Burundi: Fact file
Updated November 2010
| Name | République du Burundi (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 | 8.519 million, 2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009a) |
| Natural pop growth | 2.9%, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009b) |
| Urbanisation | 10.1%, 2007 est (UN Statistics Division undated) |
| Life expectancy | Female 51.7 yrs, male 48.8 yrs; 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009c, 2009d) |
| Infant mortality | 98/1000, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009e) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 2%, 15-49 yr 2007 est (UN Statistics Division 2009f) |
| Adult literacy rate | 59%; 2003-2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010a) |
| Military expenditure | 3.8% of GDP; 2008 (UN Statistics Division 2010b) |
| Health expenditure | 8.7% of GDP; 2006 (UN Statistics Division 2008) |
| Legal system | Mainly codified statutary law, some based on Belgian civil codes, customary law (Bizimana 2007) |
| Independence | 1 July 1962 from Belgium |
| GDP | US$1.162 billion, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010c) |
| GDP per capita | US$138, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2009g) |
| GDP growth rate | 4.5%, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010d) |
| Main exports | Coffee, tea, minerals sugar (Frame 2008, 174) |
| Currency | 1 Burundi Franc (BIF)= 100 centimes |
| Unemployment | 35%, 2009 (AFDB/OECD 2010) |
| Inflation rate | 24.5%, 2008 (UN Statistics Division 2010e) |
| External debt ratio | 27.4% of GDP, 2009 (IMF 2010, 95) |
| 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 | French, Rundi and Swahili (Lewis 2010) |
| Religion | Christian ±75% (Roman Catholic ±60%, Protestant ±15%), Traditional African ±20%, Muslim 2-5% (US Department of State 2010) |
References
AFDB/OECD 2010 "Burundi" IN African Economic Outlook, [www] http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/countries/east-africa/burundi/ [opens new window] (accessed 22 Nov 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 18 Nov 2010).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
IMF 2010 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, October, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2010/AFR/eng/pdf/sreo1010.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
LEWIS, M P (ed) 2009 "Languages of Burundi" IN Ethnologue: Languages of the World, sixteenth edition, [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=BI [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009a "Total population, both sexes combined" IN UNdata, 18 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Population&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a12 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009b "Population growth rate" IN UNdata, 18 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Population&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a47 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009c "Life expectancy at birth, females" IN UNdata, 18 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Life+expectancy&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a67 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009d "Life expectancy at birth, males" IN UNdata, 18 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Life+expectancy&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a66 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009e "Infant mortality rate" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=MExico&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3A77%3BcrID%3A484 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009f "Adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rate" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=HIV%2fAIDS+prevalence&d=SOWC&f=inID%3a73 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009g "Per capita GDP at current prices" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=SNAAMA&f=grID%3a101%3bcurrID%3aUSD%3bpcFlag%3a1 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010a "Adult literacy rate" IN UNdata, 14 Ju, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Adult+literacy&d=SOWC&f=inID%3a74 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010b "Military expenditure" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3AMS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010c "GDP" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.MKTP.CD [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010d "GDP growth" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010e "Inflation, GDP deflator" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Inflation&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.DEFL.KD.ZG [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010f "Total expenditure on health as percentage of gross domestic product" IN UNdata, 19 Nov, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=health+expenditure&d=WHO&f=MEASURE_CODE%3aWHS7_143 [opens new window] (accessed 23 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION UNDATED "Burundi", [www] http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Burundi [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE 2010 "Burundi" IN International Religious Freedom Report 2010, [www] http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148667.htm [opens new window] (accessed 18 Nov 2010).
