Established in the 1600s, the Burundi Kingdom has had borders similar to those of modern Burundi since the 1800s. Burundi’s two major ethnic groups, the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi, share a common language and culture and largely lived in peaceful cohabitation under Tutsi monarchs in pre-colonial Burundi. Regional, class, and clan distinctions contributed to social status in the Burundi Kingdom, yielding a complex class structure. German colonial rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and Belgian rule after World War I preserved Burundi’s monarchy. Seeking to simplify administration, Belgian colonial officials reduced the number of chiefdoms and eliminated most Hutu chiefs from positions of power. In 1961, the Burundian Tutsi king’s oldest son, Louis RWAGASORE was murdered by a competing political faction shortly before he was set to become prime minister, triggering increased political competition that contributed to later instability. Burundi gained its independence from Belgium in 1962 as the Kingdom of Burundi.Revolution in neighboring Rwanda stoked ethnic polarization as the Tutsi increasingly feared violence and loss of political power. A failed Hutu-led coup in 1965 triggered a purge of Hutu officials and set the stage for Tutsi officers to overthrow the monarchy in 1966 and establish a Tutsi-dominated republic. A Hutu rebellion in 1972 that resulted in the death of several thousand Tutsi civilians sparked a brutal crackdown on Hutu civilians by the Tutsi-led military, which ultimately killed 100,000-200,000 people. International pressure led to a new constitution in 1992 and democratic elections in June 1993. Burundi’s first democratically elected president, Hutu Melchior NDADAYE, was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office by Tutsi military officers fearing Hutu domination, sparking a civil war. His successor, Cyprien NTARYAMIRA, died when the Rwandan president’s plane he was traveling on was shot down in April 1994, which triggered the Rwandan genocide and further entrenched ethnic conflict in Burundi. The internationally brokered Arusha Agreement, signed in 2000, and subsequent cease-fire agreements with armed movements ended the 1993-2005 civil war. Burundi’s second democratic elections were held in 2005, resulting in the election of Pierre NKURUNZIZA as president. He was reelected in 2010 and again in 2015 after a controversial court decision allowed him to circumvent a term limit. President Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE - from NKURUNZIZA’s ruling party - was elected in 2020.
land: 25,680 sq km
water: 2,150 sq km
border countries (3): Democratic Republic of the Congo 236 km; Rwanda 315 km; Tanzania 589 km
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
mean elevation: 1,504 m
arable land: 38.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 15.6% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 18.8% (2018 est.)
forest: 6.6% (2018 est.)
other: 20.1% (2018 est.)
13,162,952 (2023 est.)
noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian
Hutu, Tutsi, Twa, Phuthi, South Asian
Kirundi (official), French (official), English (official, least spoken), Swahili (2008 est.)
major-language sample(s):
Igitabo Mpuzamakungu c’ibimenyetso bifatika, isoko ntabanduka ku nkuru z’urufatiro. (Kirundi)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
note: data represent languages read and written by people 10 years of age or older; spoken Kirundi is nearly universal
Roman Catholic 58.6%, Protestant 35.3% (includes Adventist 2.7% and other Protestant 32.6%), Muslim 3.4%, other 1.3%, none 1.3% (2016-17 est.)
Burundi is a densely populated country with a high population growth rate, factors that combined with land scarcity and poverty place a large share of its population at risk of food insecurity. About 90% of the population relies on subsistence agriculture. Subdivision of land to sons, and redistribution to returning refugees, results in smaller, overworked, and less-productive plots. Food shortages, poverty, and a lack of clean water contribute to a 60% chronic malnutrition rate among children. A lack of reproductive health services has prevented a significant reduction in Burundi’s maternal mortality and fertility rates, which are both among the world’s highest. With almost two-thirds of its population under the age of 25 and a birth rate of about 5 children per woman as of 2022, Burundi’s population will continue to expand rapidly for decades to come, putting additional strain on a poor country.Historically, migration flows into and out of Burundi have consisted overwhelmingly of refugees from violent conflicts. In the last decade, more than a half million Burundian refugees returned home from neighboring countries, mainly Tanzania. Reintegrating the returnees has been problematic due to their prolonged time in exile, land scarcity, poor infrastructure, poverty, and unemployment. Repatriates and existing residents (including internally displaced persons) compete for limited land and other resources. To further complicate matters, international aid organizations reduced their assistance because they no longer classified Burundi as a post-conflict country. Conditions deteriorated when renewed violence erupted in April 2015, causing another outpouring of refugees. In addition to refugee out-migration, Burundi has hosted thousands of refugees from neighboring countries, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and lesser numbers from Rwanda.
0-14 years: 42.67% (male 2,830,996/female 2,786,154)
15-64 years: 54.03% (male 3,523,380/female 3,588,511)
65 years and over: 3.3% (2023 est.) (male 187,176/female 246,735)
total dependency ratio: 95.2
youth dependency ratio: 90.4
elderly dependency ratio: 4.8
potential support ratio: 20.7 (2021 est.)
total: 18.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 17.9 years
female: 18.5 years
3.59% (2023 est.)
34.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
5.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
6.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
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
urban population: 14.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 5.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
1.207 million BUJUMBURA (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
21.5 years (2016/17 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
494 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 36.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 40.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 32.5 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 67.8 years (2023 est.)
male: 65.7 years
female: 70 years
4.96 children born/woman (2023 est.)
