Burundi (2001) | Saint Kitts and Nevis (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi | 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point |
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: 29.4% (male 5,827; female 5,571)
15-64 years: 61.9% (male 11,980; female 12,005) 65 years and over: 8.7% (male 1,383; female 1,970) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 2 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
27,830 sq km land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. |
Birth rate | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.61 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$125 million expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $85.7 million
expenditures: $95.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Bujumbura | Basseterre |
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 tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 135 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 September 1983 |
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: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
Currency | Burundi franc (BIF) | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.04 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.12 billion (1999 est.) | $140 million (2000) (2000) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis |
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 Osbert LIBURD
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.344 billion (1999 est.) | $5.5 million (1995) (1995) |
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. | Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the St. Kitts economy until the 1970s. Although the crop still dominates the agricultural sector, activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy. As tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange, a decline in stopover tourist arrivals following the September 11 terrorist attacks has eroded government finances. The government revised estimates of 2001 growth down to 1% and faces dim recovery prospects in 2002, given the depressed state of the tourism industry, low sugar prices, and a growing budget deficit. |
Electricity - consumption | 160.1 million kWh (1999) | 88.35 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 29 million kWh
note: supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999) |
0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 141 million kWh (1999) | 95 million kWh (2000) |
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% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Lake Tanganyika 772 m highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 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 | NA |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
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 | predominantly black some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese |
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) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | $32 million (f.o.b., 2000) | $51.7 million (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco |
Exports - partners | Germany 17%, Belgium 14%, US 8%, France 6%, Switzerland 4% (1999) | US 68.5%, UK 22.3%, Caricom countries 5.5% (1995 est.) |
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) | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $339 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
50% industry: 18% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 26% services: 71% (2001) (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $720 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.8% (2000 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 17 20 N, 62 45 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed | with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island |
Highways | total:
14,480 km paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1996) |
total: 320 km
paved: 136 km unpaved: 184 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 26.6% (1992) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity |
Imports | $110 million (f.o.b., 2000) | $141.3 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels |
Imports - partners | Belgium 20%, Zambia 11%, Kenya 8%, South Africa 5%, France 4% (1999) | US 42.4%, Caricom countries 17.2%, UK 11.3% (1995 est.) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | 19 September 1983 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.3% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing | sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 70.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 15.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 22% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2001 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 140 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
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) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) |
Labor force | 1.9 million | 18,172 (June 1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | 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: 16.67%
permanent crops: 2.78% other: 80.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | English |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
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 (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 6 March 2000 (next to be held by July 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 8, CCM 2, NRP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
46.06 years male: 45.15 years female: 46.99 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.29 years
male: 68.49 years female: 74.26 years (2002 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 has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1980 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie | Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (including Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force (including Special Service Unit) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $57 million (FY97) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 6.1% (FY97) | NA% |
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, 19 September (1983) |
Nationality | noun:
Burundian(s) adjective: Burundi |
noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | hurricanes (July to October) |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower | arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -9.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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] |
Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsey GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Loosely organized Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Tutsi extremist parties | NA |
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.) |
38,736 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36.2% (1990 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.38% (2001 est.) | 0.01% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bujumbura | Basseterre, Charlestown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 440,000 (1997) | 28,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 58 km
narrow gauge: 58 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations (2002) |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 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: good interisland and international connections
domestic: interisland links to Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) are handled by VHF/UHF/SHF radiotelephone international: international calls are carried by radiotelephone to Antigua and Barbuda and switched there to submarine cable or to Intelsat; or carried to Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) by radiotelephone and switched to Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 16,000 (1997) | 17,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 619 (1997) | 205 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1999) | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | volcanic with mountainous interiors |
Total fertility rate | 6.16 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.39 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 4.5% (1997) (1997) |
Waterways | Lake Tanganyika | none |