002 with three of Burundi's four Hutu rebel groups, implementation of the agreement has been problematic and one rebel group refuses to sign on, clouding prospects for a sustainable peace. Geography Burundi

Birth rate

39.72 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Budget

expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
revenues: $125 million

Capital

Bujumbura

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Constitution

13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political system; supplanted on 6 June 1998 by a Transitional Constitution which enlarged the National Assembly and created two vice presidents

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi
former: Urundi
local long form: Republika y'u Burundi
local short form: Burundi

Currency

Burundi franc (BIF)

Currency code

BIF

Death rate

17.8 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Debt - external

$1.14 billion (2001)

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

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
chief of mission: Ambassador Antoine NTAMOBWA

Disputes - international

Tutsi, Hutu, and 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 to gain control over populated and natural resource areas; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

Distribution of family income - Gini index

42.5 (1998)

Economic aid - recipient

$92.7 million (2000)

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 the death of over 200,000 persons, sent 800,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 525,000 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.

Electricity - consumption

177.5 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports

33 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001)

Electricity - production

155.4 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 0.6%
hydro: 99.4%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Elevation extremes

highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m

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, Nuclear Test Ban

Ethnic groups

Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000

Exchange rates

Burundi francs per US dollar - NA (2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 447.77 (1998)

Executive branch

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president
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 Alphonse KADEGE (since 30 April 2003); note - from the Tutsi minority
elections: NA; current president assumed power on 30 April 2003 as part of the transitional government established by the 2000 Arusha Accord
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 Alphonse KADEGE (since 30 April 2003); note - from the Tutsi minority

Exports

$26 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities

coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides

Exports - partners

Switzerland 28.8%, Germany 20.2%, Belgium 9.4%, Kenya 7.8%, Rwanda 6.5%, Netherlands 4.6% (2002)

FAX

[1] (202) 342-2578; [257] 222926
telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications Burundi

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 Burundi

GDP

purchasing power parity - $3.146 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 50%
industry: 19%
services: 31% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $500 (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.5% (2002 est.)

Geographic coordinates

3 30 S, 30 00 E

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 People Burundi

Government type

republic

Highways

paved: 1,028 km
total: 14,480 km
unpaved: 13,452 km (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

8.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

40,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

390,000 (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

highest 10%: 32.9% (1998)
lowest 10%: 1.8%

Imports

$135 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities

capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs

Imports - partners

Belgium 12.4%, Saudi Arabia 12.3%, Tanzania 9.3%, Kenya 7.7%, France 7.4%, India 4.5% (2002)

Independence

1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)

Industrial production growth rate

18% (2001)

Industries

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

Infant mortality rate

female: 64.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 78.45 deaths/1,000 live births
total: 71.54 deaths/1,000 live births

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

12% (2002 est.)

International organization participation

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Internet country code

.bi

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

1 (2000)

Internet users

6,000 (2002) Transportation Burundi

Irrigated land

740 sq km (1998 est.)

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)

Labor force

3.7 million (2000)

Labor force - by occupation

NA

Land boundaries

border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km
total: 974 km

Land use

arable land: 29.98%
other: 57.17% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 12.85%

Languages

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

Legal system

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

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)
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
elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in 1998, but was suspended by presidential decree in 1996; elections are planned to follow the completion of the three-year transitional government)

Life expectancy at birth

female: 43.88 years (2003 est.)
male: 42.54 years
total population: 43.2 years

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
female: 45.2% (2003 est.) Government Burundi
male: 58.5%
total population: 51.6%

Location

Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Median age

female: 16.7 years (2002)
male: 15.9 years
total: 16.3 years

Military branches

Army (including naval and air units), Gendarmerie

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$42.13 million (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

5.3% (FY02) Transnational Issues Burundi

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 1,375,900 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 723,516 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - military age

16 years of age (2003 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males: 79,462 (2003 est.)

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Nationality

adjective: Burundian
noun: Burundian(s)

Natural hazards

flooding, landslides, drought

Natural resources

nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower

Net migration rate

-0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption

2,750 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports

NA (2001)

Oil - imports

NA (2001)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Political parties and leaders

the two national, mainstream, governing parties are: Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Alphonse KADEGE, president]; Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Jean MINANI, president]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation or ABASA [Terrence NSANZE]; Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development or RADDES [Joseph NZEYIMANA]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA]; People's Reconciliation Party or PRP [Mathias HITIMANA]

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

Population

6,096,156
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 2003 est.)

Population below poverty line

70% (2002 est.)

Population growth rate

2.18% (2003 est.)

Ports and harbors