


Republic of Burundi

Location: Central Africa. Bordering nations--Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda.
Area: 27,830 sq. km. (10,747 sq. mi.); about the size of Maryland.
Cities: Capital--Bujumbura (pop. 300,000). Other cities--Cibitoke, Muyinga, Ngozi, Bubanza, Gitega, Bururi.
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 (73 to 63 degrees Fahrenheit) but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m (5,600 ft.); average annual rainfall is about 150 cm (59 in.); two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January).
Terrain: Hilly, rising from 780 meters (2,600 ft.) at the Shore of Lake Tanganyika to mountains more than 2,700 meters (9,000 ft.) above sea level.

Nationality: Noun and adjective--Burundian(s).
Population (2008): 8,691,005.
Annual growth rate (2008): 3.443%.
Ethnic groups: Hutu (Bantu) 85%; Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%; Twa (Pygmy) 1.0%.
Religions: Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%.
Languages: Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area), English.
Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--84.05% male, 62.8% female. Literacy: 59.3% of total population over the age of 15 can read and write.
Health (2007): Life expectancy--total population 51.71 years; male 50.86 years; female 52.6 years. Infant mortality rate--60.77/1,000.

Type: Republic. Democratically elected, post-transition government established August 26, 2005.
Independence: July 1, 1962 (from Belgium).
Constitution: A transitional constitution was adopted October 18, 2001. The parliament adopted a post-transition constitution on September 17, 2004, which was approved in a nationwide referendum held February 28, 2005.
Branches: Executive--President, First Vice President in charge of political and administrative affairs, Second Vice President in charge of social and economic affairs, 26-member Council of Ministers. Legislative--A 100-member directly elected National Assembly plus additional deputies appointed as necessary (currently 18 appointed) to ensure an ethnic and gender composition of 60% Hutu, 40% Tutsi, 30% female, and 3 Batwa members. A 54-member Senate (3 seats reserved for former presidents; 3 seats reserved for the ethnic Twa minority; 2 Senators, one Hutu and one Tutsi, from each of the 16 provinces plus the city of Bujumbura appointed by an electoral college comprised of members of locally elected communal and provincial councils; 14 Senators appointed by the president according to the president's own criteria. Women must comprise 30% of the Senate.) Judicial--constitutional and subsidiary courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 17 provinces including Bujumbura, 117 communes.
Political parties: Multi-party system consisting of 21 registered political parties, of which CNDD (the National Council for the Defense of Democracy, Hutu), FRODEBU (the Front for Democracy in Burundi, predominantly Hutu with some Tutsi membership), and UPRONA (the National Unity and Progress Party, predominantly Tutsi with some Hutu membership) are national, mainstream parties. Other Tutsi and Hutu opposition parties and groups include, among others, PARENA (the Party for National Redress, Tutsi), ABASA (the Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation, Tutsi), PRP (the People's Reconciliation Party, Tutsi), FNL (the National Forces of Liberation, Hutu) and FROLINA/FAP (the Front for the National Liberation of Burundi/Popular Armed Forces, Hutu).
Suffrage: Universal adult.

GDP (2008): $1.097 billion.
Real growth rate (2008): 4.5%.
Per capita GDP (2008): $138.
Population below poverty line (2000): 68%.
Inflation rate (2008): 24.4%.
Central government budget (2006 est.): Revenues--$239.9 million; expenditures--$297 million, including capital expenditures.
Agriculture (2007 est., 34% of GDP): Coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca), beef, milk, hides. Arable land--35.57% (2005 est.).
Industry (2007 est., 21% of GDP): Types--beverage production, coffee and tea processing, cigarette production, sugar refining, pharmaceuticals, light food processing, textiles, chemicals (insecticides), public works construction, consumer goods, assembly of imported components, light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap.
Services (2007 est.): 45% of GDP.
Mining: Commercial quantities of alluvial gold, nickel, phosphates, rare earth, vanadium and other; peat mining.
Trade (2006 est.): Exports--$55.68 million f.o.b.: coffee (50% of export earnings), tea, sugar, cotton fabrics, hides. Major markets--U.K., Germany, Benelux, Switzerland. Imports--$207.3 million f.o.b.: food, beverages, tobacco, chemicals, road vehicles, petroleum products. Major suppliers--Benelux, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan.
Total external debt (2003 est.): $1.2 billion.








Burundi's civil war officially ended in 2006 under a South Africa-brokered cease-fire agreement with the last of Burundi's rebel groups. Today the government is focused on rebuilding its infrastructure and reestablishing external relations with its regional neighbors.




