Burundi (2003) | French Guiana (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 | none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.7% (male 1,438,759; female 1,409,567)
15-64 years: 50.6% (male 1,516,833; female 1,564,513) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 66,355; female 100,129) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 30.2% (male 28,140; female 26,876)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 63,183; female 53,902) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 5,192; female 5,040) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 7 (2002) | 11 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
Area | total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Indiana |
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. Burundi 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 toward holding national elections in three years. While the Government of Burundi signed a cease-fire agreement in December 2002 with three of Burundi's four Hutu rebel groups, implementation of the agreement has been problematic and one rebel group refuses to sign on, clouding prospects for a sustainable peace. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
Birth rate | 39.72 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 21.66 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $125 million
expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) (1996) |
Capital | Bujumbura | Cayenne |
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; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 378 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 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
Currency | Burundi franc (BIF) | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) |
Death rate | 17.8 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 4.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.14 billion (2001) | $1.2 billion (1988) (1988) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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 (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Antoine NTAMOBWA
chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated and natural resource areas; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) |
Economic aid - recipient | $92.7 million (2000) | $NA |
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. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. Since October 1993 an ethnic-based war has resulted in the death of over 200,000 persons, sent 800,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 525,000 others internally. Doubts about the prospects for sustainable peace continue to impede development. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in ten adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. | The economy is tied closely to the French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou, fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
Electricity - consumption | 177.5 million kWh (2001) | 418.5 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 33 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 155.4 million kWh (2001) | 450 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 0.6%
hydro: 99.4% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
- |
Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
Exchange rates | Burundi francs per US dollar - NA (2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 447.77 (1998) | Euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the second half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1 November 2001; Vice President Alphonse KADEGE (since 30 April 2003); note - from the Tutsi minority
head of government: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the second half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1 November 2001; Vice President Alphonse KADEGE (since 30 April 2003); note - from the Tutsi minority cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: NA; current president assumed power on 30 April 2003 as part of the transitional government established by the 2000 Arusha Accord |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
Exports | NA (2001) | $155 million f.o.b. (1997) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
Exports - partners | Switzerland 28.8%, Germany 20.2%, Belgium 9.4%, Kenya 7.8%, Rwanda 6.5%, Netherlands 4.6% (2002) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (1997) |
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) | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.146 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 50%
industry: 19% services: 31% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $500 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,000 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 4 00 N, 53 00 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 | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
Highways | total: 14,480 km
paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1999 est.) |
total: 1,817 km
paved: 817 km unpaved: 1,000 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | $625 million c.i.f. (1997) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
Imports - partners | Belgium 12.4%, Saudi Arabia 12.3%, Tanzania 9.3%, Kenya 7.7%, France 7.4%, India 4.5% (2002) | France 52%, US 14%, Trinidad and Tobago 6% (1997) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 18% (2001) | NA% |
Industries | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 71.54 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 78.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
13.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (1992) (1992) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | FZ, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 740 sq km (1998 est.) | 20 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) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
Labor force | 3.7 million (2000) | 58,800 (1997) (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | services, government, and commerce 61%, industry 21%, agriculture 18% (1980) |
Land boundaries | total: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.98%
permanent crops: 12.85% other: 57.17% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.11% NEGL
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 99.86% (90% forest, 10% other) (1998 est.) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | French |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French legal system |
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 was 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 General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 43.2 years
male: 42.54 years female: 43.88 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 76.49 years
male: 73.16 years female: 79.99 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.6% male: 58.5% female: 45.2% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army (including naval and air units), Gendarmerie | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $42.13 million (FY02) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.3% (FY02) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,375,900 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 50,504 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 723,516 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 32,720 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 16 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 79,462 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish |
Net migration rate | -0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | the two national, mainstream, governing parties are: Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Alphonse KADEGE, 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 NZEYIMANA]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA]; People's Reconciliation Party or PRP [Mathias HITIMANA] |
Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE]; Socialist Party or PS [Pierre RIBARDIERE]; Walwari Committee [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
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 | 6,096,156
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 2003 est.) |
182,333 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.18% (2003 est.) | 2.57% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bujumbura | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
Radios | - | 104,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | 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: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.17 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.13 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: NA
domestic: fair open wire and microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 18,000 (2002) | 47,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (2002) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.99 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.13 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 21.4% (1998) (1998) |
Waterways | Lake Tanganyika | 3,300 km navigable by native craft
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers |