Saint Lucia (2008) | Burundi (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.4% (male 25,869/female 24,248)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 55,115/female 56,641) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 3,200/female 5,576) (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides |
Airports | 2 (2007) | 7 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Area | total: 616 sq km
land: 606 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
Area - comparative | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Even after the abolition of slavery on its plantations in 1834, Saint Lucia remained an agricultural island, dedicated to producing tropical commodity crops. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979. | 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. |
Birth rate | 19.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 39.72 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $141.2 million
expenditures: $146.7 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $125 million
expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Castries
geographic coordinates: 14 01 N, 61 00 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Bujumbura |
Climate | tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season January to April, rainy season May to August | 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 | 158 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 22 February 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: none
conventional short form: Saint Lucia |
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 | 5.03 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.8 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $257 million (2004) | $1.14 billion (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia | 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 Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6723 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York |
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 | joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $11.06 million (2005) | $92.7 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries, with a surge in foreign direct investment in 2006, attributed to the construction of several tourism projects. Tourism is the main source of foreign exchange, with more than 700,000 arrivals in 2005. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalize the banana industry. Saint Lucia is vulnerable to a variety of external shocks including declines in European Union banana preferences, volatile tourism receipts, natural disasters, and dependence on foreign oil. High debt servicing obligations constrain the KING administration's ability to respond to adverse external shocks. Economic fundamentals remain solid, even though unemployment needs to be reduced. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 282.9 million kWh (2005) | 177.5 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 33 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001) |
Electricity - production | 304.2 million kWh (2005) | 155.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 0.6%
hydro: 99.4% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m |
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region | 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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | black 82.5%, mixed 11.9%, East Indian 2.4%, other or unspecified 3.1% (2001 census) | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - NA (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003) | Burundi francs per US dollar - NA (2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 447.77 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Dame Pearlette LOUISY (since September 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Stephenson KING (since 9 September 2007); note - Sir John COMPTON died in office Friday, 7 September 2007 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
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 |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
Exports - partners | France 69.7%, US 10.2%, UK 8.8% (2006) | Switzerland 28.8%, Germany 20.2%, Belgium 9.4%, Kenya 7.8%, Rwanda 6.5%, Netherlands 4.6% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border | 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 - $3.146 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 15% services: 80% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 50%
industry: 19% services: 31% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.1% (2005 est.) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 53 N, 60 58 W | 3 30 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | the twin Pitons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton), striking cone-shaped peaks south of Soufriere, are one of the scenic natural highlights of the Caribbean | 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: 14,480 km
paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | 2,678 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 21.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.9%, Italy 12.3%, France 11.8%, Venezuela 7.2%, UK 6.9%, Netherlands 5.8% (2006) | Belgium 12.4%, Saudi Arabia 12.3%, Tanzania 9.3%, Kenya 7.7%, France 7.4%, India 4.5% (2002) |
Independence | 22 February 1979 (from UK) | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | -8.9% (1997 est.) | 18% (2001) |
Industries | clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism; lime processing, coconut processing | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.9% (2005 est.) | 12% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (2003) | 740 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) | 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 | 43,800 (2001 est.) | 3.7 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 21.7%
industry: 24.7% services: 53.6% (2002 est.) |
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: 6.45%
permanent crops: 22.58% other: 70.97% (2005) |
arable land: 29.98%
permanent crops: 12.85% other: 57.17% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; six members appointed on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and two after consultation with religious, economic, and social groups) and the House of Assembly (17 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 11 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - UWP 50%, SLP 46.9%, other 3.1%; seats by party - UWP 11, SLP 6 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.08 years
male: 70.53 years female: 77.88 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 43.2 years
male: 42.54 years female: 43.88 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 90.1% male: 89.5% female: 90.6% (2001 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.6% male: 58.5% female: 45.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit, Coast Guard) (2007) | Army (including naval and air units), Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $42.13 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 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, 22 February (1979) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Saint Lucian(s)
adjective: Saint Lucian |
noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and volcanic activity | flooding, landslides, drought |
Natural resources | forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | National Alliance or NA [George ODLUM]; Saint Lucia Freedom Party or SFP [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY]; Sou Tout Apwe Fete Fini or STAFF [Christopher HUNTE]; United Workers Party or UWP [Sir John COMPTON] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | loosely organized Hutu and Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Hutu and Tutsi extremist parties or subordinate to government security forces |
Population | 170,649 (July 2007 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.297% (2007 est.) | 2.18% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bujumbura |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2003) | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 67.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 8.5%, Pentecostal 5.7%, Rastafarian 2.1%, Anglican 2%, Evangelical 2%, other Christian 5.1%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.5%, none 4.5% (2001 census) | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.067 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.973 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.574 male(s)/female total population: 0.974 male(s)/female (2007 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: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system
domestic: system is automatically switched international: country code - 1-758; the East Caribbean Fiber Optic System (ECFS) and Southern Caribbean fiber optic system (SCF) submarine cables, along with Intelsat from Martinique, carry calls internationally; direct microwave radio relay link with Martinique and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; tropospheric scatter to Barbados |
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 | 51,100 (2002) | 18,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 105,700 (2005) | 30,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1 commercial broadcast station and 1 community antenna television or CATV channel) (2003) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 5.99 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | Lake Tanganyika |