Africa :: Burundi page last updated on November 9, 2011

Introduction ::Burundi 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. 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.

Geography ::Burundi

Location: Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo Geographic coordinates: 3 30 S, 30 00 E Map references: Africa Area: total: 27,830 sq km country comparison to the world: 147 land: 25,680 sq km water: 2,150 sq km Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland Land boundaries: total: 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 Elevation extremes: lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m highest point: Heha 2,670 m 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% (2005)

230 sq km (2008) Total renewable water resources: 3.6 cu km (1987) Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): People and Society ::Burundi total: 0.29 cu km/yr (17%/6%/77%) Nationality: per capita: 38 cu m/yr (2000) noun: Burundian(s) Natural hazards: adjective: Burundian flooding; landslides; drought Ethnic groups: Environment current issues: Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; Languages: deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) Environment Religions: - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Christian 67% (RomanClimate Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea Population: 10,216,190 (July 2011 est.) Geography - note: to the world: 81 country comparison landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo the Kagera, drains into Lake note: estimates for this country explicitly takewatershed; into account the effectswhich of excess mortality due to Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile 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 Age structure: 0-14 years: 46% (male 2,360,214/female 2,335,541) 15-64 years: 51.6% (male 2,598,011/female 2,669,376) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 101,207/female 151,841) (2011 est.) Median age: total: 16.9 years male: 16.6 years female: 17.2 years (2011 est.) Population growth rate: 3.462% (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 5 Birth rate: 41.01 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 9 Death rate: 9.61 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 60 Net migration rate: 3.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 28 Urbanization: urban population: 11% of total population (2010) rate of urbanization: 4.9% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

BUJUMBURA (capital) 455,000 (2009) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2011 est.) Maternal mortality rate: 970 deaths/100,000 live births (2008) country comparison to the world: 6 Infant mortality rate: total: 61.82 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 30 male: 66.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 57.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 58.78 years country comparison to the world: 189 male: 57.09 years female: 60.52 years (2011 est.) Total fertility rate: 6.16 children born/woman (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 5 Health expenditures: 13.1% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 7 Physicians density: 0.03 physicians/1,000 population (2004) country comparison to the world: 183 Hospital bed density: 0.73 beds/1,000 population (2006) country comparison to the world: 159 Drinking water source: improved: urban: 83% of population rural: 71% of population total: 72% of population unimproved: urban: 17% of population rural: 29% of population total: 28% of population (2008) Sanitation facility access: improved: urban: 49% of population rural: 46% of population total: 46% of population unimproved: urban: 51% of population