Burundi (2002) | Niue (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 | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.5% (male 1,497,865; female 1,466,455)
15-64 years: 50.7% (male 1,592,253; female 1,640,254) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 71,915; female 104,260) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 7 (2001) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 6 6
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only four months in office. Since then, some 200,000 Burundians have perished in widespread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. Hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced or have become refugees in neighboring countries. Burundian troops, seeking to secure their borders, intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. More recently, many of these troops have been redeployed back to Burundi to deal with periodic upsurges in rebel activity. A new transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001, was to be the first step towards holding national elections in three years. However, the unwillingness of the Hutu rebels to enact a cease fire with Bujumbura continues to obstruct prospects for a sustainable peace. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,150 in 2005), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 39.87 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $125 million
expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA |
Capital | Bujumbura | Alofi |
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; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 64 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 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
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: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | Burundi franc (BIF) | - |
Death rate | 16.3 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $1.12 billion (2001 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James Howard YELLIN
embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] 223454 FAX: [257] 222926 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, political rebels, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $74 million (1999) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
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 more than 200,000 persons and the displacement of about 800,000 others. Only one in four children go to school, and more than one in ten adults has HIV/AIDS. Foods, medicines, and electricity remain in short supply. Doubts regarding the sustainability of peace continue to impede development. A Geneva donors' conference in November 2001 brought $800 million in pledges, and an IMF-staff-monitored program could lead to a further agreement in 2002. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although former Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million. Niue suffered a devastating hurricane in January 2004, which decimated nascent economic programs. While in the process of rebuilding, Niue has been dependent on foreign aid. |
Electricity - consumption | 166.64 million kWh (2000) | 2.79 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 29 million kWh
note: supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2000) |
0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 148 million kWh (2000) | 3 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 1%
hydro: 99% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 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 | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
Environment - international agreements | 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, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
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 | Niuen 78.2%, Pacific islander 10.2%, European 4.5%, mixed 3.9%, Asian 0.2%, unspecified 3% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Burundi francs per US dollar - 865.14 (January 2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 477.77 (1998), 352.35 (1997) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001), 2.2012 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Pierre BUYOYA (a Tutsi, was sworn in as president of a transition government on 1 November 2001; he is scheduled to hold office for 18 months before transferring power to his vice president, a Hutu); Vice President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 1 November 2001)
head of government: President Pierre BUYOYA (a Tutsi, was sworn in as president of a transition government on 1 November 2001; he is scheduled to hold office for 18 months before transferring power to his vice president, a Hutu); Vice President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 1 November 2001) 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); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 12 May 2005 (next to be held May 2008) election results: Young VIVIAN reelected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 85%, O'Love JACOBSEN (independent) 15% |
Exports | $24 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | EU 52.5%, US 11.5%, Kenya 11.5%, Switzerland 4.9% (2000 est.) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) |
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) | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.7 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 50%
industry: 18% services: 32% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 55% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.4% (2001 est.) | -0.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile | one of world's largest coral islands |
Highways | total: 14,480 km
paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1996) |
total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 27% (1992) (1992) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $125 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | EU 37.6%, Tanzania 10.3%, Zambia 4.3%, India 3.4%, China 3.4% (2000 est.) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
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 | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 69.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14% (2001 est.) | 1% (1995) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, FAO, PIF, Sparteca, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 740 sq km (1998 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) | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 1.9 million | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
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: 29.98%
permanent crops: 12.85% other: 57.17% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 15.38%
permanent crops: 11.54% other: 73.08% (2001) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
Legislative branch | bicameral, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (expanded from 121 to approximately 140 seats under the transitional government inaugurated 1 November 2001; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; term length is undefined, the current senators will likely serve out the three-year transition period)
elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in 1998, but were suspended by presidential decree in 1996; elections are planned to follow the completion of the three-year transitional government) election results: percent of vote by party - FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA 21.4%, other 7.56%; seats by party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16, civilians 27, other parties 13 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 30 April 2005 (next to be held April 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 45.94 years
male: 45.08 years female: 46.83 years (2002 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 35.3% male: 49.3% female: 22.5% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army (including naval and air units), Gendarmerie | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $36.9 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.3% (FY01) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,439,032 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 752,584 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 16 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 79,360 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundi |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | typhoons |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | the 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] |
Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Loosely organized Hutu and Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Hutu and Tutsi extremist parties or subordinate to government security forces | NA |
Population | 6,373,002
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 2002 est.) |
2,166 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2001 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.36% (2002 est.) | 0% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bujumbura | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 440,000 (2001) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 61.1%, Latter-Day Saints 8.8%, Roman Catholic 7.2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2.4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, other 8.4%, unspecified 8.7%, none 1.9% (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: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
NA |
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) |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: country code - 683 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (2000) | 1,100 est (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 16,300 (2000) | 400 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 6.07 children born/woman (2002 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA |
Waterways | Lake Tanganyika | - |