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 Celsius 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)

• one of Africa's most densely populated countries;
• concentrations tend to be in the north and along the northern shore of Lake Tanganyika in the west;
• most people live on farms near areas of fertile volcanic soil as shown in this population distribution map

• flooding;
• landslides;
• drought

• 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

noun:

Burundian(s)

adjective:

Burundian

• Kirundi only 29.7% (official);
• French only .3% (official);
• Swahili only .2%;
• English only .1% (official);
• Kirundi and French 8.4%;
• Kirundi, French, and English 2.4%, other language combinations 2%, unspecified 56.9% (2008 est.)

note: data represent languages read and written by people 10 years of age or older; spoken Kirundi is nearly universal

• one of Africa's most densely populated countries;
• concentrations tend to be in the north and along the northern shore of Lake Tanganyika in the west;
• most people live on farms near areas of fertile volcanic soil as shown in this population distribution map

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.87 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.75 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

degree of risk:

very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever

water contact diseases:

schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases:

rabies

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, German East Africa, Ruanda-Urundi, Kingdom of Burundi

etymology:

name derived from the pre-colonial Kingdom of Burundi (17th-19th century)

name:

• Gitega (political capital), Bujumbura (commercial capital);
• note - in January 2019, the Burundian parliament voted to make Gitega the political capital of the country while Bujumbura would remain its economic capital;
• all branches of the government are expected to have moved from Bujumbura to Gitega by 2021

geographic coordinates:

3 25 S, 29 55 E

time difference:

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

etymology:

the naming origins for both Gitega and Bujumbura are obscure; Bujumbura's name prior to independence in 1962 was Usumbura

history:

several previous; latest ratified by referendum 28 February 2005

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic after consultation with the government or by absolute majority support of the membership in both houses of Parliament;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Senate membership and at least four-fifths majority vote by the National Assembly;
• the president can opt to submit amendment bills to a referendum;
• constitutional articles including those on national unity, the secularity of Burundi, its democratic form of government, and its sovereignty cannot be amended;
• amended 2018 (amendments extended the presidential term from 5 to 7 years, reintroduced the position of prime minister, and reduced the number of vice presidents from 2 to 1)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the father must be a citizen of Burundi

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

chief of state:

• President Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE (since 18 June 2020);
• Vice President Prosper BAZOMBANZA (since 24 June 2020);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE (since 18 June 2020);
• Vice President Prosper BAZOMBANZA (since 24 June 2020);
• Prime Minister Alain-Guillaume BUNYONI (since 24 June 2020)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 20 May 2020 (next to be held in 2025);
• vice presidents nominated by the president, endorsed by Parliament;
• note - a 2018 constitutional referendum effective for the 2020 election, increased the presidential term from 5 to 7 years with a 2-consecutive-term limit, reinstated the position of the prime minister position, and reduced the number of vice presidents from 2 to 1

election results:

Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE elected president; percent of vote - Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE (CNDD-FDD) 71.5%, Agathon RWASA (CNL) 25.2%, Gaston SINDIMWO (UPRONA) 1.7%, OTHER 1.6%

highest courts:

Supreme Court (consists of 9 judges and organized into judicial, administrative, and cassation chambers); Constitutional Court (consists of 7 members)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges nominated by the Judicial Service Commission, a 15-member independent body of judicial and legal profession officials), appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate;
• judge tenure NA;
• Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate and serve 6-year nonrenewable terms

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal;
• County Courts;
• Courts of Residence;
• Martial Court;
• Court Against Corruption;
• Commercial Court

• Front for Democracy in Burundi-Nyakuri or FRODEBU-Nyakuri [Keffa NIBIZI]
• Front for Democracy in Burundi-Sahwanya or FRODEBU-Sahwanya [Pierre Claver NAHIMANA]
• National Congress for Liberty or CNL [Agathon RWASA]
• National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Front for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD-FDD [Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE]
• National Liberation Forces or FNL [Jacques BIGITIMANA]
• Union for National Progress (Union pour le Progress Nationale) or UPRONA [Abel GASHATSI]

chief of mission:

Ambassador S.E. Gandence SINDAYIGAYA (since 20 September 2019)

chancery:

2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 408, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 342-2574

FAX:

[1] (202) 342-2578

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d’Affaires Eunice S. REDDICK (since May 2019)

telephone:

[257] 22-207-000

embassy:

Avenue Des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura, BP1720

mailing address:

B.P. 1720, Bujumbura

FAX:

[257] 22-222-926

• divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and fly 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);
• green symbolizes hope and optimism, white purity and peace, and red the blood shed in the struggle for independence;
• the three stars in the disk represent the three major ethnic groups: Hutu, Twa, Tutsi, as well as the three elements in the national motto: unity, work, progress

name:

"Burundi Bwacu" (Our Beloved Burundi)

lyrics/music:

Jean-Baptiste NTAHOKAJA/Marc BARENGAYABO

note: adopted 1962

• light consumer goods (sugar, shoes, soap, beer);
• cement, assembly of imported components;
• public works construction;
• food processing (fruits)

agriculture:

93.6%

industry:

2.3%

services:

4.1% (2002 est.)

lowest 10%:

4.1%

highest 10%:

28% (2006)

• state-controlled Radio Television Nationale de Burundi (RTNB) operates a TV station and a national radio network;
• 3 private TV stations and about 10 privately owned radio stations;
• transmissions of several international broadcasters are available in Bujumbura (2019)

total:

12,322 km (2016)

paved:

1,500 km (2016)

unpaved:

10,822 km (2016)

• the FDN is armed mostly with weapons from Russia and the former Soviet Union, with some Western equipment, largely from France;
• since 2010, the FDN has received small amounts of mostly second-hand equipment from China, South Africa, and the US (2019 )

• 18 years of age for voluntary military service;
• the armed forces law of 31 December 2004 did not specify a minimum age for enlistment, but the government claimed that no one younger than 18 was being recruited;
• mandatory retirement ages: 45 (enlisted), 50 (NCOs), 55 (officers), and 60 (officers with the rank of general) (2017)

• in addition to its foreign deployments, the FDN is focused on internal security missions, particularly against rebel groups opposed to the regime such as National Forces of Liberation (FNL), the Resistance for the Rule of Law-Tabara (aka RED Tabara), and Popular Forces of Burundi (FPB or FOREBU);
• the groups are based in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo and have carried out sporadic attacks in Burundi (2020)

• Burundi and Rwanda dispute two sq km (0.8 sq mi) of Sabanerwa, a farmed area in the Rukurazi Valley where the Akanyaru/Kanyaru River shifted its course southward after heavy rains in 1965;
• cross-border conflicts persist among Tutsi, Hutu, other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces in the Great Lakes region

refugees (country of origin):

77,757 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2020)

IDPs:

135,058 (some ethnic Tutsis remain displaced from intercommunal violence that broke out after the 1,993 coup and fighting between government forces and rebel groups; violence since April 2015) (2020)

stateless persons:

974 (2019)

current situation:

• Burundi is a source country for children and possibly women subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• business people recruit Burundian girls for prostitution domestically, as well as in Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, and the Middle East, and recruit boys and girls for forced labor in Burundi and Tanzania;
• children and young adults are coerced into forced labor in farming, mining, informal commerce, fishing, or collecting river stones for construction;
• sometimes family, friends, and neighbors are complicit in exploiting children, at times luring them in with offers of educational or job opportunities

tier rating:

• Tier 3 – Burundi does not comply fully with the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• corruption, a lack of political will, and limited resources continue to hamper efforts to combat human trafficking;
• in 2014, the government did not inform judicial and law enforcement officials of the enactment of an anti-trafficking law or how to implement it and approved – but did not fund – its national anti-trafficking action plan;
• authorities again failed to identify trafficking victims or to provide them with adequate protective services;
• the government has focused on transnational child trafficking but gave little attention to its domestic child trafficking problem and adult trafficking victims (2015)