Burundi

§1. Burundi Introduction

Background:
  Between 1993 and 2000, wide-spread, often intense ethnic violence between
  Hutu and Tutsi factions in Burundi created hundreds of thousands of
  refugees and left tens of thousands dead. Although some refugees have
  returned from neighboring countries, continued ethnic strife has forced
  many others to flee. Burundian troops, seeking to secure their borders,
  have intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

§2. Burundi Geography

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 kmē
  land: 25,650 kmē
  water: 2,180 kmē

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: Mount Heha 2,670 m

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

Land use:
  arable land: 44%
  permanent crops: 9%
  permanent pastures: 36%
  forests and woodland: 3%
  other: 8% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:
  140 kmē (1993 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, Desertification, Endangered
    Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
  signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Geography - note:
  landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed

§3. Burundi People

Population:
  6,223,897
  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 2001 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46.82% (male 1,472,618; female 1,441,548)
  15-64 years: 50.37% (male 1,541,131; female 1,593,743)
  65 years and over: 2.81% (male 71,984; female 102,873) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:
  2.38% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:
  40.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:
  16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  70.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 46.06 years male: 45.15 years
  female: 46.99 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  6.16 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  11.32% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  360,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  39,000 (1999 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Burundian(s)
  adjective: Burundi

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: 35.3%
  male: 49.3%
  female: 22.5% (1995 est.)

§4. Burundi Government

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 6 June 1998 by a Transitional Constitution which enlarged the
  National Assembly and created two vice presidents

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 Pierre BUYOYA (interim president since 27
    September 1996, officially sworn in 11 June 1998), First Vice President
    Frederic BAMVUGINYUMVIRA (since NA June 1998), Second Vice President
    Mathias SINAMENYE (since NA June 1998); note - the president is both
    chief of state and head of government
  head of government: President Pierre BUYOYA (interim president since 27
    September 1996, officially sworn in 11 June 1998), First Vice President
    Frederic BAMVUGINYUMVIRA (since NA June 1998), Second Vice President
    Mathias SINAMENYE (since NA June 1998); note - the president is both
    chief of state and head of government
  cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president
  elections: NA; current president assumed power following a coup on 25 July
    1996 in which former President NTIBANTUNGANYA was overthrown

Legislative branch:
  unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (121 seats; note - new
  Transitional Constitution expanded the number of seats from 81 to 121 in
  1998; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve
  five-year terms)
  elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in 1998,
    but suspended by presidential decree in 1996)
  election results: percent of vote by party - FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA 21.4%,
    other 7.56%; seats by party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16, various other
    parties 40

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:
  Two national, mainstream governing parties are: Unity for National Progress
    or UPRONA [Luc RUKINGAMA, 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
    NZENZIMANA]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA];
    People's Reconciliation Party or PRP [Mathias HITIMANA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Loosely organized Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Tutsi extremist
  parties

International organization participation:
  ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC,
  ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
  WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas NDIKUMANA 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 Mary Carlin YATES 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)

§5. Burundi Economy

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. Its
  economic health depends on the coffee crop, which accounts for 80% of
  foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports therefore rests
  largely on the vagaries of the climate and the international coffee market.
  Since October 1993 the nation has suffered from massive ethnic-based
  violence which has resulted in the death of perhaps 250,000 persons and the
  displacement of about 800,000 others. Only one in four children go to
  school, and one in nine adults has HIV/AIDS. Foods, medicines, and
  electricity remain in short supply.

GDP:
  purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  1.8% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:
  purchasing power parity - $720 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 50% industry: 18%
  services: 32% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  36.2% (1990 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 26.6% (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  22% (2000 est.)

Labor force:
  1.9 million

Labor force - by occupation:
  NA

Unemployment rate:
  NA%

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
  6.3% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production:
  141 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
  fossil fuel: 0.71% hydro: 99.29%
  nuclear: 0%
  other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:
  160.1 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:
  29 million kWh note: supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    (1999)

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

Exports:
  $32 million (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities:
  coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides

Exports - partners:
  Germany 17%, Belgium 14%, US 8%, France 6%, Switzerland 4% (1999)

Imports:
  $110 million (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities:
  capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
  Belgium 20%, Zambia 11%, Kenya 8%, South Africa 5%, France 4% (1999)

Debt - external:
  $1.12 billion (1999 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $1.344 billion (1999 est.)

Currency:
  Burundi franc (BIF)

Currency code:
  BIF

Exchange rates:
  Burundi francs per US dollar - 782.36 (January 2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56
  (1999), 477.77 (1998), 352.35 (1997), 302.75 (1996)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Burundi Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  16,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  619 (1997)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: primitive system domestic: sparse system of open wire,
    radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
  440,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
  1 (1999)

Televisions:
  25,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
  .bi

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
  1 (2000)

Internet users:
  2,000 (2000)

§7. Burundi Transportation

Railways:
  0 km

Highways:
  total: 14,480 km
  paved: 1,028 km
  unpaved: 13,452 km (1996)

Waterways:
  Lake Tanganyika

Ports and harbors:
  Bujumbura

Airports:
  4 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.)

§8. Burundi Military

Military branches:
  Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie

Military manpower - military age:
  16 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,394,273 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 728,326 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  males: 79,360 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $57 million (FY97)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  6.1% (FY97)

§9. Burundi Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  none
