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.

Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo

3 30 S, 30 00 E

Africa

slightly smaller than Maryland

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

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)

hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains

nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone

210 sq km (2003)

3.6 cu km (1987)

flooding; landslides; drought

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

landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile

9,863,117

3.561% (2010 est.)

41.43 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

9.87 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

4.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

6.25 children born/woman (2010 est.)

2% (2007 est.)

110,000 (2007 est.)

11,000 (2007 est.)

Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000

Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%

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

5.1% of GDP (2005)

republic

17 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rural, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi

1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)

Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

ratified by popular referendum 28 February 2005

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

18 years of age; universal (adult)

bicameral Parliament or Parlement, consists of 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) and 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)

Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; High Court of Justice (composed of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court)

Forum for the Strengthening of Civil Society or FORSC [Pacifique NININAHAZWE] (civil society umbrella organization); Observatoire de lutte contre la corruption et les malversations economiques or OLUCOME [Gabriel RUFYIRI] (anti-corruption pressure group)

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, EAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, 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

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); green symbolizes hope and optimism, white purity and peace, and red the blood shed in the struggle for independence; the three stars in the disk represent the three major ethnic groups: Hutu, Twa, Tutsi, as well as the three elements in the national motto: unity, work, progress

Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural which accounts for about 35% of GDP and employs more than 90% of the population. Burundi's primary exports are coffee and tea, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings, though exports are a relatively small share of GDP. Burundi's export earning - and its ability to pay for imports - rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the coffee trade. 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 4% annually in 2006-09. 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. Burundi joined the East African Community, which should boost Burundi's regional trade ties. Burundi's main challenge to economic growth will be maintaining sufficient fiscal discipline and peace during the upcoming national elections scheduled for 2010.

$3.247 billion (2009 est.)

$3.147 billion (2008 est.)

$3.011 billion (2007 est.)

$1.427 billion (2009 est.)

3.2% (2009 est.)

4.5% (2008 est.)

3.6% (2007 est.)

$300 (2009 est.)

$300 (2008 est.)

$300 (2007 est.)

4.245 million (2007)

NA%

68% (2002 est.)

42.4 (1998)

11.3% of GDP (2009 est.)

14.1% (2009 est.)

24.1% (2008 est.)

10.08% (31 December 2008)

10.12% (31 December 2007)

16.52% (31 December 2008)

16.84% (31 December 2007)

$261.6 million (31 December 2008)

$208.7 million (31 December 2007)

$189.9 million (31 December 2008)

$141 million (31 December 2007)

$370 million (31 December 2008)

$342 million (31 December 2007)

$NA

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

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

3.5% (2009 est.)

92 million kWh (2007 est.)

125.6 million kWh (2007 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

40 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2007 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

3,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

2,495 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$144 million (2009 est.)

-$182 million (2008 est.)

$79 million (2009 est.)

$79 million (2008 est.)

coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides

Switzerland 27.9%, UK 11%, Pakistan 9.5%, Belgium 5.1%, Rwanda 5%, Egypt 4.7% (2008)

$318 million (2009 est.)

$350 million (2008 est.)

capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs

Saudi Arabia 22.4%, Belgium 13.6%, Uganda 9.1%, Kenya 8%, China 6.4%, France 5.9%, Germany 5.3%, India 4.5%, Tanzania 4.4%, Japan 4.4% (2008)

$212 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$266.7 million (31 December 2008 est.)

$1.2 billion (2003)

Burundi francs (BIF) per US dollar - 1,227.75 (2009), 1,198 (2008), 1,065 (2007), 1,030 (2006), 1,138 (2005)

30,400 (2008)

480,600 (2008)

AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001)

1 (2001)

.bi

191 (2009)

65,000 (2008)

8 (2009)

1 (2009)

mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2008)

Bujumbura

National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationale, FDN): Army (includes naval detachment and Air Wing), National Gendarmerie (2010)

military service is voluntary; the armed forces law of 31 December 2004 did not specify a minimum age for enlistment, but the government had previously said each recruit must have a primary school-leaving certificate (2010)

5.9% of GDP (2006 est.)

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