In accordance with the new electoral calendar, the Burundian people voted in Commune Council direct elections on June 3, 2005 and National Assembly direct elections on July 4, 2005. An electoral college of commune and provincial councils indirectly elected Senate members on July 29, 2005. Legislative elections are scheduled to take place in 2010. A joint session of the parliament elected Pierre Nkurunziza as President of Burundi on August 19, 2005 in a vote of 151 to 9 with one abstention, establishing the post-transition Hutu majority government. Finally, the Burundian people established Colline (hill) councils through direct elections on September 23, 2005. Nkurunziza maintains the presidency and is eligible for reelection for a second term in 2010.

In September 2006, the last remaining rebel group in Burundi, the FNL, signed a peace agreement. Implementation obstacles and spurts of violence from the group slowed the process. In May 2008, the leaders of the FNL returned to Burundi to address the impasse and negotiate with the Government of Burundi. The two entities agreed upon a durable solution December 4, 2008. They are currently working toward implementing that agreement. While the FNL has effectively changed its name from its ethnic derivative, “Palipehutu-FNL”, to “FNL”, their agreement to disarm and demobilize remaining combatants is ongoing. The government agreed to integrate the FNL into the Burundian political system by allowing it to register and act as a full-fledged political party and assume leadership positions. As of May 31, 2009 FNL had been registered as a political party. While South Africa remains the key mediator in the ongoing peace process, there has been a consolidation of efforts in Burundi. The Partnership for Peace in Burundi (PPB) is a collective of the Political Directorate (South Africa, Tanzania, UN), Great Lakes Special Envoys, UN Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB), and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). The PPB is the responsible mechanism for moving forward with political integration for the FNL and the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration process for FNL ex-combatants.

Principal Government Officials
President--Pierre Nkurunziza
First Vice President--Yves Sahinguvu
Second Vice President--Gabriel Ntisezerana
Speaker of the National Assembly--Pie Ntavyohanyuma
President of the Senate--Gervais Rufyikiri
Minister of Defense--Germain Niyoyankana
Minister of External Relations and Cooperation--Augustin Nsanze
Minister of Interior and Communal Development--Venant Kamana
Minister of Public Security--Alain Bunyoni
Ambassador to the United States--Celestin Niyongabo





Burundi is heavily dependent on bilateral and multilateral aid, with external debt totaling $1.4 billion in 2004. International Monetary Fund (IMF) structural adjustment programs in Burundi were suspended following the outbreak of violence in 1993; the IMF re-engaged Burundi in 2002 and 2003 with post-conflict credits, and in 2004 approved a $104 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility loan. The World Bank is preparing a Transition Support Strategy, and has identified key areas for potential growth, including the productivity of traditional crops and the introduction of new exports, light manufactures, industrial mining, and services. Both the IMF and the World Bank assisted the Burundians in preparing a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, released in February 2007. More than 81% of Burundians live below the poverty line. Serious economic problems include the state's role in the economy, the question of governmental transparency, and debt reduction. In January 2009, the IMF and the World Bank decided that Burundi satisfied the requirements toward reaching its completion point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) and waived $424 million in debt.

Based on Burundi's successful transition from war to peace and the establishment of a democratically-elected government in Burundi in September 2005, the United States Government lifted all sanctions on assistance to Burundi on October 18, 2005. Burundi also became eligible for trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in December 2005, but no Burundian industries have yet taken advantage of AGOA benefits.

Burundi's relations with its neighbors have often been affected by security concerns. The Great Lakes is home to a number of illegal armed groups, including the Burundian FNL (previously the Palipehutu-FNL), which is involved in the process of disarming and demobilizing, which is not without complication. Hundreds of thousands of Burundian refugees have at various times crossed into Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These Burundians fled to neighboring countries during the civil war, hundreds of thousands of whom sought refuge in Tanzania. Most refugees have returned or opted to settle permanently in countries of asylum. Burundi maintains close relations with all neighbors in the Great Lakes region, including Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In reaffirming Burundi's commitment to regional peacekeeping and allegiance to the African Union, the government recently deployed troops to quell the ongoing crisis in Somalia.



The United States supported the Arusha peace process, providing financial support through our assessed contributions to a UN peacekeeping force established in 2004. Burundi is also a member of the Tripartite Plus Commission, which convenes member countries of the Great Lakes region in an effort to end the threat of armed groups and foster stability.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Patricia Newton Moller
Deputy Chief of Mission--JoAnne Wagner
Political Officers--Carson Relitz-Rocker
Economic Officer--Mark Carr
Management Officer--Anthony Kleiber
Consular Officer--Jaclyn Cole-Adkins
Regional Security Officer--Christopher Bakken
General Service Officer--Chelsea Bakken

The U.S. Embassy is located at Avenue des Etats-Unis (Boite Postale 1720), Bujumbura (tel. [257] 222234-54).

[This is a mobile copy of Burundi (06/09)]

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