Geography
Location: Central Africa. Bordering nations--Tanzania, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda.
Area: 27,830 sq. km. (10,747 sq. mi.); about the size of Maryland.
Cities: Capital--Bujumbura (pop. 300,000). Other cities--Cibitoke,
Muyinga, Ngozi, Bubanza, Gitega, Bururi.
Climate: Warm but not uncomfortable in Bujumbura; cooler in higher
regions.
Terrain: Hilly, rising from 780 meters (2,600 ft.) at the Shore of Lake
Tanganyika to mountains more than 2,700 meters (9,000 ft.) above sea
level.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Burundian(s).
Population (2004 est.): 6.8 million.
Annual growth rate (2004 est.): 2.2%.
Ethnic groups (estimated): Hutu 85%; Tutsi 14%; Twa 1.0%.
Christian singles note-Religions (estimated): Roman Catholic 60%-65%;
Protestant 10%-15%; traditional beliefs 15%-20%; Muslim 5%.
Languages: Official--Kirundi, French; other--Kiswahili,
English.
Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--84.05% male,
62.8% female. Literacy--37% adult.
Health (2004 est.): Life expectancy—42.73 yrs. (men), 44 yrs.
(women). Infant mortality rate—70.4/1,000.
Government
Type: Republic; 3-year transitional government as of November 1, 2001.
Independence: July 1, 1962 (from Belgium).
Constitution: A transitional constitution was adopted October 18, 2001.
The parliament adopted a post-transition constitution on September 17,
2004, which was approved in a nation-wide referendum held February 28,
2005.
Branches: Executive--transitional president, transitional vice
president, 26-member Council of Ministers. Legislative—A
220-member National Assembly (85 elected, 134 appointed by the
signatories to the Arusha Peace Accords), and 54-member Senate (3 seats
reserved for former presidents, including one for former transitional
President Buyoya, 3 seats reserved for the ethnic Twa minority, and 2
Senators from each of the 16 provinces and the city of Bujumbura, one
Hutu and one Tutsi, plus 14 appointed by the president according to his
own criteria). Judicial--constitutional and subsidiary courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 16 provinces plus the city of Bujumbura,
117 communes.
Political parties: Multi-party system consisting of 21 registered
political parties, of which FRODEBU (the Front for Democracy in Burundi,
predominantly Hutu with some Tutsi membership) and UPRONA (the National
Unity and Progress Party, predominantly Tutsi with some Hutu membership)
are national, mainstream parties. Other Tutsi and Hutu opposition
parties and groups include, among others, PARENA (the Party for National
Redress, Tutsi), ABASA (the Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation,
Tutsi), PRP (the People's Reconciliation Party, Tutsi), CNDD (the
National Council for the Defense of Democracy, Hutu), PALIPEHUTU (the
Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People, Hutu) and FROLINA/FAP (the
Front for the National Liberation of Burundi/Popular Armed Forces,
Hutu).
Suffrage: Universal adult; according to the Arusha Peace Accords and the
transitional constitution, elections were to be held before November
2004; elections have been rescheduled, and are now due to be completed
in April 2005.
Economy
GDP (2003): $595 million; (2004 est.) $668 million.
Real growth rate (2003): -0.5%; (2004 est.) 5.4%.
Per capita GDP (2003): $87.3; (2004 est.) $96.
Inflation rate (2003): 10.7%; (2004 est.) 9.1%.
Central government budget: Receipts--(2003) $135.2 million; (2004
est.) $138.9 million; spending--(2003) $169.4 million; (2004
est.) $212.9 million.
Natural resources: Nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt,
copper, platinum deposits not yet exploited, vanadium.
Agriculture (2003, 47.4% of GDP): Products--coffee, tea, sugar,
cotton fabrics and oil, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc
(tapioca), beef, milk, hides, livestock feed, rice. Arable land--44%.
Industry (2003, 19.3% of GDP): Types—beverage production,
coffee and tea processing, cigarette production, sugar refining,
pharmaceuticals, light food processing, textiles, chemicals
(insecticides), public works construction, consumer goods, assembly of
imported components.
Services (2003): 33.3% of GDP.
Mining: Commercial quantities of alluvial gold, nickel, phosphates, rare
earth, vanadium, and other; peat mining.
Trade (2003 est.): Exports--$46.8 million: coffee (50% of export
earnings), tea, sugar, cotton fabrics, hides. Major markets--U.K.,
Germany, Benelux, Switzerland. Imports--$127.5 million: food,
beverages, tobacco, chemicals, road vehicles, petroleum and products. Major
suppliers--Benelux, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan.
Total external debt (2003 est.): $1.2 billion.
PEOPLE
Christian singles note-At 206.1 persons per sq. km., Burundi has the
second-largest population density in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most people
live on farms near areas of fertile volcanic soil. The population is
made up of three major ethnic groups--Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. Kirundi is
the most widely spoken language; French and Kiswahili also are widely
spoken. Intermarriage takes place frequently between the Hutus and
Tutsis. Although Hutus encompass the majority of the population,
historically Tutsis have been politically and economically dominant.
