Burundi (2005) | British Virgin Islands (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46% (male 1,479,941/female 1,450,808)
15-64 years: 51.3% (male 1,617,864/female 1,653,331) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 66,199/female 102,466) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 21% (male 2,400/female 2,358)
15-64 years: 73.9% (male 8,607/female 8,115) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 614/female 549) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
Airports | 8 (2004 est.) | 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only one hundred days 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, briefly intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. A new transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001, signed a power-sharing agreement with the largest rebel faction in December 2003 and set in place a provisional constitution in October 2004. Implementation of the agreement has been problematic, however, as one remaining rebel group refuses to sign on and elections have been repeatedly delayed, clouding prospects for a sustainable peace. | First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
Birth rate | 39.66 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.96 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $152.5 million
expenditures: $187.7 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1997) |
Capital | Bujumbura | Road Town |
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 | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 80 km |
Constitution | 13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political system; supplanted on 20 October 2004 by a provisional constitution approved by the parliament which extended the transition; a 28 February 2005 popular referendum ratified the new constitution which set ethnic quotas for government positions, and tentatively scheduled general elections for April 2005 | 1 June 1977 |
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: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
Death rate | 17.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.133 billion (2002) | $36.1 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
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 territory of the UK) |
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 territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | Tutsi, Hutu, 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 in an effort to gain control over populated and natural resource areas; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite the presence of about 6,000 peacekeepers from the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) since 2004; although some 150,000 Burundian refugees have been repatriated, as of February 2005, Burundian refugees still reside in camps in western Tanzania as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo | none |
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 more than 200,000 deaths, forced 450,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 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, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959. |
Electricity - consumption | 137.8 million kWh (2002) | 33.74 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 15 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 132 million kWh (2002) | 36.28 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Heha 2,670 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 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 | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed |
Exchange rates | Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003), 930.75 (2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000) | 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 Frederic NGENZEBUHORO (since 11 November 2004)
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 Frederic NGENZEBUHORO (since 11 November 2004) 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; note - next presidential election is scheduled for 22 April 2005 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
Exports | NA | NA |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
Exports - partners | Germany 19.6%, Belgium 8.2%, Pakistan 6.7%, US 5.6%, Rwanda 5.6%, Thailand 5.4% (2004) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
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) | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 48.1%
industry: 19% services: 32.9% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $600 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $38,500 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2004 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 18 30 N, 64 30 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 | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
Highways | total: 14,480 km
paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1999 est.) |
total: 177 km
paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | NA | NA |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
Imports - partners | Kenya 13.7%, Tanzania 11.2%, US 8.9%, Belgium 8.5%, France 8.4%, Italy 6%, Uganda 5.6%, Japan 4.6%, Germany 4.5% (2004) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
Infant mortality rate | total: 69.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 18.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.5% (2004 est.) | 2.5% (2003) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU |
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) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
Labor force | 2.99 million (2002) | 12,770 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 93.6%, industry 2.3%, services 4.1% (2002 est.) | 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: 35.05%
permanent crops: 14.02% other: 50.93% (2001) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2001) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | English (official) |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English law |
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 currently planned to be held by April 2005) 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 Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 50.29 years
male: 49.61 years female: 50.99 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 76.49 years
male: 75.41 years female: 77.62 years (2005 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: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,825 GRT/155,909 DWT
by type: cargo 1 registered in other countries: 7 (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales, FDN): Army (includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing), National Gendarmerie (2005) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $38.7 million (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 6% (2004) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Territory Day, 1 July |
Nationality | noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | the three national, mainstream, governing parties are: Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Jean-Baptiste MANWANGARI, secretary general]; Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Jean MINANI, president]; National Council for the Defense of Democracy, Front for the Defense of Democracy of CNDD-FDD [Pierre NKURUNZIZA, president]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: National Resistance Movement for the Rehabilitation of the Citizen or MRC-Rurenzangemero [Epitace BANYAGANAKANDI]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA] |
Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
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 | 6,370,609
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 2005 est.) |
22,643 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (2002 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.22% (2005 est.) | 2.06% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bujumbura | Road Town |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 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: country code - 257; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda |
Telephones - main lines in use | 23,900 (2003) | 11,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 64,000 (2003) | 8,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
Total fertility rate | 5.81 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 3% (1995) |
Waterways | mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2004) | - |