Burundi: Fact file
Updated March 2010
| Name | Republic of Burundi |
| Area | 27 834 sq km |
| Capital | Bujumbura |
| Major town | Giteg (Frame 2008, 171) |
| Boundaries | Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania (Landlocked) |
| Population | 7.8 million, 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Natural pop growth | 2.1%, 2005-2010 (UNDP 2009) |
| Urbanisation | 6.3%, 1990 (UNDP 2009) |
| Life expectancy | Female 51.4 yrs, male 48.6 yrs; 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Infant mortality | 98/1000, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2010a) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 2%, 2007 (WHO 2008, 4) |
| Adult literacy rate | Female 52.2%, male 67.3%; 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Military expenditure | 6.2% of GDP; 2005 (UN Statistics Division 2010b) |
| Health expenditure | 3.4% of GDP; 2005 (UN Statistics Division 2010c) |
| Legal system | Mainly codified statutary law, some based on Belgian civil codes, customary law (Bizimana 2007) |
| Independence | 1 July 1962 (Belgium) |
| GDP | US$1.001 billion, 2007 est (IMF 2008) |
| GDP per capita | US$113, 2008 (IMF 2009, 65) |
| GDP growth rate | 4.5%, 2008 (IMF 2009, 62) |
| Main exports | Coffee, tea, minerals sugar (Frame 2008, 174) |
| Currency | 1 Burundi Franc (BIF)= 100 centimes |
| Unemployment | 19.5% with extensive underemployment, 2007 (AllAfrica.com 2007) |
| Inflation rate | 24.4%, 2008 (IMF 2009, 66) |
| External debt ratio | 134.3% of GDP, 2008 (IMF 2009, 84) |
| Roads | 12 322 km, very little tarred, lake transport crucial (Frame 2008, 170) |
| Rail | None (Frame 2008, 170) |
| Airport | 1, Bujumbura International (Frame 2008, 170) |
| Ethnic groups | Hutu (85%, Tutsi 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1% (Frame 2008, 152) |
| Languages | Kirundi and French (official), also some Swahili along Lake Tanganyika and Bujumbura area (Gordon 2005) |
| Religion | Christian ±75% (Roman Catholic ±60%, Protestant ±15%), Traditional African ±20%, Muslim 2-5% (US Department of State 2009) |
References
ALLAFRICA.COM 2007 "Burundi: High Unemployment Rate And Poverty, Study Finds", 20 March, [www] http://allafrica.com/stories/200703200800.html [opens new window] (accessed 17 Mar 2010).
BIZIMANA, S 2007 "The Burundi Legal System and Research" IN GlobaLex, Hauser School of Law Programme, [www] http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Burundi.htm [opens new window] (accessed 17 Mar 2010).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
GORDON, R (ed) 2005 "Languages of Burundi" IN Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition, [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=BI [opens new window] (accessed 17 Mar 2010).
IMF 2008 World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/index.aspx [opens new window] (accessed 17 Mar 2010).
IMF 2009 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, October, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2009/AFR/eng/sreo1009.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 17 Mar 2010).
UNDP 2009 "Burundi HDI Rank - 174", IN Human Development Report 2009, [www] http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_BDI.html [opens new window] (accessed 17 Mar 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010a "Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 births)" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=MExico&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3A77%3BcrID%3A484 [opens new window] (accessed 17 Mar 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010b "Military expenditure (% of GDP)" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3AMS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS [opens new window] (accessed 17 Mar 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010c "Total expenditure on health as percentage of gross domestic product" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Gross+domestic+product&d=WHO&f=inID%3AHSR20 [opens new window] (accessed 17 Mar 2010).
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE 2009 "Burundi" IN International Religious Freedom Report 2009, [www] http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127220.htm [opens new window] (accessed 17 Mar 2010).
WHO 2008 "Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV and AIDS Core data on epidemiology and response: Burundi", [www] http://www.unaids.org/en/Regions_Countries/Countries/burundi.asp [PDF document, opens in window] (accessed 17 Mar 2010).
