Guernsey (2005) | Burundi (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson, Vale, Castel, Saint Saviour, Saint Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, Saint Martin, Saint Andrew | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.4% (male 5,084/female 4,937)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 21,611/female 22,002) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,882/female 6,712) (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides |
Airports | 2 (2004 est.) | 7 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 6 6
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Area | total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
Area - comparative | about one-half the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. | 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. |
Birth rate | 9.01 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 39.87 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $539.2 million
expenditures: $448.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $125 million
expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Saint Peter Port | Bujumbura |
Climate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast | 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 |
Coastline | 50 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 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 |
Country name | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
Currency | - | Burundi franc (BIF) |
Death rate | 9.95 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 16.3 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.12 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | 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 | none (British crown dependency) | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $74 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny, prosperous Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 166.64 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 29 million kWh
note: supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2000) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 148 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 1%
hydro: 99% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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 |
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 | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
Exchange rates | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001), 0.6609 (2000)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
Burundi francs per US dollar - 865.14 (January 2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 477.77 (1998), 352.35 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000)
head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA% |
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 |
Exports | $NA | $24 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
Exports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | EU 52.5%, US 11.5%, Kenya 11.5%, Switzerland 4.9% (2000 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross | 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) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.7 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
agriculture: 50%
industry: 18% services: 32% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $40,000 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | 1.4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 28 N, 2 35 W | 3 30 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 14,480 km
paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 27% (1992) (1992) |
Imports | $NA | $125 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | EU 37.6%, Tanzania 10.3%, Zambia 4.3%, India 3.4%, China 3.4% (2000 est.) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 6.3% (1999 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
69.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.9% (2004 est.) | 14% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 740 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | 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) |
Labor force | 32,290 (2001) | 1.9 million |
Labor force - by occupation | - | NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 29.98%
permanent crops: 12.85% other: 57.17% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Legal system | English law and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for 4 years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - all independents |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.3 years
male: 77.3 years female: 83.41 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 45.94 years
male: 45.08 years female: 46.83 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 35.3% male: 49.3% female: 22.5% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Army (including naval and air units), Gendarmerie |
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 | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundi |
Natural hazards | NA | flooding, landslides, drought |
Natural resources | cropland | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 3.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Loosely organized Hutu and Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Hutu and Tutsi extremist parties or subordinate to government security forces |
Population | 65,228 (July 2005 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.29% (2005 est.) | 2.36% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson | Bujumbura |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | - | 440,000 (2001) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 55,000 (2001) | 20,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 31,500 (2001) | 16,300 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.38 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 6.07 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | Lake Tanganyika |