ARCHIVE // BI // 2008
Burundi
2008 Edition — sovereign
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Communications
Internet country code
[time series]
.bi
Internet users
(Internet hosts)
[time series]
162 (2008)
Internet users
[time series]
60,000 (2006)
Broadcast media
(Radio broadcast stations)
[time series]
AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001)
Telecommunication systems
(Telephone system)
[time series]
general assessment: primitive system; telephone density one of the lowest in the world; fixed-line connections stand at well less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage is increasing but remains at a meager 3 per 100 persons domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay international: country code - 257; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2007)
Telephones - fixed lines
(Telephones - main lines in use)
[time series]
35,000 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular
[time series]
250,000 (2007)
Broadcast media
(Television broadcast stations)
[time series]
1 (2001)
Economy
Agricultural products
(Agriculture - products)
[time series]
coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides
Budget
[time series]
revenues: $264.2 million expenditures: $335.4 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate
[time series]
10.12% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate
[time series]
16.84% (31 December 2007)
Exchange rates
(Currency (code))
[time series]
Burundi franc (BIF)
Current account balance
[time series]
-$101 million (2007 est.)
Debt - external
[time series]
$1.2 billion (2003)
Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income
(Distribution of family income - Gini index)
[time series]
42.4 (1998)
Economic overview
(Economy - overview)
[time series]
Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with more than 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. An ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced more than 48,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15 adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. Burundi's GDP grew around 5% annually in 2006-07. Political stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and economic activity has increased, but underlying weaknesses - a high poverty rate, poor education rates, a weak legal system, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms. Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors; the delay of funds after a corruption scandal cut off bilateral aid in 2007 reduced government's revenues and its ability to pay salaries.
Electricity - consumption
[time series]
120.9 million kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports
[time series]
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports
[time series]
40 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2007 est.)
Electricity - production
[time series]
87 million kWh (2006 est.)
Exchange rates
[time series]
Burundi francs (BIF) per US dollar - 1,065 (2007), 1,030 (2006), 1,138 (2005), 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003)
Exports
[time series]
$44 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities
[time series]
coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides
Exports - partners
[time series]
Germany 31.3%, Pakistan 6.8%, Belgium 5.8%, Sweden 4.3%, Rwanda 4.3%, France 4.2%, Sudan 4% (2007)
GDP (official exchange rate)
[time series]
$1.001 billion (2007 est.)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
(GDP (purchasing power parity))
[time series]
$2.907 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin
(GDP - composition by sector)
[time series]
agriculture: 33.7% industry: 20.9% services: 45.4% (2007 est.)
Real GDP per capita
(GDP - per capita (PPP))
[time series]
$300 (2007 est.)
Real GDP growth rate
(GDP - real growth rate)
[time series]
3.6% (2007 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
[time series]
lowest 10%: 1.7% highest 10%: 32.8% (1998)
Imports
[time series]
$272 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities
[time series]
capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs
Imports - partners
[time series]
Saudi Arabia 17%, Kenya 11.4%, Belgium 8.7%, France 6.1%, Uganda 5.4%, Germany 5.4%, India 4.8%, Pakistan 4.2% (2007)
Industrial production growth rate
[time series]
6.4% (2007 est.)
Industries
[time series]
light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
[time series]
8.3% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)
[time series]
24.4% of GDP (2007 est.)