2.45 (2023 est.)
28.5% (2016/17)
improved: urban: 98.7% of population
rural: 78.9% of population
total: 81.6% of population
unimproved: urban: 1.3% of population
rural: 21.1% of population
total: 18.4% of population (2020 est.)
6.5% of GDP (2020)
0.07 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
0.8 beds/1,000 population (2014)
improved: urban: 87.4% of population
rural: 53.7% of population
total: 58.4% of population
unimproved: urban: 12.6% of population
rural: 46.3% of population
total: 41.6% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: very high (2023)
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
note: on 31 August 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Burundi is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine
5.4% (2016)
total: 4.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 1.84 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 2.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 11.8% (2020 est.)
male: 17.4% (2020 est.)
female: 6.1% (2020 est.)
27.6% (2022)
54.1% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 2.8%
women married by age 18: 19%
men married by age 18: 1.4% (2017 est.)
5% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.7%
male: 81.3%
female: 68.4% (2021)
total: 11 years
male: 11 years
female: 11 years (2018)
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, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
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)
agricultural land: 73.3% (2018 est.)
arable land: 38.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 15.6% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 18.8% (2018 est.)
forest: 6.6% (2018 est.)
other: 20.1% (2018 est.)
urban population: 14.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 5.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
widespread lack of access: due to the effects of weather - according to the latest estimates, about 1.2 million people are estimated to be facing Crisis levels of acute food insecurity between June and September 2023, unchanged year on year; the main drivers are the lingering impact of floods in northern areas in late 2022 and high food prices due, in part, to the depreciation of the local currency (2022)
10.31% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 28 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 0.5 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 1.42 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,872,016 tons (2002 est.)
fresh water lake(s): Lake Tanganyika (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia) - 32,000 sq km
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Congo (3,730,881 sq km), (Mediterranean Sea) Nile (3,254,853 sq km)
municipal: 40 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 220 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
12.54 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
highly agrarian, low-income Sub-Saharan economy; declining foreign assistance; increasing fiscal insolvencies; dense and still growing population; COVID-19 weakened economic recovery and flipped two years of deflation
$8.849 billion (2021 est.)
$8.693 billion (2020 est.)
$8.665 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
1.8% (2021 est.)
0.33% (2020 est.)
1.81% (2019 est.)
$700 (2021 est.)
$700 (2020 est.)
$700 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$3.027 billion (2019 est.)
8.4% (2021 est.)
7.32% (2020 est.)
-0.69% (2019 est.)
agriculture: 39.5% (2017 est.)
industry: 16.4% (2017 est.)
services: 44.2% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 83% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 20.8% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 16% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 5.5% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -25.3% (2017 est.)
cassava, bananas, sweet potatoes, plantains, beans, vegetables, potatoes, cashew nuts, maize, taro
light consumer goods (sugar, shoes, soap, beer); cement, assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing (fruits)
1.4% (2021 est.)
5.271 million (2021 est.)
1.79% (2021 est.)
1.71% (2020 est.)
1.59% (2019 est.)
NA
total: 3.4% (2021 est.)
male: 4.6%
female: 2.5%
64.6% (2014 est.)
38.6 (2013 est.)
lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 28% (2006)
revenues: $747 million (2020 est.)
expenditures: $1.111 billion (2020 est.)
-5.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
51.7% of GDP (2017 est.)
48.4% of GDP (2016 est.)
15.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
calendar year
-$362.645 million (2018 est.)
-$373.389 million (2017 est.)
-$339.695 million (2016 est.)
$285.105 million (2018 est.)
$270.686 million (2017 est.)
$315 million (2017 est.)
note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
United Arab Emirates 50%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 7% (2019)
gold, coffee, tea, raw earth metal ores, beer (2021)
note: rare earth metal ores include zirconium, vanadium, tantalum, and niobium
$905.294 million (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$885.422 million (2017 est.)
$1.295 billion (2017 est.)
China 14%, Saudi Arabia 14%, India 9%, Kenya 7%, United Arab Emirates 7%, Tanzania 5%, Zambia 5% (2019)
refined petroleum, packaged medicines, cement, raw sugar, cars (2019)
$266.164 million (31 December 2021 est.)
$90.319 million (31 December 2020 est.)
$111.374 million (31 December 2019 est.)
$610.9 million (31 December 2017 est.)
$622.4 million (31 December 2016 est.)
Burundi francs (BIF) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
1,975.951 (2021 est.)
1,915.046 (2020 est.)
1,845.623 (2019 est.)
1,782.877 (2018 est.)
1,729.055 (2017 est.)
population without electricity: 11 million (2020)
electrification - total population: 10.2% (2021)
electrification - urban areas: 62.8% (2021)
electrification - rural areas: 1.6% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 100,000 kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 440.774 million kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
imports: 100 million kWh (2019 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 15.96 million kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 33.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 2.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 62.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 1.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 5,000 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
1,374 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
715,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 715,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
1.087 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
9U
7 (2021)
1
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
6
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
1 (2021)
total: 12,322 km (2016)
paved: 1,500 km (2016)
unpaved: 10,822 km (2016)
673 km (2022) (mainly on Lake Tanganyika between Bujumbura, Burundi’s principal port, and lake ports in Tanzania, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
lake port(s): Bujumbura (Lake Tanganyika)
manyapis