Burundi (2001) | Rwanda (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi | 12 provinces (in French - provinces, singular - province; in Kinyarwanda - prefigintara for singular and plural); Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Kigali Rurale, Kigali-ville, Umutara, Ruhengeri |
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: 41.9% (male 1,777,178/female 1,762,252)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 2,328,686/female 2,356,572) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 87,155/female 128,977) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 9 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
27,830 sq km land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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. | In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and the former Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but about 10,000 that remain in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo have formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF tried in 1990. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in August and September 2003, respectively - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output, and ethnic reconciliation is complicated by the real and perceived Tutsi political dominance. Kigali's increasing centralization and intolerance of dissent, the nagging Hutu extremist insurgency across the border, and Rwandan involvement in two wars in recent years in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts to escape its bloody legacy. |
Birth rate | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 40.6 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$125 million expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $354.5 million
expenditures: $385 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Bujumbura | Kigali |
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 | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
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 | new constitution adopted 4 June 2003 |
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 Rwanda
conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda |
Currency | Burundi franc (BIF) | - |
Death rate | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.32 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.12 billion (1999 est.) | $1.3 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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henderson PATRICK
embassy: 337 Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali telephone: [250] 50 56 01 through 03 FAX: [250] 57 2128 |
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 Zac NSENGA
chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544 |
Disputes - international | none | Tutsi, Hutu, Hema, Lendu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas and natural resources - government heads pledge to end conflicts, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts; DROC and Rwanda established a border verification mechanism in 2005 to address accusations of Rwandan military supporting Congolese rebels and the Congo providing rebel Rwandan "Interhamwe" forces the means and bases to attack Rwandan forces; as of 2004, Rwandan refugees lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Zambia |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.344 billion (1999 est.) | $372.9 million (1999) |
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. | Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa; landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded the country's ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels, although poverty levels are higher now. GDP has rebounded and inflation has been curbed. Export earnings, however, have been hindered by low beverage prices, depriving the country of much needed hard currency. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, requiring food imports. Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid money and was approved for IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in late 2000. Kigali's high defense expenditures have caused tension between the government and international donors and lending agencies. An energy shortage and instability in neighboring states may slow growth in 2005, while the lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries continues to handicap export growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 160.1 million kWh (1999) | 195 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 29 million kWh
note: supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999) |
40 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 141 million kWh (1999) | 166.7 million kWh (2002) |
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: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 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 | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching |
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, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% |
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) | Rwandan francs per US dollar - 574.62 (2004), 537.66 (2003), 476.33 (2002), 442.8 (2001), 393.44 (2000) |
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 Paul KAGAME (since 22 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: last held 25 August 2003 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: Paul KAGAME elected president in first direct popular vote; Paul KAGAME 95.05%, Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU 3.62%, Jean-Nepomuscene NAYINZIRA 1.33% |
Exports | $32 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore |
Exports - partners | Germany 17%, Belgium 14%, US 8%, France 6%, Switzerland 4% (1999) | Indonesia 64.2%, China 3.6%, Germany 2.7% (2004) |
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) | three horizontal bands of sky blue (top, double width), yellow, and green, with a golden sun with 24 rays near the fly end of the blue band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
50% industry: 18% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 41.1%
industry: 21.2% services: 37.7% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $720 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.8% (2000 est.) | 0.9% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 2 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed | landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural |
Highways | total:
14,480 km paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1996) |
total: 12,000 km
paved: 996 km unpaved: 11,004 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 26.6% (1992) |
lowest 10%: 4.2%
highest 10%: 24.2% (1985) |
Imports | $110 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material |
Imports - partners | Belgium 20%, Zambia 11%, Kenya 8%, South Africa 5%, France 4% (1999) | Kenya 24.4%, Germany 7.4%, Belgium 6.6%, Uganda 6.3%, France 5.1% (2004) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.3% (1999 est.) | 7% (2001 est.) |
Industries | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | 70.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 91.23 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 96.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 85.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 22% (2000 est.) | 7% (2004 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 140 sq km (1993 est.) | 40 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) | Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees |
Labor force | 1.9 million | 4.6 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture 90% |
Land boundaries | total:
974 km border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
total: 893 km
border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
Land use | arable land:
44% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 36% forests and woodland: 3% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 40.54%
permanent crops: 12.16% other: 47.3% (2001) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; 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 Assemblee Nationale (53 seats; members elected by direct vote)
elections: last held 29 September 2003 (next to be held Chamber of Deputies - NA 2008; Senate - NA 2011) election results: seats by party under the 2003 Constitution - RPF 40, PSD 7, PL 6 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
46.06 years male: 45.15 years female: 46.99 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 46.96 years
male: 45.92 years female: 48.03 years (2005 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: 70.4% male: 76.3% female: 64.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie | Rwandan Defense Forces: Army, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $57 million (FY97) | $50.1 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 6.1% (FY97) | 3.2% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,394,273 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | 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 | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
Burundian(s) adjective: Burundi |
noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
People - note | - | Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa |
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] |
Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Alfred MUKEZAMFURA]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [Adrien RANGIRA]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR (officially banned) [Celestin KABANDA]; Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Prosper HIGIRO]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned) [Pasteur BIZIMUNGU and Charles NTAKARUTINKA]; Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Loosely organized Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Tutsi extremist parties | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors |
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.) |
8,440,820
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 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36.2% (1990 est.) | 60% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.38% (2001 est.) | 2.43% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bujumbura | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 8 (two main FM programs are broadcast through a system of repeaters, three international FM programs include the BBC, VOA, and Deutchewelle), shortwave 1 (2005) |
Radios | 440,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001) |
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: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal adult |
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: telephone system primarily serves business and government
domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the provinces by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone international: country code - 250; international connections employ microwave radio relay to neighboring countries and satellite communications to more distant countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 16,000 (1997) | 23,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 619 (1997) | 134,000
note: Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several provincial capitals (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1999) | 2 (2004) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east |
Total fertility rate | 6.16 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.49 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA |
Waterways | Lake Tanganyika | Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2004) |