Burundi: Fact file
Updated April 2008
| Name | Republic of Burundi |
| Area | 27 834 sq km (Frame 2008, 171) |
| Capital | Bujumbura |
| Major town | Giteg (Frame 2008, 171) |
| Boundaries | Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania (Landlocked) |
| Population | 7.9 million, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Pop growth rate | 3.6%, 2005-15 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Urbanisation | 10.0%, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Life expectancy | Female 49.8 yrs, male 47.1 yrs; 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Infant mortality | 114/1000, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 3.3%, 2006 est (UNAIDS 2006) |
| Adult literacy rate | Female 52.2%, male 67.3%; 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Military expenditure | 6.2% of GDP; 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Health expenditure | 0.8% of GDP; 2004 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Legal system | Mainly codified statutary law, some based on Belgian civil codes, customary law (Bizimana 2007) |
| Independence | 1 July 1962; UN trusteeship, Belgian administration |
| GDP | US$1.001 billion, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| GDP per capita | US$128.45, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| GDP growth rate | 3.6%, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| Main exports | Coffee, tea, minerals sugar (Frame 2008, 174) |
| Currency | 1 Burundi Franc (BIF)= 100 centimes |
| Unemployment | 14.0%, 2003% (Novatech 2008, 4) |
| Inflation rate | 8.4%, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| External debt ratio | 148% of GDP, 2007 (IMF 2008b, 118) |
| 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 91.7% (Roman Catholic 57.2%), Traditional African 6.7%, Muslim 1.4% (Religious Freedom 2001) |
References
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 29 April 2007).
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 29 Apr 2008).
IMF 2008a World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/index.aspx [opens new window] (accessed 21 Apr 2008).
IMF 2008b Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2007/AFR/ENG/sreo0407.pdf, 118 [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 22 Apr 2008).
NOVATECH 2008 "Country Profile: Burundi" IN The ICT Africa marketplace: Information & Communication Technologies East Africa and the Indian Ocean, [www] http://www.bernard-krief.com/espaceinformation/documentation/ict/ Burundi_Country_Profile.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 29 Apr 2008).
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 2001 "Nation profile: Burundi", [www] http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Burundi/rbodies.html [opens new window] (accessed 29 Apr 2008).
UNAIDS 2006 "Burundi", [www] http://www.unaids.org/en/Regions_Countries/Countries/burundi.asp [opens in window] (accessed 22 Oct 2007).
UNDP 2007/8 "Burundi", IN Human Development Report 2007/8, [www] http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_BDI.html [opens new window] (accessed 29 Apr 2008).
