Burundi

• 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

• 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

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

• landlocked;
• straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed;
• the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile

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.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

malaria (2004)

noun:

Burundian(s)

adjective:

Burundian

conventional long form:

Republic of Burundi

conventional short form:

Burundi

local long form:

Republika y'u Burundi

local short form:

Burundi

former:

Urundi

• 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

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

• 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)

• 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]

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

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

lowest 10%:

1.8%

highest 10%:

32.9% (1998)

• light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap;
• assembly of imported components;
• public works construction;
• food processing

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)

total:

14,480 km

paved:

1,028 km

unpaved:

13,452 km (1999 est.)

• 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

refugees (country of origin):

60,288 (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

IDPs:

140,000 (armed conflict between government and rebels; most IDPs in northern and western Burundi) (2004)