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Burundi Country Guide

Explore Burundi in Africa

Burundi with the capital city Bujumbura is located in Africa (Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo). It covers some 27,830 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Maryland) with 8,691,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Burundi

The landscape offers hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains. The average density of population is approximately 312 per km². The notable climate conditions in Burundi can be described as equatorial with 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 and two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January). Potential threats by nature are flooding or landslides or drought.

To reach someone in Burundi dial +257 prior to a number. There are 31,500 installed telephones. And there are 838,400 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".bi". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Burundi

Burundi Flag Icon

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'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.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Africa
Neighbours: Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda
Capital: Bujumbura
Size27,830 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 10,745 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly smaller than Maryland
Population8,691,000
CurrencyName Franc, Currency Code:BIF
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).bi
Telephone Country Prefix+257
Mobile Phone Connections838,400
Landline Phone Connections31,500

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area27,830 (sq km)147

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population10,888,321 78
Population growth rate3.08 (%)6
Birth rate40.04 (births/1,000 population)7
Death rate9.12 (deaths/1,000 population)65
Net migration rate-0.17 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)116
Maternal mortality rate800.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)5
Infant mortality rate58.86 (deaths/1,000 live births)26
Life expectancy at birth59.69 (years)194
Total fertility rate5.99 (children born/woman)6
Health expenditures11.60 (% of GDP)12
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate3.30 (%)21
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS180,000 28
HIV/AIDS - deaths15,000 19
Obesity - adult prevalence rate2.90 (%)176
Children under the age of 5 years underweight35.20 (%)7
Education expenditures6.10 (% of GDP)36

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)5,578,000,000 169
GDP - real growth rate4.00 (%)81
GDP - per capita (PPP)600 226
Labor force4,245,000 90
Distribution of family income - Gini index42.40 50
Investment (gross fixed)21.70 (% of GDP)76
Taxes and other revenues19.10 (% of GDP)170
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)-3.40 (% of GDP)122
Public debt72.30 (% of GDP)36
Inflation rate (consumer prices)16.00 (%)214
Central bank discount rate10.00 (%)23
Commercial bank prime lending rate13.33 (%)62
Stock of narrow money372,400,000 167
Stock of broad money519,000,000 176
Stock of domestic credit642,700,000 167
Industrial production growth rate7.00 (%)39
Current account balance-337,400,000 86
Exports107,400,000 189
Imports569,700,000 189
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold335,800,000 153
Debt - external231,700,000 185

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production127,000,000 (kWh)190
Electricity - consumption198,100,000 (kWh)185
Electricity - imports80,000,000 (kWh)95
Electricity - installed generating capacity52,000 (kW)182
Electricity - from fossil fuels1.90 (% of total installed capacity)203
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants98.10 (% of total installed capacity)7
Refined petroleum products - consumption2,290 (bbl/day)188
Refined petroleum products - imports1,334 (bbl/day)189
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy527,800 (Mt)179

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use30,000 177
Telephones - mobile cellular1,915,000 141
Internet hosts229 199
Internet users157,800 147

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports7 165
Roadways12,322 (km)129

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures5.90 (% of GDP)12

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince