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;
• two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January)

total:

0.29 cu km/yr (17%/6%/77%)

per capita:

38 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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, Wetlands

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:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.66 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

malaria (2008)

noun:

Burundian(s)

adjective:

Burundian

conventional long form:

Republic of Burundi

conventional short form:

Burundi

local long form:

Republique du Burundi/Republika y'u Burundi

local short form:

Burundi

former:

Urundi

name:

Bujumbura

geographic coordinates:

3 22 S, 29 21 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

chief of state:

• President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005);
• First Vice President Yves SAVINGUVU - Tutsi (since 9 November 2007);
• Second Vice President Gabriel NTISEZERANA - Hutu (since 9 February 2007);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005);
• First Vice President Yves SAVINGUVU - Tutsi (since 9 November 2007);
• Second Vice President Gabriel NTISEZERANA - Hutu (since 9 February 2007)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by president

elections:

• the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the parliament;
• vice presidents nominated by the president, endorsed by parliament

election results:

• Pierre NKURUNZIZA was elected president by the parliament by a vote of 151 to 9;
• note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the legislature

• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme;
• Constitutional Court;
• High Court of Justice (composed of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court)

governing parties:

• Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Leonce NGENDAKUMANA];
• National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Front for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD-FDD [Jeremie NGENDAKUMANA];
• Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Aloys RUBUKA]

note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: National Council for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD [Leonard NYANGOMA]; 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 Celestin NIYONGABO

chancery:

Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 342-2574

FAX:

[1] (202) 342-2578

chief of mission:

Ambassador Patricia Newton MOLLER

embassy:

Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura

mailing address:

B. P. 1720, Bujumbura

telephone:

[257] 223454

FAX:

[257] 222926

agriculture:

93.6%

industry:

2.3%

services:

4.1% (2002 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.7%

highest 10%:

32.8% (1998)

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

general assessment:

• primitive system;
• telephone density one of the lowest in the world;
• fixed-line connections stand at well less than 1 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular usage is increasing but remains at a meager 3 per 100 persons

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) (2007)

total:

12,322 km

paved:

1,286 km

unpaved:

11,036 km (2004)

• 16 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service;
• children as young as 10 years of age have been conscripted into the armed forces;
• the enrollment of children is still not prohibited (2007)

males age 16-49:

1,878,544

females age 16-49:

1,851,676 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,083,899

females age 16-49:

1,062,488 (2008 est.)

male:

98,105

female:

98,533 (2008 est.)

• Burundi and Rwanda dispute sections of border on the Akanyaru/Kanyaru and the Kagera/Nyabarongo rivers, which have changed course since the 1960s, when the boundary was delimited;
• cross-border conflicts among Tutsi, Hutu, other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces persist in the Great Lakes region

refugees (country of origin):

9,849 (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

IDPs:

100,000 (armed conflict between government and rebels; most IDPs in northern and western Burundi) (2007)

current situation:

• Burundi is a source country for children trafficked for the purposes of child soldiering, domestic servitude, and commercial sexual exploitation;
• a small number of Burundian children may be trafficked internally for domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation;
• in early 2008, Burundian children were allegedly trafficked to Uganda, via Rwanda, for agricultural labor and commercial sexual exploitation

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Burundi is on the Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year for its failure to provide sufficient evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2007;
• the government's inability to provide adequate protective services to children accused of association with armed groups and to conduct anti-trafficking law enforcement activities continue to be causes for concern;
• Burundi has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)