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Communications

Airports [time series]

8 total, 7 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220 to 2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

1 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

Lake Tanganyika

Ports [time series]

Bujumbura (lake port) connects to transportation systems of Tanzania and Zaire

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

sparse system of wire, radiocommunications, and low-capacity radio relay links; 8,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army (includes naval and air units); paramilitary Gendarmerie

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$33 million, 3.1% of GDP (1988)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 1,268,342; 661,888 fit for military service; 64,538 reach military age (16) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for 60% of GDP; 90% of population dependent on subsistence farming; marginally self-sufficient in food production; cash crops--coffee, cotton, tea; food crops--corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc; livestock--meat, milk, hides, and skins

Budget [time series]

revenues $158 million; expenditures $204 million, including capital expenditures of $131 million (1989 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Burundi franc (plural--francs); 1 Burundi franc (FBu) = 100 centimes

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $71 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $10.1 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $32 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $175 million

Electricity [time series]

51,000 kW capacity; 105 million kWh produced, 19 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

Burundi francs (FBu) per US$1--163.29 (January 1991), 171.26 (1990), 158.67 (1989), 140.40 (1988), 123.56 (1987), 114.17 (1986), 120.69 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$81 million (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--coffee 88%, tea, hides, and skins; partners--EC 83%, US 5%, Asia 2%

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$957 million (December 1990 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$1.1 billion, per capita $200; real growth rate 1.5% (1989)

Imports [time series]

$197 million (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--capital goods 31%, petroleum products 15%, foodstuffs, consumer goods; partners--EC 57%, Asia 23%, US 3%

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

real growth rate 5.1% (1986); accounts for about 10% of GDP

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

11.7% (1989)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

A landlocked, resource-poor country in an early stage of economic development, Burundi is predominately agricultural with only a few basic industries. Its economic health depends on the coffee crop, which accounts for an average 90% of foreign exchange earnings each year. The ability to pay for imports therefore continues to rest largely on the vagaries of the climate and the international coffee market.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA%

Geography

Climate [time series]

temperate; warm; occasional frost in uplands

Coastline [time series]

none--landlocked

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than Maryland

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

soil exhaustion; soil erosion; deforestation

Land boundaries [time series]

974 km total; Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km, Zaire 233 km

Land use [time series]

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

Maritime claims [time series]

none--landlocked

Natural resources [time series]

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

Note [time series]

landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed

Terrain [time series]

mostly rolling to hilly highland; some plains

Area (Total area) [time series]

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

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Bujumbura

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

no Communist party

Constitution [time series]

20 November 1981; suspended following the coup of 3 September 1987; referendum for a new constitution scheduled for March 1992

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Julien KAVAKURE; Chancery at Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone (202) 342-2574; US--Ambassador Cynthia Shepherd PERRY; Embassy at Avenue du Zaire, Bujumbura (mailing address is B. P. 1720, Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura); telephone 234-54 through 56

Executive branch [time series]

president; chairman of the Central Committee of the National Party of Unity and Progress (UPRONA), prime minister

Flag [time series]

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)

Independence [time series]

1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court (Cour Supreme) Chief of State--President Pierre BUYOYA (since 9 September 1987); Head of Government Prime Minister Adrien SIBOMANA (since 26 October 1988)

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) was dissolved following the coup of 3 September 1987; at an extraordinary party congress held from 27 to 29 December 1990, the Central Committee of the National Party of Unity and Progress (UPRONA) replaced the Military Committee for National Salvation, and became the supreme governing body during the transition to constitutional government

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Burundi

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

only party--National Party of Unity and Progress (UPRONA), President Pierre BUYOYA, chairman, and Nicolas MAYUGI, secretary general

Suffrage [time series]

universal adult at age NA National Assembly--dissolved after the coup of 3 September 1987; note--The National Unity Charter outlining the principles for constitutional government was adopted by a national referendum on 5 February 1991

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

47 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

15 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

109 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

1,900,000 (1983 est.); agriculture 93.0%, government 4.0%, industry and commerce 1.5%, services 1.5; 52% of population of working age (1985)

Languages (Language) [time series]

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

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

50 years male, 54 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

50% (male 61%, female 40%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun--Burundian(s); adjective--Burundi

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

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

Population [time series]

5,831,233 (July 1991), growth rate 3.2% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

6.9 children born/woman (1991)