Burundi (2001) | Samoa (2007) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi | 11 districts; A'ana, Aiga-i-le-Tai, Atua, Fa'asaleleaga, Gaga'emauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli, Satupa'itea, Tuamasaga, Va'a-o-Fonoti, Vaisigano |
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: 38.1% (male 41,551/female 40,085)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 63,320/female 57,277) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 5,416/female 6,616) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, cocoa |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 4 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total:
27,830 sq km land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
total: 2,944 sq km
land: 2,934 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. | New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997. |
Birth rate | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$125 million expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $171.3 million
expenditures: $78.1 million (FY04/05 est.) |
Capital | Bujumbura | name: Apia
geographic coordinates: 13 50 S, 171 44 W time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 403 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 | 1 January 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: Independent State of Samoa
conventional short form: Samoa local long form: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa local short form: Samoa former: Western Samoa |
Currency | Burundi franc (BIF) | - |
Death rate | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.12 billion (1999 est.) | $177 million (2004) |
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: none; US Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa
embassy: Accident Compensation Board (ACB) Building, 5th Floor, Beach Road, Apia mailing address: P. O. Box 3430, Apia, 0815 telephone: [685] 21436/21452/21631/22696 FAX: [685] 22030 |
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 Aliioaiga Feturi ELISAIA
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6196, 6197 FAX: [1] (212) 599-0797 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.344 billion (1999 est.) | $43.95 million (2005) |
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. | The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, agriculture, and fishing. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, and copra. The fish catch declined during the El Nino of 2002-03 but returned to normal by mid-2005. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. One factory in the Foreign Trade Zone employs 3,000 people to make automobile electrical harnesses for an assembly plant in Australia. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP; about 100,000 tourists visited the islands in 2005. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, while at the same time protecting the environment. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is low. |
Electricity - consumption | 160.1 million kWh (1999) | 97.65 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 29 million kWh
note: supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999) |
0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 141 million kWh (1999) | 105 million kWh (2005) |
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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mauga Silisili (Savaii) 1,857 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, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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 | Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4% |
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) | tala per US dollar - 2.7594 (2006), 2.7103 (2005), 2.7807 (2004), 2.9732 (2003), 3.3763 (2002) |
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: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi (since 20 June 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA (since 1996); Deputy Prime Minister MISA Telefoni (since 2001) cabinet: Cabinet consists of 12 members appointed by the chief of state on the prime minister's advice elections: chief of state is elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 15 June 2007 (next to be held in 2012); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state with the approval of the Legislative Assembly election results: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi unanimously elected by the Legislative Assembly |
Exports | $32 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, automotive parts, garments, beer |
Exports - partners | Germany 17%, Belgium 14%, US 8%, France 6%, Switzerland 4% (1999) | Australia 44%, American Samoa 29.9%, Taiwan 11.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | June 1 - May 31 |
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) | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross constellation |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
50% industry: 18% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 11.4%
industry: 58.4% services: 30.2% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $720 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.8% (2000 est.) | 5.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 13 35 S, 172 20 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed | occupies an almost central position within Polynesia |
Highways | total:
14,480 km paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1996) |
- |
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 bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Belgium 20%, Zambia 11%, Kenya 8%, South Africa 5%, France 4% (1999) | NZ 21.5%, Fiji 14.8%, Singapore 13.2%, Australia 8.6%, Japan 8.6%, US 6.2%, Indonesia 5%, China 4.4% (2006) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | 1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.3% (1999 est.) | 2.8% (2000) |
Industries | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing | food processing, building materials, auto parts |
Infant mortality rate | 70.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 25.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 22% (2000 est.) | 3.3% (2005) |
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, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 140 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
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) | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; District Court; Land and Titles Court |
Labor force | 1.9 million | 90,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 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: 21.13%
permanent crops: 24.3% other: 54.57% (2005) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | Samoan (Polynesian), English |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law and local customs; judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of the citizen; 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 Legislative Assembly or Fono (49 seats, 47 elected by voters affiliated with traditional village-based electoral districts, 2 elected by independent, mostly non-Samoan or part-Samoan, voters who cannot, (or choose not to) establish a village affiliation; only chiefs (matai) may stand for election to the Fono from the 47 village-based electorates; members serve five-year terms)
elections: election last held 31 March 2006 (next election to be held not later than March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - HRPP 35, SDUP 10, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
46.06 years male: 45.15 years female: 46.99 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.3 years
male: 68.49 years female: 74.26 years (2007 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: 99.7% male: 99.6% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 7,091 GRT/8,127 DWT
by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Cyprus 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | Samoa has no formal defense structure or regular armed forces; informal defense ties exist with NZ, which is required to consider any Samoan request for assistance under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship |
Military branches | Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie | no regular military forces; Samoa Police Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $57 million (FY97) | - |
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 Celebration, 1 June (1962); note - 1 January 1962 is the date of independence from the New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship; it is observed in June |
Nationality | noun:
Burundian(s) adjective: Burundi |
noun: Samoan(s)
adjective: Samoan |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | occasional typhoons; active volcanism |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower | hardwood forests, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -9.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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] |
Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA]; Samoa Christian Party or TCP [Tuala Tiresa MALIETOA]; Samoa Democratic United Party or SDUP [LE MAMEA Ropati]; Samoa Party or SP [Su'a Rimoni Ah CHONG]; Samoa Progressive Political Party or SPPP [Toeolesulusulu SIUEVA] |
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.) |
214,265
note: prior estimates used official net migration data by sex, but a highly unusual pattern for 1993 lead to a significant imbalance in the sex ratios (more men and fewer women) and a seeming reduction in the female population; the revised total was calculated using a 1993 number that was an average of the 1992 and 1994 migration figures (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36.2% (1990 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.38% (2001 est.) | 1.291% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bujumbura | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 440,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | Congregationalist 34.8%, Roman Catholic 19.6%, Methodist 15%, Latter-Day Saints 12.7%, Assembly of God 6.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.5%, Worship Centre 1.3%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.9%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.037 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.106 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.819 male(s)/female total population: 1.061 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 21 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: adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 16,000 (1997) | 19,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 619 (1997) | 24,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1999) | 2 (2002) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior |
Total fertility rate | 6.16 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | Lake Tanganyika | - |