Burkina Faso (2002) | Burundi (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 30 provinces; Bam, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houe, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komoe, Kossi, Kouritenga, Mouhoun, Namentenga, Naouri, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Yatenga, Zoundweogo
note: a new electoral code was approved by the National Assembly in January 1997; the number of administrative provinces was increased from 30 to 45 (Bale, Bam, Banwa, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Comoe, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Ioba, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komandjari, Kompienga, Kossi, Koupelogo, Kouritenga, Kourweogo, Leraba, Loroum, Mouhoun, Nahouri, Namentenga, Nayala, Naumbiel, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Samentenga, Sanguie, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Tuy, Yagha, Yatenga, Ziro, Zondomo, Zoundweogo), however, this change has not yet been confirmed by the US Board on Geographic Names |
16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.3% (male 3,007,675; female 2,960,697)
15-64 years: 49.8% (male 3,000,411; female 3,271,594) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 151,976; female 210,832) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
46.82% (male 1,472,618; female 1,441,548) 15-64 years: 50.37% (male 1,541,131; female 1,593,743) 65 years and over: 2.81% (male 71,984; female 102,873) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, cotton, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides |
Airports | 33 (2001) | 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 17 (2002) |
total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 274,200 sq km
land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total:
27,830 sq km land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Colorado | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Independence from France came to Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) in 1960. Governmental instability during the 1970s and 1980s was followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Several hundred thousand farm workers migrate south every year to Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. | Between 1993 and 2000, wide-spread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions in Burundi created hundreds of thousands of refugees and left tens of thousands dead. Although some refugees have returned from neighboring countries, continued ethnic strife has forced many others to flee. Burundian troops, seeking to secure their borders, have intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. |
Birth rate | 44.34 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $316 million
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
revenues:
$125 million expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Ouagadougou | Bujumbura |
Climate | tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers | 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; wet seasons from February to May and September to November, and dry seasons from June to August and December to January |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 2 June 1991 approved by referendum; 11 June 1991 formally adopted | 13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political system; supplanted on 6 June 1998 by a Transitional Constitution which enlarged the National Assembly and created two vice presidents |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Burkina Faso former: Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta |
conventional long form:
Republic of Burundi conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | Burundi franc (BIF) |
Death rate | 17.07 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (1999) | $1.12 billion (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Anthony HOLMES
embassy: 602 Avenue Raoul Follereau, Koulouba, Secteur 4 mailing address: 01 B. P. 35, Ouagadougou 01; pouch mail - U. S. Department of State, 2440 Ouagadougou Place, Washington, DC 20521-2440 telephone: [226] 306723 FAX: [226] 303890 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mary Carlin YATES 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 Tertius ZONGO
chancery: 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-5577 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1882 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Thomas NDIKUMANA chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
Disputes - international | two villages are in dispute with Benin | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $484.1 million (1995) (1995) | $1.344 billion (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked Burkina Faso has a high population density, few natural resources, and a fragile soil. About 90% of the population is engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture, which is highly vulnerable to variations in rainfall. Industry remains dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations. Following the African franc currency devaluation in January 1994 the government updated its development program in conjunction with international agencies, and exports and economic growth have increased. Maintenance of macroeconomic progress depends on continued low inflation, reduction in the trade deficit, and reforms designed to encourage private investment. | Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Its economic health depends on the coffee crop, which accounts for 80% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports therefore rests largely on the vagaries of the climate and the international coffee market. Since October 1993 the nation has suffered from massive ethnic-based violence which has resulted in the death of perhaps 250,000 persons and the displacement of about 800,000 others. Only one in four children go to school, and one in nine adults has HIV/AIDS. Foods, medicines, and electricity remain in short supply. |
Electricity - consumption | 262.26 million kWh (2000) | 160.1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 29 million kWh
note: supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999) |
Electricity - production | 282 million kWh (2000) | 141 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 71%
hydro: 29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
0.71% hydro: 99.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m
highest point: Tena Kourou 749 m |
lowest point:
Lake Tanganyika 772 m highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m |
Environment - current issues | recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Mossi over 40%, Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, Fulani | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | Burundi francs per US dollar - 782.36 (January 2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 477.77 (1998), 352.35 (1997), 302.75 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October 1987)
head of government: Prime Minister Ernest Paramanga YONLI (since 6 November 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 November 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); in April 2000, the constitution was amended reducing the presidential term from seven to five years, enforceable as of 2005, and allowing the president to be reelected only once; it is unclear whether this amendment will be applied retroactively or not; prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the legislature election results: Blaise COMPAORE reelected president with 87.5% percent of the vote note: President COMPAORE faces an increasingly well-coordinated opposition; recent charges against a former member of his Presidential Guard in the 1998 assassination of a newspaper editor signify an attempt to defuse chronic areas of dissatisfaction |
chief of state:
President Pierre BUYOYA (interim president since 27 September 1996, officially sworn in 11 June 1998), First Vice President Frederic BAMVUGINYUMVIRA (since NA June 1998), Second Vice President Mathias SINAMENYE (since NA June 1998); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Pierre BUYOYA (interim president since 27 September 1996, officially sworn in 11 June 1998), First Vice President Frederic BAMVUGINYUMVIRA (since NA June 1998), Second Vice President Mathias SINAMENYE (since NA June 1998); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: NA; current president assumed power following a coup on 25 July 1996 in which former President NTIBANTUNGANYA was overthrown |
Exports | $265 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $32 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, animal products, gold | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
Exports - partners | Venezuela 14.7%, Benelux 12.2%, Italy 9.6%, France 7.0% (2000) | Germany 17%, Belgium 14%, US 8%, France 6%, Switzerland 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | 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) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.8 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 31%
industry: 28% services: 41% (2000) |
agriculture:
50% industry: 18% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,040 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $720 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2001 est.) | 1.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 2 00 W | 3 30 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked savanna cut by the three principal rivers of the Black, Red, and White Voltas | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed |
Highways | total: 12,506 km
paved: 2,001 km unpaved: 10,505 km (1999) |
total:
14,480 km paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 40% (1994) (1994) |
lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 26.6% (1992) |
Imports | $580 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $110 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, food products, petroleum | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 25.1%, Venezuela 23.4%, France 17.0% (2000) | Belgium 20%, Zambia 11%, Kenya 8%, South Africa 5%, France 4% (1999) |
Independence | 5 August 1960 (from France) | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 14% (2001 est.) | 6.3% (1999 est.) |
Industries | cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 105.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 70.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2001 est.) | 22% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (1998 est.) | 140 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court | 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 | 5 million (1999)
note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (1999) |
1.9 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90% (2000 est.) | NA |
Land boundaries | total: 3,193 km
border countries: Benin 306 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Ghana 549 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km |
total:
974 km border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.43%
permanent crops: 0.18% other: 87.39% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
44% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 36% forests and woodland: 3% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (111 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly election last held 5 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDP 57, RDA-ADF 17, PDP/PS 10, CFD 5, PAI 5, others 17 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (121 seats; note - new Transitional Constitution expanded the number of seats from 81 to 121 in 1998; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in 1998, but suspended by presidential decree in 1996) election results: percent of vote by party - FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA 21.4%, other 7.56%; seats by party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16, various other parties 40 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 46.11 years
male: 45.45 years female: 46.78 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
46.06 years male: 45.15 years female: 46.99 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 36% (2001) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 35.3% male: 49.3% female: 22.5% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, north of Ghana | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police, People's Militia | Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $40.1 million (FY01) | $57 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY01) | 6.1% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,688,072 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,394,273 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,379,010 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
728,326 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 16 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
79,360 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 11 December (1958) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Burkinabe (singular and plural)
adjective: Burkinabe |
noun:
Burundian(s) adjective: Burundi |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | flooding, landslides, drought |
Natural resources | manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc, silver | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | African Democratic Rally-Alliance for Democracy and Federation or RDA-ADF [Herman YAMEOGO]; Confederation for Federation and Democracy or CFD [Amadou Diemdioda DICKO]; Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Roch Marc-Christian KABORE]; Movement for Tolerance and Progress or MTP [Noyabtigungu Congo KABORE]; Party for African Independence or PAI [Philippe OUEDRAOGO]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Joseph KI-ZERBO]; Union of Greens for the Development of Burkina Faso or UVDB [Ram OVEDRAGO] | Two national, mainstream governing parties are: Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Luc RUKINGAMA, president]; Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Jean MINANI, president]
note: A multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation or ABASA [Terrence NSANZE]; Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development or RADDES [Joseph NZENZIMANA]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA]; People's Reconciliation Party or PRP [Mathias HITIMANA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Burkinabe General Confederation of Labor or CGTB; Burkinabe Movement for Human Rights or MBDHP; Group of 14 February; National Confederation of Burkinabe Workers or CNTB; National Organization of Free Unions or ONSL; watchdog/political action groups throughout the country in both organizations and communities | Loosely organized Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Tutsi extremist parties |
Population | 12,603,185
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 2002 est.) |
6,223,897
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (2001 est.) | 36.2% (1990 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.64% (2002 est.) | 2.38% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Bujumbura |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 17, shortwave 3 (2002) | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 394,020 (2000) | 440,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 622 km (517 km from Ouagadougou to the Cote d'Ivoire border and 105 km from Ouagadougou to Kaya)
narrow gauge: 622 km 1.000-m gauge (1995 est.) |
0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Muslim 50%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10% | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: all services only fair
domestic: microwave radio relay, open wire, and radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
primitive system domestic: sparse system of open wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 53,200 (2000) | 16,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 25,200 (2000) | 619 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 1 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
Total fertility rate | 6.26 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.16 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | none | Lake Tanganyika |