Labor force
[time series]
2.99 million (2002)
Labor force - by occupation
[time series]
agriculture: 93.6% industry: 2.3% services: 4.1% (2002 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares
[time series]
$NA
Natural gas - consumption
[time series]
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports
[time series]
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports
[time series]
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - production
[time series]
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves
[time series]
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Oil - consumption
[time series]
2,956 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports
[time series]
0 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports
[time series]
2,635 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - production
[time series]
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - proved reserves
[time series]
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
[time series]
$177.1 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of domestic credit
[time series]
$342 million (31 December 2007)
Stock of narrow money
(Stock of money)
[time series]
$208.7 million (31 December 2007)
Stock of narrow money
(Stock of quasi money)
[time series]
$141 million (31 December 2007)
Unemployment rate
[time series]
NA%
Geography
Area
[time series]
total: 27,830 sq km land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km
Area - comparative
[time series]
slightly smaller than Maryland
Climate
[time series]
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; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January)
Coastline
[time series]
0 km (landlocked)
Elevation
(Elevation extremes)
[time series]
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m highest point: Heha 2,670 m
Environment - current issues
[time series]
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
International environmental agreements
(Environment - international agreements)
[time series]
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Total water withdrawal
(Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural))
[time series]
total: 0.29 cu km/yr (17%/6%/77%) per capita: 38 cu m/yr (2000)
Geographic coordinates
[time series]
3 30 S, 30 00 E
Geography - note
[time series]
landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile
Irrigated land
[time series]
210 sq km (2003)
Land boundaries
[time series]
total: 974 km border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km
Land use
[time series]
arable land: 35.57% permanent crops: 13.12% other: 51.31% (2005)
Location
[time series]
Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Map references
[time series]
Africa
Maritime claims
[time series]
none (landlocked)
Natural hazards
[time series]
flooding, landslides, drought
Natural resources
[time series]
nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone
Terrain
[time series]
hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains
Total renewable water resources
[time series]
3.6 cu km (1987)
Government
Administrative divisions
[time series]
17 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rurale, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi
Capital
[time series]
name: Bujumbura geographic coordinates: 3 22 S, 29 21 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Constitution
[time series]
28 February 2005; ratified by popular referendum
Country name
[time series]
conventional long form: Republic of Burundi conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republique du Burundi/Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi
Diplomatic representation from the US
[time series]
chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia Newton MOLLER embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] 223454 FAX: [257] 222926
Diplomatic representation in the US
[time series]
chief of mission: Ambassador Celestin NIYONGABO chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578
Executive branch
[time series]
chief of state: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Yves SAVINGUVU - Tutsi (since 9 November 2007); Second Vice President Gabriel NTISEZERANA - Hutu (since 9 February 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Yves SAVINGUVU - Tutsi (since 9 November 2007); Second Vice President Gabriel NTISEZERANA - Hutu (since 9 February 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the parliament; vice presidents nominated by the president, endorsed by parliament election results: Pierre NKURUNZIZA was elected president by the parliament by a vote of 151 to 9; note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the legislature
Flag
(Flag description)
[time series]
divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and fly 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)
Government type
[time series]
republic
Independence
[time series]
1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
International organization participation
[time series]
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, EAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Judicial branch
[time series]
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; High Court of Justice (composed of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court)
Legal system
[time series]
based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
[time series]
bicameral Parliament or Parlement, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (minimum 100 seats, 60% Hutu and 40% Tutsi with at least 30% being women; additional seats appointed by a National Independent Electoral Commission to ensure ethnic representation; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; 34 members elected by indirect vote to serve five-year terms, with remaining seats assigned to ethnic groups and former chiefs of state) elections: National Assembly - last held 4 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010); Senate - last held 29 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CNDD-FDD 58.6%, FRODEBU 21.7%, UPRONA 7.2%, CNDD 4.1%, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2.1%, others 6.2%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 59, FRODEBU 25, UPRONA 10, CNDD 4, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 30, FRODEBU 3, CNDD 1
National holiday
[time series]
Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
Political parties
(Political parties and leaders)
[time series]
governing parties: Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Leonce NGENDAKUMANA]; National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Front for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD-FDD [Jeremie NGENDAKUMANA]; Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Aloys RUBUKA] note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: National Council for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD [Leonard NYANGOMA]; National Resistance Movement for the Rehabilitation of the Citizen or MRC-Rurenzangemero [Epitace BANYAGANAKANDI]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA]
Political parties
(Political pressure groups and leaders)
[time series]
Observatoire de lutte contre la corruption et les malversations economiques or OLUCOME [Gabriel RUFYIRI] (anti-corruption pressure group) other: Hutu and Tutsi militias (loosely organized)
Suffrage
[time series]
NA years of age; universal (adult)
Introduction
Background
[time series]
Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. More than 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005. The new government, led by President Pierre NKURUNZIZA, signed a South African brokered ceasefire with the country's last rebel group in September of 2006 but still faces many challenges.
