Chief
of State: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26
August 2005)
Head of Government: President
Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005)
Government Type: republic |
Population:
8,090,068
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
and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and
changes in the distribution of population by age and sex
than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)
Languages: Kirundi (official),
French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and
in the Bujumbura area)
Religion: Christian 67% (Roman
Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%,
Muslim 10%
Life Expectancy: 50.81 |
Currency:
Burundi franc (BIF)
GDP(per capita): $700 (2005
est.)
Overview: 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 10 adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity
remain in short supply. 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.
Exports: coffee, tea, sugar,
cotton, hides
Import: capital goods, petroleum
products, foodstuffs |
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Location:
Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Area: total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km
water: 2,180 sq km |
Background:
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. Over 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, faces many challenges, particularly
from the country's last rebel group who remains outside
of the peace process and continue attacks in the western
provinces of Burundi.
Independence Day: 1 July 1962
(from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
Capital City: Bujumbura
Administrative divisions: 17
provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rurale,
Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza,
Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana,
Ruyigi |
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