Burundi (2001) | Kuwait (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi | 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 27.9% (male 310,008; female 298,474)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 970,282; female 547,753) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 36,306; female 20,338) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | practically no crops; fish |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 6 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total:
27,830 sq km land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
total: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | 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. | Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. |
Birth rate | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.83 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$125 million expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $11 billion
expenditures: $17.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 02/03) |
Capital | Bujumbura | Kuwait |
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; wet seasons from February to May and September to November, and dry seasons from June to August and December to January | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 499 km |
Constitution | 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 | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Burundi conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt |
Currency | Burundi franc (BIF) | Kuwaiti dinar (KD) |
Death rate | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.45 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.12 billion (1999 est.) | $10.4 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard H. JONES
embassy: Bayan, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat, 13001 Safat, Kuwait Unit 69000, APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 539-5307, ext. 2240 FAX: [965] 538-0282 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Sheikh SALIM al-Abdallah Jabir Al Sabah
chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517 |
Disputes - international | none | the Kuwait 1994 land and Khawr 'Abd Allah channel boundary demarcation ended Iraqi claims to Kuwait and Bubiyan and Warbah islands; Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are negotiating maritime boundary with Iran |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.344 billion (1999 est.) | NA |
Economy - overview | 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. | Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of about 98 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country. Oil production declined by an estimated 8% in 2002 but is expected to return to the 2001 level in 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 160.1 million kWh (1999) | 29.29 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 29 million kWh
note: supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999) |
0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 141 million kWh (1999) | 31.49 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0.71% hydro: 99.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Lake Tanganyika 772 m highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m |
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to: Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% |
Exchange rates | Burundi francs per US dollar - 782.36 (January 2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 477.77 (1998), 352.35 (1997), 302.75 (1996) | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.3 (2002), 0.31 (2001), 0.31 (2000), 0.3 (1999), 0.3 (1998) |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31 December 1977)
head of government: Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 13 July 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister NAWWAF al-Ahmad Al Sabah (since 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers JABIR MUBARAK al-Hamad Al Sabah (since 2001) and Muhammad Dayfallah al-SHARAR (since 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $32 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | oil and refined products, fertilizers |
Exports - partners | Germany 17%, Belgium 14%, US 8%, France 6%, Switzerland 4% (1999) | Japan 24.4%, South Korea 12.9%, US 11.9%, Singapore 10.1%, Taiwan 7%, Netherlands 4.5%, Pakistan 4.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | 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) | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $36.85 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
50% industry: 18% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 60%
industry: 39.7% services: 0.3% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $720 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.8% (2000 est.) | -2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 29 30 N, 45 45 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf |
Heliports | - | 3 (2002) |
Highways | total:
14,480 km paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1996) |
total: 4,450 km
paved: 3,587 km unpaved: 863 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 26.6% (1992) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $110 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing |
Imports - partners | Belgium 20%, Zambia 11%, Kenya 8%, South Africa 5%, France 4% (1999) | US 13.1%, Japan 11.1%, Germany 9.7%, Saudi Arabia 6.6%, UK 6%, Italy 5.4%, France 5.2% (2002) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | 19 June 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.3% (1999 est.) | -5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing | petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | 70.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 10.57 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 22% (2000 est.) | 2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 140 sq km (1993 est.) | 60 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | 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) | High Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 1.9 million | 1.3 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force. (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture NA, industries NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | total:
974 km border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
total: 462 km
border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
Land use | arable land:
44% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 36% forests and woodland: 3% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.34%
permanent crops: 0.06% other: 99.6% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | Arabic (official), English widely spoken |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Islamists 21, government supporters 14, liberals 3, and independents 12; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
46.06 years male: 45.15 years female: 46.99 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.65 years
male: 75.72 years female: 77.62 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 35.3% male: 49.3% female: 22.5% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,273,628 GRT/3,638,645 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 6, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 19, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Monaco 1, Saudi Arabia 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie | Army, Navy, Air Force (including Air Defense Force), National Police Force, National Guard, Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $57 million (FY97) | $1,967.3 million (FY01)
note: Kuwait is changing its fiscal year; the above figure is for July-March 2001; future budget years will be April-March annually |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 6.1% (FY97) | 5.5% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,394,273 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 845,026 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
728,326 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 508,399 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 16 years of age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
79,360 (2001 est.) |
males: 18,885 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | National Day, 25 February (1950) |
Nationality | noun:
Burundian(s) adjective: Burundi |
noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 169 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] |
none; formation of political parties is illegal |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Loosely organized Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Tutsi extremist parties | several political groups act as de facto parties: Bedouins, merchants, Sunni and Shi'a activists, and secular leftists and nationalists |
Population | 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.) |
2,183,161
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36.2% (1990 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.38% (2001 est.) | 3.34%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bujumbura | Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 440,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | adult males who have been naturalized for 30 years or more or have resided in Kuwait since before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21
note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote; in 1996, naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but have been naturalized for 30 years were eligible to vote for the first time |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: the quality of service is excellent
domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones international: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 16,000 (1997) | 412,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 619 (1997) | 210,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1999) | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | flat to slightly undulating desert plain |
Total fertility rate | 6.16 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.08 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 7% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | Lake Tanganyika | none |