Burundi

 

 

Bureau of African Affairs                                                     
July 2007                                                                     
                                                                       
  Background Note: Burundi                                                    
                                               
  Burundian traditional dancers                                               
  practice for ceremony. Bujumbura,                                           
  Burundi, April 29, 2003. [© AP                                              
  Images]                                                                     
                                                                       
  Flag of Burundi is 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).    
                                                                       
  PROFILE                                                                     
                                                                       
  OFFICIAL NAME:                                                              
  Republic of Burundi                                                         
                                                                       
  Geography                                                                   
  Location: Central Africa. Bordering nations--Tanzania, the Democratic       
  Republic of the Congo, Rwanda.                                              
  Area: 27,830 sq. km. (10,747 sq. mi.); about the size of Maryland.          
  Cities: Capital--Bujumbura (pop. 300,000). Other cities--Cibitoke, Muyinga, 
  Ngozi, Bubanza, Gitega, Bururi.                                             
  Climate: 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).                                   
  Terrain: Hilly, rising from 780 meters (2,600 ft.) at the Shore of Lake     
  Tanganyika to mountains more than 2,700 meters (9,000 ft.) above sea level. 
                                                                       
  People                                                                      
  Nationality: Noun and adjective--Burundian(s).                              
  Population (July 2007 est.): 8,390,505.                                     
  Annual growth rate (2007 est.): 3.593%.                                     
  Ethnic groups (estimated): Hutu 85%; Tutsi 14%; Twa 1.0%.                   
  Religions (estimated): Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%),   
  indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%.                                         
  Languages: Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake       
  Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area), English.                             
  Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--84.05% male, 62.8% female.      
  Literacy--51.6% of total adult population (2003 estimate).                  
  Health (2007 est.): Life expectancy--total population: 51.29 years; male:   
  50.48 years; female: 52.12 years. Infant mortality rate--61.93/1,000.       
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Republic. Democratically elected, post-transition government          
  established August 26, 2005.                                                
  Independence: July 1, 1962 (from Belgium).                                  
  Constitution: A transitional constitution was adopted October 18, 2001. The 
  parliament adopted a post-transition constitution on September 17, 2004,    
  which was approved in a nation-wide referendum held February 28, 2005.      
  Branches: Executive--President, First Vice President in charge of political 
  and administrative affairs, Second Vice President in charge of social and   
  economic affairs, 20-member Council of Ministers. Legislative--A 100-member 
  directly elected National Assembly plus additional deputies appointed as    
  necessary (currently 18 appointed) to ensure an ethnic and gender composition
  of 60% Hutu, 40% Tutsi, 30% female, and 3 Batwa members. A 54-member Senate 
  (3 seats reserved for former presidents; 3 seats reserved for the ethnic Twa
  minority; 2 Senators, one Hutu and one Tutsi, from each of the 16 provinces 
  plus the city of Bujumbura appointed by an electoral college comprised of   
  members of locally elected communal and provincial councils; 14 Senators    
  appointed by the president according to the president's own criteria. Women 
  must comprise 30% of the Senate.) Judicial--constitutional and subsidiary   
  courts.                                                                     
  Administrative subdivisions: 17 provinces including Bujumbura, 117 communes.
  Political parties: Multi-party system consisting of 21 registered political 
  parties, of which CNDD (the National Council for the Defense of Democracy,  
  Hutu), FRODEBU (the Front for Democracy in Burundi, predominantly Hutu with 
  some Tutsi membership), and UPRONA (the National Unity and Progress Party,  
  predominantly Tutsi with some Hutu membership) are national, mainstream     
  parties. Other Tutsi and Hutu opposition parties and groups include, among  
  others, PARENA (the Party for National Redress, Tutsi), ABASA (the Burundi  
  African Alliance for the Salvation, Tutsi), PRP (the People's Reconciliation
  Party, Tutsi), PALIPEHUTU (the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People, 
  Hutu) and FROLINA/FAP (the Front for the National Liberation of Burundi/    
  Popular Armed Forces, Hutu).                                                
  Suffrage: Universal adult.                                                  
                                                                       
