Barbados (2003) | Burundi (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status | 17 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rurale, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 21.2% (male 29,621; female 29,207)
15-64 years: 70% (male 94,840; female 99,230) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,355; female 15,011) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.3% (male 1,884,825/female 1,863,200)
15-64 years: 51.1% (male 2,051,451/female 2,082,017) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 83,432/female 125,143) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides |
Airports | 1 (2002) | 8 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2006) |
Area | total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. | 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. Over 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 the summer of 2006 but still faces many challenges. |
Birth rate | 13.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 42.22 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $215.4 million
expenditures: $278 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Bridgetown | name: Bujumbura
geographic coordinates: 3 23 S, 29 22 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | 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) |
Coastline | 97 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | 28 February 2005; ratified by popular referendum |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republique du Burundi/Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | - |
Death rate | 9.02 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 13.46 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $692 million (2002) | $1.2 billion (2003) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Earl N. PHILLIPS, Jr.
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia Newton MOLLER
embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] 223454 FAX: [257] 222926 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 339-9201 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
chief of mission: Ambassador Celestin NIYONGABO
chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
Disputes - international | none | Tutsi, Hutu, other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda in an effort to gain control over populated and natural resource areas; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite the presence of about 6,000 peacekeepers from the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) since 2004; although some 150,000 Burundian refugees have been repatriated, as of February 2005, Burundian refugees still reside in camps in western Tanzania as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.1 million (1995) | $105.5 million (2003) |
Economy - overview | Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light-manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002 mainly due to a 3% decline in tourism. Growth should be positive in 2003, the precise level largely dependent on economic conditions in the US and Europe. | Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with more than 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. 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 10 adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. 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, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms. |
Electricity - consumption | 725.4 million kWh (2001) | 141.4 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 10 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2003) |
Electricity - production | 780 million kWh (2001) | 141.3 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Heha 2,670 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | 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: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000), 2 (1999), 2 (1998) | Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,138 (2005), 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003), 930.75 (2002), 830.35 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
chief of state: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA - Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President Marina BARAMPAMA - Hutu (since 8 September 2006)
head of government: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA - Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President Marina BARAMPAMA - Hutu (since 8 September 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the parliament; vice presidents nominated by the president, endorsed by parliament election results: Pierre NKURUNZIZA was elected president by the parliament by a vote of 151 to 9; note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the legislature |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
Exports - partners | US 14.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 12%, UK 10.6%, Jamaica 6.2%, Saint Lucia 4.7% (2002) | Germany 24.4%, Belgium 11.1%, Netherlands 8%, Switzerland 5.8%, US 4.6%, Pakistan 4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident) | 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) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.153 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 46.3%
industry: 20.3% services: 33.4% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -2.8% (2002 est.) | 1.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 3 30 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile |
Highways | total: 1,793 km
paved: 1,719 km unpaved: 74 km (1999) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 41.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 17%, UK 7.3%, Japan 4.2% (2002) | Kenya 12.9%, Tanzania 10.6%, Belgium 10.4%, Italy 8.1%, France 5.4%, Uganda 5.3%, China 5%, India 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | -3.2% (2000 est.) | 18% (2001) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 63.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 70.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 55.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.6% (2002 est.) | 16% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 210 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals) |
Labor force | 128,500 (2001 est.) | 2.99 million (2002) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) | agriculture: 93.6%
industry: 2.3% services: 4.1% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
Land use | arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 35.57%
permanent crops: 13.12% other: 51.31% (2005) |
Languages | English | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2008) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlement, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (minimum 100 seats - 60% Hutu and 40% Tutsi with at least 30% being women; additional seats appointed by a National Independent Electoral Commission to ensure ethnic representation; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; 34 by indirect vote to serve five year terms, with remaining seats assigned to ethnic groups and former chiefs of state)
elections: National Assembly - last held 4 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010); Senate - last held 29 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CNDD-FDD 58.6%, FRODEBU 21.7%, UPRONA 7.2%, CNDD 4.1%, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2.1%, others 6.2%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 59, FRODEBU 25, UPRONA 10, CNDD 4, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 30, FRODEBU 3, CNDD 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.84 years
male: 69.56 years female: 74.14 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 50.81 years
male: 50.07 years female: 51.58 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.6% male: 58.5% female: 45.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 284,222 GRT/439,810 DWT
ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 22, combination bulk 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, The Bahamas 1, Canada 4, Germany 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 7, Norway 7, UK 18 (2002 est.) |
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Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force (including Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force | National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales, FDN): Army (includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing), National Gendarmerie (being disbanded) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $43.9 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 5.6% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 77,862 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 53,282 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | flooding, landslides, drought |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone |
Net migration rate | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Clyde Mascoll] | the three national, mainstream, governing parties are: Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Leonce NGENDAKUMANA, president]; National Council for the Defense of Democracy, Front for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD-FDD [Hussein RADJABU, president]; Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Aloys RUBUKA, president]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: National Council for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD; National Resistance Movement for the Rehabilitation of the Citizen or MRC-Rurenzangemero [Epitace BANYAGANAKANDI]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] | none |
Population | 277,264 (July 2003 est.) | 8,090,068
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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 68% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.38% (2003 est.) | 3.7% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
general assessment: primitive system
domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay international: country code - 257; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 108,000 (1997) | 27,700 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,013 (1997) | 153,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 6.55 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2003) |