Military
Manpower available for military service
[time series]
males age 16-49: 1,878,544 females age 16-49: 1,851,676 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
[time series]
males age 16-49: 1,083,899 females age 16-49: 1,062,488 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually
[time series]
male: 98,105 female: 98,533 (2008 est.)
Military and security forces
(Military branches)
[time series]
National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales, FDN): Army (includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing), Gendarmerie (2008)
Military expenditures
[time series]
5.9% of GDP (2006 est.)
Military service age and obligation
[time series]
16 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; children as young as 10 years of age have been conscripted into the armed forces; the enrollment of children is still not prohibited (2007)
People
Age structure
[time series]
0-14 years: 46.3% (male 2,021,320/female 1,998,502) 15-64 years: 51.2% (male 2,210,157/female 2,240,921) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 87,600/female 132,505) (2008 est.)
Birth rate
[time series]
41.72 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate
[time series]
12.91 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Education expenditure
(Education expenditures)
[time series]
5.1% of GDP (2005)
Ethnic groups
[time series]
Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
[time series]
6% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
[time series]
25,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
[time series]
250,000 (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate
[time series]
total: 60.77 deaths/1,000 live births male: 67.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 53.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Languages
[time series]
Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
Life expectancy at birth
[time series]
total population: 51.71 years male: 50.86 years female: 52.6 years (2008 est.)
Literacy
[time series]
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 59.3% male: 67.3% female: 52.2% (2000 est.)
Major infectious diseases
[time series]
degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria (2008)
Median age
[time series]
total: 16.7 years male: 16.4 years female: 17 years (2008 est.)
Nationality
[time series]
noun: Burundian(s) adjective: Burundian
Net migration rate
[time series]
5.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Population
[time series]
8,691,005 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)
Population growth rate
[time series]
3.443% (2008 est.)
Religions
[time series]
Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
[time series]
total: 7 years male: 8 years female: 7 years (2006)
Sex ratio
[time series]
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate
[time series]
6.4 children born/woman (2008 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international
[time series]
Burundi and Rwanda dispute sections of border on the Akanyaru/Kanyaru and the Kagera/Nyabarongo rivers, which have changed course since the 1960s, when the boundary was delimited; cross-border conflicts among Tutsi, Hutu, other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces persist in the Great Lakes region
Refugees and internally displaced persons
[time series]
refugees (country of origin): 9,849 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) IDPs: 100,000 (armed conflict between government and rebels; most IDPs in northern and western Burundi) (2007)
Trafficking in persons
[time series]
current situation: Burundi is a source country for children trafficked for the purposes of child soldiering, domestic servitude, and commercial sexual exploitation; a small number of Burundian children may be trafficked internally for domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation; in early 2008, Burundian children were allegedly trafficked to Uganda, via Rwanda, for agricultural labor and commercial sexual exploitation tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Burundi is on the Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year for its failure to provide sufficient evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2007; the government's inability to provide adequate protective services to children accused of association with armed groups and to conduct anti-trafficking law enforcement activities continue to be causes for concern; Burundi has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
Transportation
Airports
[time series]
8 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways
[time series]
total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways
[time series]
total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2007)
Heliports
[time series]
1 (2007)
Ports
(Ports and terminals)
[time series]
Bujumbura
Roadways
[time series]
total: 12,322 km paved: 1,286 km unpaved: 11,036 km (2004)
Waterways
[time series]
mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2005)