Countries
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Disputes - international: Burundi and Rwanda dispute two sq km (0.8 sq mi) of Sabanerwa, a farmed area in the Rukurazi Valley where the Akanyaru/Kanyaru River shifted its course southward after heavy rains in 1965; cross-border conflicts persist among Tutsi, Hutu, other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces in the Great Lakes region
Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 28,957 (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
IDPs: 100,000 (armed conflict between government and rebels; most IDPs in northern and western Burundi)
Military branches: National Defense Forces (Forces de Defense Nationale, FDN): Army (includes naval detachment, Air Wing, and Coast Guard), National Gendarmerie
Military service age and obligation: military service is voluntary; the armed forces law of 31 December 2004 does not specify a minimum age for enlistment, but the government claims that no one younger than 18 is being recruited; mandatory retirement age 45 (enlisted), 50 (NCOs), and 55 (officers)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,182,327
females age 16-49: 2,202,125
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 117,956
female: 116,956
Military expenditures: 5.9% of GDP
country comparison to the world: 10
Airports: 7
country comparison to the world: 165
Heliports: 1
Roadways: 12,322 km
country comparison to the world: 129
Waterways: (mainly on Lake Tanganyika between Bujumbura, Burundi's principal port, and lake ports in Tanzania, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo)
Ports and terminals: Bujumbura
Telephones - main lines in use: 32,600
country comparison to the world: 179
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.98 million
country comparison to the world: 138
Telephone system: general assessment: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relays
domestic: 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 roughly 10 per 100 persons
international: country code - 257; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Broadcast media: state-controlled La Radiodiffusion et Television Nationale de Burundi (RTNB) operates the lone TV station and the only national radio network; about 10 privately-owned radio stations; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available in Bujumbura
Internet country code: .bi
Internet hosts: 236
country comparison to the world: 195
Internet users:157,800
country comparison to the world: 147
Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural. It accounts for just over 30% 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 earnings - 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. Less than 2% of the population has electricity in its homes. Burundi's GDP grew around 4% annually in 2006-11. 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, a poor transportation network, overburdened utilities, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms. The purchasing power of most Burundians has decreased as wage increases have not kept up with inflation. Burundi will remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors - foreign aid represents 42% of Burundi's national income, the second highest rate in Sub-Saharan Africa; 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, and received $700 million in debt relief in 2009. Government corruption is also hindering the development of a healthy private sector as companies seek to navigate an environment with ever changing rules.
Government type: republic
Administrative divisions: 17 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rural, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi
Legal system: mixed legal system of Belgian civil law and customary law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Ethnic groups: Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000
Languages: Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
Religions: Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%
Population: 10,557,259
country comparison to the world: 81
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
Median age: 17 years
male: 16.6 years
female: 17.3 years
Population growth rate: 3.104%
country comparison to the world: 8
Net migration rate: -0.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population
country comparison to the world: 121
Urbanization population: 11% of total population
Major cities - population: BUJUMBURA (capital) 455,000
Life expectancy at birth: 59.24 years
country comparison to the world: 190
male: 57.52 years
female: 61.02 years
Total fertility rate: 6.08 children born/woman
country comparison to the world: 5
Health expenditures: 13.1% of GDP
country comparison to the world: 7
Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
animal contact disease: rabies
Education expenditures: 8.3% of GDP
country comparison to the world: 10
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.2%
male: 72.9%
female: 61.8%
Location: Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Land boundaries: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: 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)
Terrain: hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains
Natural resources: nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone
Land use: arable land: 35.57%, permanent crops: 13.12%, other: 51.31%
Irrigated land: 230 sq km
Total renewable water resources: 3.6 cu km
Natural hazards: flooding; landslides; drought
Environment - current issues: 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
Environment - international agreements: 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
Geography - note: landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile
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 government of President Pierre NKURUNZIZA, who was reelected in 2010, continues to face many political and economic challenges.
Burundi
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