Burundi (2001) | Madagascar (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi | 6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara |
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: 44.9% (male 3,935,523; female 3,922,077)
15-64 years: 52% (male 4,509,877; female 4,596,662) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 245,168; female 292,564) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 116 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 29
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 87
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 42 under 914 m: 43 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
27,830 sq km land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
total: 587,040 sq km
land: 581,540 sq km water: 5,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly less than twice the size of Arizona |
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. | Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1896, but regained its independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held, ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. |
Birth rate | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 41.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$125 million expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $739.6 million
expenditures: $1.071 billion, including capital expenditures of $331 million (2003) |
Capital | Bujumbura | Antananarivo |
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 | tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 4,828 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 | 19 August 1992 by national referendum |
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: Republic of Madagascar
conventional short form: Madagascar local long form: Republique de Madagascar local short form: Madagascar former: Malagasy Republic |
Currency | Burundi franc (BIF) | Malagasy franc (MGF) |
Death rate | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.62 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.12 billion (1999 est.) | $4.6 billion (2002) |
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 Wanda L. NESBITT
embassy: 14-16 Rue Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo 101 mailing address: B. P. 620, Antsahavola, Antananarivo telephone: [261] (20) 22-212-57, 22-212-73, 22-209-56 FAX: [261] (20) 22-345-39 |
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 Rajaonarivony NARISOA
chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-5525, 5526 FAX: [1] (202) 483-7603 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France) |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.344 billion (1999 est.) | $354 million (2001) |
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. | Having discarded past socialist economic policies, Madagascar has since the mid 1990s followed a World Bank and IMF led policy of privatization and liberalization. This strategy has placed the country on a slow and steady growth path from an extremely low level. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for more than one-fourth of GDP and employing four-fifths of the population. Exports of apparel have boomed in recent years primarily due to duty-free access to the United States. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel are serious concerns. President RAVALOMANANA has worked aggressively to revive the economy following the 2002 political crisis, which triggered a 12% drop in GDP that year. Poverty reduction and combating corruption will be the centerpieces of economic policy for the next few years. |
Electricity - consumption | 160.1 million kWh (1999) | 772.1 million 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) | 830.2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0.71% hydro: 99.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Lake Tanganyika 772 m highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 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 | soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna unique to the island are endangered |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 | Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran |
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) | Malagasy francs per US dollar - 6,210 (2003), 6,831.96 (2002), 6,588.49 (2001), 6,767.48 (2000), 6,283.77 (1999) |
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: President Marc RAVALOMANANA (since 6 May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Jacques SYLLA (27 May 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Didier RATSIRAKA (AREMA) 37.7%, Marc RAVALOMANANA (TIM) 50.5% |
Exports | $32 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar; cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Germany 17%, Belgium 14%, US 8%, France 6%, Switzerland 4% (1999) | France 37.4%, US 29.2%, Germany 5.5%, Mauritius 5.2% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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) | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $13.02 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
50% industry: 18% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 34.5%
industry: 7.8% services: 57.7% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $720 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.8% (2000 est.) | 6% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 20 00 S, 47 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed | world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel |
Highways | total:
14,480 km paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1996) |
total: 49,827 km
paved: 5,780 km unpaved: 44,047 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 26.6% (1992) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin |
Imports | $110 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food |
Imports - partners | Belgium 20%, Zambia 11%, Kenya 8%, South Africa 5%, France 4% (1999) | China 14.2%, France 13.2%, South Africa 6.4%, Iran 6.2% (2003) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | 26 June 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.3% (1999 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing | meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 70.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 78.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 86.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 22% (2000 est.) | 8% (2003 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, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 140 sq km (1993 est.) | 10,900 sq km (2000 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) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle |
Labor force | 1.9 million | 7.3 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | - |
Land boundaries | total:
974 km border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
44% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 36% forests and woodland: 3% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 5.07%
permanent crops: 1.03% other: 93.91% (2001) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | French (official), Malagasy (official) |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; 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 |
bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (160 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); Senate (100 seats; two-thirds of the seats filled by regional assemblies whose members will be elected by popular vote; the remaining one-third of the seats appointed by the president; all members will serve four-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - TIM 103, FP 22, AREMA 3, LEADER/Fanilo 2, RPSD 5, others 3, independents 22 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
46.06 years male: 45.15 years female: 46.99 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 56.54 years
male: 54.19 years female: 58.96 years (2004 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: 68.9% male: 75.5% female: 62.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or 100 nm from the 2,500-m deep isobath |
Merchant marine | - | total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 14,865 GRT/17,936 DWT
by type: cargo 8, chemical tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 registered in other countries: 2 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie | People's Armed Forces: comprising Intervention Force, Development Force, and Aeronaval - Navy and Air - Force; National Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $57 million (FY97) | $69.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 6.1% (FY97) | 1.2% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,394,273 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 4,004,242 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
728,326 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,373,342 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 16 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
79,360 (2001 est.) |
males: 169,186 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Independence Day, 26 June (1960) |
Nationality | noun:
Burundian(s) adjective: Burundi |
noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)
adjective: Malagasy |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | periodic cyclones, drought, and locust infestation |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower | graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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] |
Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar or AREMA [Pierrot RAJAONARIVO]; Economic Liberalism and Democratic Action for National Recovery or LEADER/Fanilo [Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO]; Fihaonana Party or FP [Guy-Willy RAZANAMASY]; I Love Madagascar or TIM [Marc RAVALOMANANA]; Renewal of the Social Democratic Party or RPSD [Evariste MARSON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Loosely organized Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Tutsi extremist parties | Committee for the Defense of Truth and Justice or KMMR; Committee for National Reconciliation or CRN [Albert Zafy]; National Council of Christian Churches or FFKM |
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.) |
17,501,871 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36.2% (1990 est.) | 71% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.38% (2001 est.) | 3.03% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bujumbura | Antsiranana, Antsohimbondrona, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Radios | 440,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 732 km
narrow gauge: 732 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal |
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: system is above average for the region
domestic: open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter links connect regions international: country code - 261; submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 16,000 (1997) | 59,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 619 (1997) | 279,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1999) | 1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center |
Total fertility rate | 6.16 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.7 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 5.9% (1998) |
Waterways | Lake Tanganyika | 600 km (2004) |