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Communications

Airports [time series]

total: 5 usable: 4 with permanent-surface runways: 1 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 4

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 microwave radio relay links; 8,000 telephones; broadcast 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]

exchange rate conversion - $28 million, 3.7% of GDP (1989)

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 1,283,308; fit for military service 670,381; reach military age (16) annually 62,700 (1993 est.)

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 $318 million; expenditures $326 million, including capital expenditures of $150 million (1991 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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 (1970-89), $10.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $32 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $175 million

Electricity [time series]

55,000 kW capacity; 105 million kWh produced, 20 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates [time series]

Burundi francs (FBu) per US$1 - 235.75 (January 1993), 208.30 (1992), 181.51 (1991), 171.26 (1990), 158.67 (1989), 140.40 (1988)

Exports [time series]

$91.7 million (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: coffee 81%, tea, hides, and skins partners: EC 83%, US 5%, Asia 2%

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$1 billion (1990 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Imports [time series]

$246 million (c.i.f., 1991) 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 11.0% (1991 est.); accounts for about 5% 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]

9% (1991 est.)

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

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.23 billion (1991 est.)

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$205 (1991 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

5% (1991 est.)

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. As part of its economic reform agenda, launched in February 1991 with IMF and World Bank support, Burundi is trying to diversify its agricultural exports and attract foreign investment in industry. Several state-owned coffee companies were privatized via public auction in September 1991.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA%

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 27,830 km2 land area: 25,650 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Climate [time series]

temperate; warm; occasional frost in uplands

Coastline [time series]

0 km (landlocked)

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

soil exhaustion; soil erosion; deforestation

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

none

Irrigated land [time series]

720 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

total 974 km, 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%

Location [time series]

Central Africa, between Tanzania and Zaire

Map references [time series]

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

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

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

Constitution [time series]

13 March 1992 draft provides for establishment of plural political system

Digraph [time series]

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

chief of mission: Ambassador Julien KAVAKURE chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: (202) 342-2574

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

National Assembly: note - The National Unity Charter outlining the principles for constitutional government was adopted by a national referendum on 5 February 1991; new elections to the National Assembly are to take place 29 June 1993; presidential elections are to take place 1 June 1993

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)

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: President Major 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

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

Country name (Names) [time series]

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

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), Nicolas MAYUGI, secretary general; note: although Burundi is still officially a one-party state, at least four political parties were formed in 1991 and set the precedent for constitutional reform in 1992 - Burundi Democratic Front (FRODEBU), Organization of the People of Burundi (RPB), Socialist Party of Burundi (PSB), Royalist Parliamentary Party (PRP) - the most significant opposition party is FRODEBU, led by Melchior NDADAYE; the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People (PALIPEHUTU), formed in exile in the early 1980s, is an ethnically based political party dedicated to majority rule; the government has long accused PALIPEHUTU of practicing devisive ethnic politics and fomenting violence against the state; PALIPEHUTU's exclusivist charter makes it an unlikely candidate for legalization under the new constitution that will require party membership open to all ethnic groups

Suffrage [time series]

universal adult at age NA

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Cynthia Shepherd PERRY embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] (223) 454 FAX: [257] (222) 926

People

Birth rate [time series]

44.69 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate [time series]

21.25 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

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: Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000

Infant mortality rate [time series]

115.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force [time series]

1.9 million (1983 est.) by occupation: agriculture 93.0%, government 4.0%, industry and commerce 1.5%, services 1.5% note: 52% of population of working age (1985)

Languages [time series]

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

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 40.75 years male: 38.79 years female: 42.76 years (1993 est.)

Literacy [time series]

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 50% male: 61% female: 40%

Nationality [time series]

noun: Burundian(s) adjective: Burundi

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population [time series]

5,985,308 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

2.34% (1993 est.)

Religions [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

6.76 children born/woman (1993 est.)