  Economy                                                                     
  GDP (2006 est.): $776 million.                                              
  Real growth rate (2006): 3.8%.                                              
  Per capita GDP (2004): $96; ($700 using purchasing power parity, 2006 est.).
  Inflation rate (2006): 11%.                                                 
  Central government budget (2006 est.): Revenues--$239.9 million; expenditures
  --$297 million, including capital expenditures.                             
  Natural resources: Nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper,
  platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin,  
  tungsten, kaolin, limestone.                                                
  Agriculture (2006 est., 44.9% of GDP): Coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum,  
  sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca), beef, milk, hides. Arable land   
  --35.57% (2005 est.).                                                       
  Industry (2006 est., 20.9% of GDP): Types--beverage production, coffee and  
  tea processing, cigarette production, sugar refining, pharmaceuticals, light
  food processing, textiles, chemicals (insecticides), public works           
  construction, consumer goods, assembly of imported components, light consumer
  goods such as blankets, shoes, soap.                                        
  Services (2006 est.): 34.1% of GDP.                                         
  Mining: Commercial quantities of alluvial gold, nickel, phosphates, rare    
  earth, vanadium, and other; peat mining.                                    
  Trade (2006 est.): Exports--$55.68 million f.o.b.: coffee (50% of export    
  earnings), tea, sugar, cotton fabrics, hides. Major markets--U.K., Germany, 
  Benelux, Switzerland. Imports--$207.3 million f.o.b.: food, beverages,      
  tobacco, chemicals, road vehicles, petroleum products. Major suppliers      
  --Benelux, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan.                            
  Total external debt (2004 est.): $1.4 billion.                              
                                                                       
  PEOPLE                                                                      
  At 206.1 persons per sq. km., Burundi has the second-largest population     
  density in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most people live on farms near areas of      
  fertile volcanic soil. The population is made up of three major ethnic      
  groups--Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. Kirundi is the most widely spoken language;   
  French and Kiswahili also are widely spoken. Intermarriage takes place      
  frequently between the Hutus and Tutsis. Although Hutus encompass the       
  majority of the population, historically Tutsis have been politically and   
  economically dominant.                                                      
                                                                       
  HISTORY                                                                     
  In the 16th century, Burundi was a kingdom characterized by a hierarchical  
  political authority and tributary economic exchange. A king (mwani) headed a
  princely aristocracy (ganwa) that owned most of the land and required a     
  tribute, or tax, from local farmers and herders. In the mid-18th century,   
  this Tutsi royalty consolidated authority over land, production, and        
  distribution with the development of the ubugabire--a patron-client         
  relationship in which the populace received royal protection in exchange for
  tribute and land tenure.                                                    
                                                                       
  Although European explorers and missionaries made brief visits to the area as
  early as 1856, it was not until 1899 that Burundi came under German East    
  African administration. In 1916 Belgian troops occupied the area. In 1923,  
  the League of Nations mandated to Belgium the territory of Ruanda-Urundi,   
  encompassing modern-day Rwanda and Burundi. The Belgians administered the   
  territory through indirect rule, building on the Tutsi-dominated aristocratic
  hierarchy. Following World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations    
  Trust Territory under Belgian administrative authority. After 1948, Belgium 
  permitted the emergence of competing political parties. Two political parties
  emerged: the Union for National Progress (UPRONA), a multi-ethnic party led 
  by Tutsi Prince Louis Rwagasore and the Christian Democratic Party (PDC)    
  supported by Belgium. In 1961, Prince Rwagasore was assassinated following an
  UPRONA victory in legislative elections.                                    
                                                                       
