*Burundi, Geography

Location:
  Central Africa, between Tanzania and Zaire
Map references:
  Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  27,830 km2
 land area:
  25,650 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
  total 974 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km, Zaire 233 km
Coastline:
  0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
  none; landlocked
International disputes:
  none
Climate:
  temperate; warm; occasional frost in uplands
Terrain:
  mostly rolling to hilly highland; some plains
Natural resources:
  nickel, uranium, rare earth oxide, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet
  exploited), vanadium
Land use:
 arable land:
  43%
 permanent crops:
  8%
 meadows and pastures:
  35%
 forest and woodland:
  2%
 other:
  12%
Irrigated land:
  720 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
  soil exhaustion; soil erosion; deforestation
Note:
  landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed

*Burundi, People

Population:
  5,985,308 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  2.34% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  44.69 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  21.25 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  115.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  40.75 years
 male:
  38.79 years
 female:
  42.76 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  6.76 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Burundian(s)
 adjective:
  Burundi
Ethnic divisions:
 Africans:
  Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1% (other Africans
  include about 70,000 refugees, mostly Rwandans and Zairians)
 non-Africans:
  Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000
Religions:
  Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 32%,
  Muslim 1%
Languages:
  Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in
  the Bujumbura area)
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
 total population:
  50%
 male:
  61%
 female:
  40%
Labor force:
  1.9 million (1983 est.)
 by occupation:
  agriculture 93.0%, government 4.0%, industry and commerce 1.5%, services
  1.5%
 note:
  52% of population of working age (1985)

*Burundi, Government

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Republic of Burundi
 conventional short form:
  Burundi
 local long form:
  Republika y'u Burundi
 local short form:
  Burundi
Digraph:
  BY
Type:
  republic
Capital:
  Bujumbura
Administrative divisions:
  15 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi,
  Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi
Independence:
  1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
Constitution:
  13 March 1992 draft provides for establishment of plural political system
Legal system:
  based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
  Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
Political parties and leaders:
  only party - National Party of Unity and Progress (UPRONA), Nicolas MAYUGI,
  secretary general;
 note:
  although Burundi is still officially a one-party state, at least four
  political parties were formed in 1991 and set the precedent for
  constitutional reform in 1992 - Burundi Democratic Front (FRODEBU),
  Organization of the People of Burundi (RPB), Socialist Party of Burundi
  (PSB), Royalist Parliamentary Party (PRP) - the most significant opposition
  party is FRODEBU, led by Melchior NDADAYE; the Party for the Liberation of
  the Hutu People (PALIPEHUTU), formed in exile in the early 1980s, is an
  ethnically based political party dedicated to majority rule; the government
  has long accused PALIPEHUTU of practicing devisive ethnic politics and
  fomenting violence against the state; PALIPEHUTU's exclusivist charter makes
  it an unlikely candidate for legalization under the new constitution that
  will require party membership open to all ethnic groups
Suffrage:
  universal adult at age NA
Elections:
 National Assembly:
  note - The National Unity Charter outlining the principles for
  constitutional government was adopted by a national referendum on 5 February
  1991; new elections to the National Assembly are to take place 29 June 1993;
  presidential elections are to take place 1 June 1993
Executive branch:
  president; chairman of the Central Committee of the National Party of Unity
  and Progress (UPRONA), prime minister

*Burundi, Government

Legislative branch:
  unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) was dissolved following
  the coup of 3 September 1987; at an extraordinary party congress held from
  27 to 29 December 1990, the Central Committee of the National Party of Unity
  and Progress (UPRONA) replaced the Military Committee for National
  Salvation, and became the supreme governing body during the transition to
  constitutional government
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders:
 Chief of State:
  President Major Pierre BUYOYA (since 9 September 1987)
 Head of Government:
  Prime Minister Adrien SIBOMANA (since 26 October 1988)
Member of:
  ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Julien KAVAKURE
 chancery:
  Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
 telephone:
  (202) 342-2574
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Cynthia Shepherd PERRY
 embassy:
  Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura
 mailing address:
  B. P. 1720, Bujumbura
 telephone:
  [257] (223) 454
 FAX:
  [257] (222) 926
Flag:
  divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green
  panels (hoist side and outer 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)

*Burundi, Economy

Overview:
  A landlocked, resource-poor country in an early stage of economic
  development, Burundi is predominately agricultural with only a few basic
  industries. Its economic health depends on the coffee crop, which accounts
  for an average 90% of foreign exchange earnings each year. The ability to
  pay for imports therefore continues to rest largely on the vagaries of the
  climate and the international coffee market. As part of its economic reform
  agenda, launched in February 1991 with IMF and World Bank support, Burundi
  is trying to diversify its agricultural exports and attract foreign
  investment in industry. Several state-owned coffee companies were privatized
  via public auction in September 1991.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.23 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  5% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
  $205 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  9% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  NA%
Budget:
  revenues $318 million; expenditures $326 million, including capital
  expenditures of $150 million (1991 est.)
Exports:
  $91.7 million (f.o.b., 1991)
 commodities:
  coffee 81%, tea, hides, and skins
 partners:
  EC 83%, US 5%, Asia 2%
Imports:
  $246 million (c.i.f., 1991)
 commodities:
  capital goods 31%, petroleum products 15%, foodstuffs, consumer goods
 partners:
  EC 57%, Asia 23%, US 3%
External debt:
  $1 billion (1990 est.)
Industrial production:
  real growth rate 11.0% (1991 est.); accounts for about 5% of GDP
Electricity:
  55,000 kW capacity; 105 million kWh produced, 20 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
  light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imports;
  public works construction; food processing
Agriculture:
  accounts for 60% of GDP; 90% of population dependent on subsistence farming;
  marginally self-sufficient in food production; cash crops - coffee, cotton,
  tea; food crops - corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc; livestock
  - meat, milk, hides and skins
Economic aid:
  US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $71 million; Western (non-US)
  countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.2 billion; OPEC
  bilateral aid (1979-89), $32 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $175
  million
Currency:
  1 Burundi franc (FBu) = 100 centimes

*Burundi, Economy

Exchange rates:
  Burundi francs (FBu) per US$1 - 235.75 (January 1993), 208.30 (1992), 181.51
  (1991), 171.26 (1990), 158.67 (1989), 140.40 (1988)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year

*Burundi, Communications

Highways:
  5,900 km total; 400 km paved, 2,500 km gravel or laterite, 3,000 km improved
  or unimproved earth
Inland waterways:
  Lake Tanganyika
Ports:
  Bujumbura (lake port) connects to transportation systems of Tanzania and
  Zaire
Airports:
 total:
  5
 usable:
  4
 with permanent-surface runways:
  1
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  1
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  4
Telecommunications:
  sparse system of wire, radiocommunications, and low-capacity microwave radio
  relay links; 8,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 2 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1
  Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

*Burundi, Defense Forces

Branches:
  Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 1,283,308; fit for military service 670,381; reach military
  age (16) annually 62,700 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $28 million, 3.7% of GDP (1989)