Burundi (2003) | Northern Mariana Islands (2006) | |
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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 (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order: Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian |
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: 19.4% (male 8,350/female 7,623)
15-64 years: 79% (male 26,715/female 38,442) 65 years and over: 1.6% (male 679/female 650) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle |
Airports | 7 (2002) | 5 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
total: 477 sq km
land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | 2.5 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. 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. | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975, and came into force on 24 March 1976. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. |
Birth rate | 39.72 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 19.43 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $125 million
expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $193 million
expenditures: $223 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02 est.) |
Capital | Bujumbura | name: Saipan
geographic coordinates: 15 12 N, 145 45 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of 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 marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,482 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 | Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978; Covenant Agreement fully effective 4 November 1986 |
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: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands abbreviation: CNMI former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Mariana Islands District |
Currency | Burundi franc (BIF) | - |
Death rate | 17.8 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.29 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.14 billion (2001) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs |
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 |
- |
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 |
- |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $92.7 million (2000) | extensive funding from US |
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 benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with the employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. |
Electricity - consumption | 177.5 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh |
Electricity - imports | 33 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001) | 0 kWh |
Electricity - production | 155.4 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 0.6%
hydro: 99.4% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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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 on Agrihan 965 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 | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development |
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 | Asian 56.3%, Pacific islander 36.3%, Caucasian 1.8%, other 0.8%, mixed 4.8% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Burundi francs per US dollar - NA (2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 447.77 (1998) | the US dollar is used |
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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Benigno R. FITIAL (since 9 January 2006); Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. VILLAGOMEZ (since 9 January 2006) cabinet: the cabinet consists of the heads of the 10 principal departments under the executive branch who are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate; other members include Special Assistants to the governor and office heads appointed by and reporting directly to the governor elections: under the US Consitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 5 November 2005 (next to be held November 2009) election results: Benigno R. FITIAL elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Benigno R. FITIAL (Covenant Party) 28.07%, Heinz HOFSCHNEIDER (Independent) 27.34%, Juan BABAUTA (Republican) 26.6%, Froilan TENORIO (Democrat) 17.99% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | garments |
Exports - partners | Switzerland 28.8%, Germany 20.2%, Belgium 9.4%, Kenya 7.8%, Rwanda 6.5%, Netherlands 4.6% (2002) | US (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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) | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.146 billion (2002 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.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 15 12 N, 145 45 E |
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 | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
Highways | total: 14,480 km
paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $214.4 million $NA |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Belgium 12.4%, Saudi Arabia 12.3%, Tanzania 9.3%, Kenya 7.7%, France 7.4%, India 4.5% (2002) | US, Japan (2004) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) |
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 | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts |
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.) |
total: 6.98 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12% (2002 est.) | -0.8% (2000) |
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 | Interpol (subbureau), SPC, UPU |
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) | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court |
Labor force | 3.7 million (2000) | 44,470 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (2000) |
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: 29.98%
permanent crops: 12.85% other: 57.17% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 13.04%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 82.61% (2005) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census) |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation |
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 |
bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 5 November 2005 (next to be held November 2009); House of Representatives - last held 5 November 2005 (next to be held November 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Covenant Party 3, Republican Party 3, Democratic Party 2, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Covenant Party 7, Republican Party 7, Democratic Party 2, independent 2 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 43.2 years
male: 42.54 years female: 43.88 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 76.09 years
male: 73.5 years female: 78.83 years (2006 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: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army (including naval and air units), Gendarmerie | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $42.13 million (FY02) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.3% (FY02) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,375,900 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 723,516 (2003 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) | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
noun: NA (US citizens)
adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower | arable land, fish |
Net migration rate | -0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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] |
Covenant Party [Benigno R. FITIAL]; Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Juan S. REYES] |
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.) |
82,459 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.18% (2003 est.) | 2.54% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bujumbura | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 1 (2006) |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.7 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female total population: 0.77 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
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: NA international: country code - 1-670; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 18,000 (2002) | 21,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (2002) | 20,500 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 (Low Power TV on Saipan; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (2006) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 5.99 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.24 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 3.9% NA% |
Waterways | Lake Tanganyika | - |