  Full independence was achieved on July 1, 1962. In the context of weak      
  democratic institutions at independence, Tutsi King Mwambutsa IV established
  a constitutional monarchy comprising equal numbers of Hutus and Tutsis. The 
  1965 assassination of the Hutu prime minister set in motion a series of     
  destabilizing Hutu revolts and subsequent governmental repression. In 1966, 
  King Mwambutsa was deposed by his son, Prince Ntare IV, who himself was     
  deposed the same year by a military coup lead by Capt. Michel Micombero.    
  Micombero abolished the monarchy and declared a republic, although a de facto
  military regime emerged. In 1972, an aborted Hutu rebellion triggered the   
  flight of hundreds of thousands of Burundians. Civil unrest continued       
  throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.                                  
                                                                       
  In 1976, Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza took power in a bloodless coup. Although 
  Bagaza led a Tutsi-dominated military regime, he encouraged land reform,    
  electoral reform, and national reconciliation. In 1981, a new constitution  
  was promulgated. In 1984, Bagaza was elected head of state, as the sole     
  candidate. After his election, Bagaza's human rights record deteriorated as 
  he suppressed religious activities and detained political opposition members.
                                                                       
  In 1987, Maj. Pierre Buyoya overthrew Colonel Bagaza. He dissolved opposition
  parties, suspended the 1981 constitution, and instituted his ruling Military
  Committee for National Salvation (CSMN). During 1988, increasing tensions   
  between the ruling Tutsis and the majority Hutus resulted in violent        
  confrontations between the army, the Hutu opposition, and Tutsi hardliners. 
  During this period, an estimated 150,000 people were killed, with tens of   
  thousands of refugees flowing to neighboring countries. Buyoya formed a     
  commission to investigate the causes of the 1988 unrest and to develop a    
  charter for democratic reform.                                              
                                                                       
  In 1991, Buyoya approved a constitution that provided for a president,      
  multi-ethnic government, and a parliament. Burundi's first Hutu president,  
  Melchior Ndadaye, of the Hutu-dominated FRODEBU Party, was elected in 1993. 
  He was assassinated by factions of the Tutsi-dominated armed forces in      
  October 1993. The country was then plunged into civil war, which killed tens
  of thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands by the time the  
  FRODEBU government regained control and elected Cyprien Ntaryamira president
  in January 1994. Nonetheless, the security situation continued to           
  deteriorate. In April 1994, President Ntayamira and Rwandan President Juvenal
  Habyarimana died in a plane crash. This act marked the beginning of the     
  Rwandan genocide, while in Burundi, the death of Ntaryamira exacerbated the 
  violence and unrest. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya was installed as president for
  a 4-year term on April 8, but the security situation further deteriorated.  
  The influx of hundreds of thousands of Rwandan refugees and the activities of
  armed Hutu and Tutsi groups further destabilized the regime.                
                                                                       
  GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS                                         
  In November 1995, the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zaire (now 
  Democratic Republic of the Congo) announced a regional initiative for a     
  negotiated peace in Burundi facilitated by former Tanzanian President Julius
  Nyerere. In July 1996, former Burundian President Buyoya returned to power in
  a bloodless coup. He declared himself president of a transitional republic, 
  even as he suspended the National Assembly, banned opposition groups, and   
  imposed a nationwide curfew. Widespread condemnation of the coup ensued, and
  regional countries imposed economic sanctions pending a return to a         
  constitutional government. Buyoya agreed in 1996 to liberalize political    
  parties. Nonetheless, fighting between the army and Hutu militias continued.
  In June 1998, Buyoya promulgated a transitional constitution and announced a
  partnership between the government and the opposition-led National Assembly.
  After Facilitator Julius Nyerere's death in October 1999, the regional      
  leaders appointed Nelson Mandela as Facilitator of the Arusha peace process.
  Under Mandela the faltering peace process was revived, leading to the signing
  of the Arusha Accords in August 2000 by representatives of the principal Hutu
  (G-7) and Tutsi (G-10) political parties, the government, and the National  
  Assembly. However, the FDD and FNL armed factions of the CNDD and Palipehutu
  G-7 parties refused to accept the Arusha Accords, and the armed rebellion   
  continued.                                                                  
                                                                       
