Marshall Islands (2001) | Burundi (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 33 municipalities; Ailinginae, Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Bikar, Bikini, Bokak, Ebon, Enewetak, Erikub, Jabat, Jaluit, Jemo, Kili, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mejit, Mili, Namorik, Namu, Rongelap, Rongrik, Toke, Ujae, Ujelang, Utirik, Wotho, Wotje | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
49.29% (male 17,808; female 17,101) 15-64 years: 48.61% (male 17,573; female 16,853) 65 years and over: 2.1% (male 707; female 780) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
46.82% (male 1,472,618; female 1,441,548) 15-64 years: 50.37% (male 1,541,131; female 1,593,743) 65 years and over: 2.81% (male 71,984; female 102,873) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, tomatoes, melons, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides |
Airports | 16 (2000 est.) | 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
12 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
181.3 sq km land: 181.3 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, and Kwajalein |
total:
27,830 sq km land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the islands between 1947 and 1962. | Between 1993 and 2000, wide-spread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions in Burundi created hundreds of thousands of refugees and left tens of thousands dead. Although some refugees have returned from neighboring countries, continued ethnic strife has forced many others to flee. Burundian troops, seeking to secure their borders, have intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. |
Birth rate | 45.07 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$80.1 million expenditures: $77.4 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (FY95/96 est.) |
revenues:
$125 million expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Majuro | Bujumbura |
Climate | wet season from May to November; hot and humid; islands border typhoon belt | 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 | 370.4 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 May 1979 | 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:
Republic of the Marshall Islands conventional short form: Marshall Islands former: Marshall Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form:
Republic of Burundi conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Burundi franc (BIF) |
Death rate | 6.23 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $125 million (FY96/97 est.) | $1.12 billion (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joan M. PLAISTED embassy: Oceanside, Mejen Weto, Long Island, Majuro mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379 telephone: [692] 247-4011 FAX: [692] 247-4012 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mary Carlin YATES 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 Banny DE BRUM chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236 consulate(s) general: Honolulu |
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 | claims US territory of Wake Island | none |
Economic aid - recipient | approximately $65 million annually from the US | $1.344 billion (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms, and the most important commercial crops are coconuts, tomatoes, melons, and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US provides roughly $65 million in annual aid. Negotiations were underway in 1999 for an extended agreement. Government downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, and the decline in tourism and foreign investment due to the Asian financial difficulties caused GDP to fall in 1996-98. | 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 perhaps 250,000 persons and the displacement of about 800,000 others. Only one in four children go to school, and one in nine adults has HIV/AIDS. Foods, medicines, and electricity remain in short supply. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 160.1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 29 million kWh
note: supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 141 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel:
0.71% hydro: 99.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Likiep 10 m |
lowest point:
Lake Tanganyika 772 m highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water | 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, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Micronesian | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Burundi francs per US dollar - 782.36 (January 2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 477.77 (1998), 352.35 (1997), 302.75 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 3 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 3 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament from among its own members for a four-year term; election last held 15 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: Kessai Hesa NOTE elected president; percent of Parliament vote - 100% |
chief of state:
President Pierre BUYOYA (interim president since 27 September 1996, officially sworn in 11 June 1998), First Vice President Frederic BAMVUGINYUMVIRA (since NA June 1998), Second Vice President Mathias SINAMENYE (since NA June 1998); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Pierre BUYOYA (interim president since 27 September 1996, officially sworn in 11 June 1998), First Vice President Frederic BAMVUGINYUMVIRA (since NA June 1998), Second Vice President Mathias SINAMENYE (since NA June 1998); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government 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 | $28 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) | $32 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | fish, coconut oil, trochus shells | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
Exports - partners | US, Japan, Australia | Germany 17%, Belgium 14%, US 8%, France 6%, Switzerland 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes | 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 - $105 million (1998 est.), supplemented by approximately $65 million annual US aid | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
15% industry: 13% services: 72% (1995) |
agriculture:
50% industry: 18% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,670 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $720 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -5% (1998 est.) | 1.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 N, 168 00 E | 3 30 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands; Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed |
Highways | total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks |
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%:
3.4% highest 10%: 26.6% (1992) |
Imports | $58 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) | $110 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and tobacco | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US, Japan, Australia, NZ, Guam, Singapore | Belgium 20%, Zambia 11%, Kenya 8%, South Africa 5%, France 4% (1999) |
Independence | 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 6.3% (1999 est.) |
Industries | copra, fish, tourism, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls, offshore banking (embryonic) | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 39.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 70.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (1997) | 22% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 140 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High 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 | NA | 1.9 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | 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:
0% permanent crops: 60% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 40% |
arable land:
44% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 36% forests and woodland: 3% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (universally spoken and is the official language), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Legal system | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA note: the Council of Chiefs is a 12-member body that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (121 seats; note - new Transitional Constitution expanded the number of seats from 81 to 121 in 1998; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in 1998, but suspended by presidential decree in 1996) election results: percent of vote by party - FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA 21.4%, other 7.56%; seats by party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16, various other parties 40 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
65.84 years male: 64.04 years female: 67.73 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
46.06 years male: 45.15 years female: 46.99 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 100% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 35.3% male: 49.3% female: 22.5% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,768,406 GRT/16,242,699 DWT ships by type: bulk 63, cargo 9, chemical tanker 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 29, liquefied gas 10, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 87, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 1, Germany 1, Japan 1, US 6 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces (a coast guard may be established); Police Force | Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $57 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 6.1% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,394,273 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
728,326 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 16 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
79,360 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 1 May (1979) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
Marshallese (singular and plural) adjective: Marshallese |
noun:
Burundian(s) adjective: Burundi |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons | flooding, landslides, drought |
Natural resources | phosphate deposits, marine products, deep seabed minerals | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | traditionally there have been no formally organized political parties; what has existed more closely resembles factions or interest groups because they do not have party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures; the following two "groupings" have competed in legislative balloting in recent years - Kabua Party [Imata KABUA] and United Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING] | 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 | NA | Loosely organized Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Tutsi extremist parties |
Population | 70,822 (July 2001 est.) | 6,223,897
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 36.2% (1990 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.88% (2001 est.) | 2.38% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Majuro | Bujumbura |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | NA | 440,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Christian (mostly Protestant) | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 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: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment:
telex services domestic: Majuro Atoll and Ebeye and Kwajalein islands have regular, seven-digit, direct-dial telephones; other islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein |
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 | 3,000 (1996) | 16,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 365 (1996) | 619 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (of which two are US military stations) (1997) | 1 (1999) |
Terrain | low coral limestone and sand islands | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
Total fertility rate | 6.55 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.16 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1991 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | Lake Tanganyika |