  In November 2001, a 3-year transitional government was established under the
  leadership of Pierre Buyoya (representing the G-10) as transitional president
  and Domitien Ndayizeye (representing the G-7) as transitional vice president
  for an initial period of 18 months. In May 2003, Mr. Ndayizeye assumed the  
  presidency for 18 months with Alphonse Marie Kadege as vice president. In   
  October and November 2003 the Burundian Government and the former rebel group
  the CNDD-FDD signed cease-fire and power-sharing agreements, and in March   
  2004 members of the CNDD-FDD took offices in the government and parliament. 
  The World Bank and other bilateral donors have provided financing for       
  Burundi's disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program for former 
  rebel combatants.                                                           
                                                                       
  National and regional mediation efforts failed to reach a compromise on     
  post-transition power-sharing arrangements between the predominantly Hutu and
  Tutsi political parties, and in September 2004 over two-thirds of the       
  parliament--despite a boycott by the Tutsi parties--approved a              
  post-transition constitution. The Arusha Peace Agreement called for local and
  national elections to be held before the conclusion of the transitional     
  period on October 31, 2004. On October 20, 2004, however, a joint session of
  the National Assembly and Senate adopted a previously approved draft        
  constitution as an interim constitution that provides for an extension of   
  transitional institutions until elections are held. On February 28, 2005,   
  Burundians overwhelmingly approved a post-transitional constitution in a    
  popular referendum, setting the stage for local and national elections. In  
  April 2005, Burundi's transitional government was again extended and an     
  electoral calendar was established at a regional summit held in Uganda.     
                                                                       
  In accordance with the new electoral calendar, the Burundian people voted in
  Commune Council direct elections on June 3, 2005 and National Assembly direct
  elections on July 4, 2005. An electoral college of commune and provincial   
  councils indirectly elected Senate members on July 29, 2005. A joint session
  of the parliament elected Pierre Nkurunziza as President of Burundi on August
  19, 2005 in a vote of 151 to 9 with one abstention, establishing the        
  post-transition government. Finally, the Burundian people established Colline
  (hill) councils through direct elections on September 23, 2005.             
                                                                       
  Principal Government Officials                                              
  President--Pierre Nkurunziza                                                
  First Vice President--Martin Nduwimana                                      
  Second Vice President--Gabriel Ntiserzerana                                 
  Speaker of the National Assembly--Pie Ntavyohanyuma                         
  President of the Senate--Isidore Rufyikiri                                  
  Minister of Defense--Germain Niyoyankana                                    
  Minister of External Relations and Cooperation--Antoinette Batumubwira      
  Minister of Interior and Public Security--Evariste Ndayishimiye             
  Ambassador to the United States--Celestin Niyongabo                         
                                                                       
  Burundi maintains an embassy in the United States at Suite 212, 2233        
  Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20007 (tel. 202-342-2574).                
                                                                       
  ECONOMY                                                                     
  The mainstay of the Burundian economy is agriculture, accounting for 44.9% of
  GDP in 2006. Agriculture supports more than 90% of the labor force, the     
  majority of whom are subsistence farmers. Although Burundi is potentially   
  self-sufficient in food production, the civil war, overpopulation, and soil 
  erosion have contributed to the contraction of the subsistence economy by 30%
  in recent years. Large numbers of internally displaced persons have been    
  unable to produce their own food and are dependent on international         
  humanitarian assistance. Burundi is a net food importer, with food accounting
  for 13% of imports in 2003.                                                 
                                                                       
  The main cash crop is coffee, which accounted for some 50% of exports in    
  2003. This dependence on coffee has increased Burundi's vulnerability to    
  fluctuations in seasonal yields and international coffee prices. Coffee     
  processing is the largest state-owned enterprise in terms of income. Although
  the government has tried to attract private investment to this sector, plans
  for the privatization of this sector have stalled. Efforts to privatize other
  publicly held enterprises have likewise stalled. Other principal exports    
  include tea, sugar, and raw cotton. Coffee production, after a severe drop in
  2003, returned to normal levels in 2004. Revenues from coffee production and
  exports are likewise estimated to return to pre-2003 levels.                
                                                                       
  Little industry exists except the processing of agricultural exports.       
  Although potential wealth in petroleum, nickel, copper, and other natural   
  resources is being explored, the uncertain security situation has prevented 
  meaningful investor interest. Industrial development also is hampered by    
  Burundi's distance from the sea and high transport costs. Lake Tanganyika   
  remains an important trading point.                                         
                                                                       
  Burundi is heavily dependent on bilateral and multilateral aid, with external
  debt totaling $1.4 billion in 2004. IMF structural adjustment programs in   
  Burundi were suspended following the outbreak of violence in 1993; the IMF  
  re-engaged Burundi in 2002 and 2003 with post-conflict credits, and in 2004 
  approved a $104 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility loan. The World
  Bank is preparing a Transition Support Strategy, and has identified key areas
  for potential growth, including the productivity of traditional crops and the
  introduction of new exports, light manufactures, industrial mining, and     
  services. Both the IMF and the World Bank are assisting the Burundians to   
  prepare a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Serious economic problems include
  the state's role in the economy, the question of governmental transparency, 
  and debt reduction.                                                         
                                                                       
  Based on Burundi's successful transition from war to peace and the          
  establishment of a democratically elected government in Burundi in September
  2005, the United States Government lifted all sanctions on assistance to    
  Burundi on October 18, 2005. Burundi also became eligible for trade benefits
  under the African Growth and Opportunity Act in December 2005.              
                                                                       
  FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                           
  Burundi's relations with its neighbors have often been affected by security 
  concerns. Hundreds of thousands of Burundian refugees have at various times 
  crossed into Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.    
  Hundreds of thousands of Burundians fled to neighboring countries during the
  civil war. Most of them, more than 750,000 since 1993, are in Tanzania.     
  Burundi maintains close relations with all neighbors in the Great Lakes     
  region, including Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 
                                                                       
  Burundi is a member of various international and regional organizations,    
  including the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the African     
  Union, the African Development Bank, COMESA, the free-tariff zone of eastern
  and southern Africa, and the East Africa Community (EAC).                   
                                                                       
  U.S.-BURUNDI RELATIONS                                                      
  U.S. Government goals in Burundi are to help the people of Burundi realize a
  just and lasting peace based upon democratic principles and sustainable     
  economic development. The United States encourages political stability,     
  ongoing democratic reforms, political openness, respect for human rights, and
  economic development in Burundi. In the long term, the United States seeks to
  strengthen the process of internal reconciliation and democratization within
  all the states of the region to promote a stable, democratic community of   
  nations that will work toward mutual social, economic, and security interests
  on the continent.                                                           
                                                                       
  The United States supported the Arusha peace process, providing financial   
  support through our assessed contributions to a UN peacekeeping force       
  established in 2004.                                                        
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Officials                                                    
  Ambassador--Patricia Newton Moller                                          
  Deputy Chief of Mission--Ann K. Breiter                                     
  Political/Economic Officers--Lewis Carroll, Caren Brown                     
  Management Officer--George Lawson                                           
  Consular Officer--Matthew Garret                                            
  Regional Security Officer--Michael Jordan                                   
  General Service Officer--Lynn Whiteheart                                    
                                                                       
  The U.S. Embassy is located at Avenue des Etats Unis (Boite Postale 1720),  
  Bujumbura (tel. [257] 22-34-54).                                            
                                                                       
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