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Burundi
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| Short Information | Capital: Bujumbura
Language: French
Currency: Burundi franc (BIF) | |
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 General details about Burundi |  CAPITAL CITY OF Burundi: Bujumbura
LANGUAGE OF Burundi: French
CURRENCY OF Burundi: Burundi franc (BIF)
COMMENTS ABOUT Burundi: Burundi is a landlocked country with an equatorial climate.
Cities : Bujumbura (capital), Bururi, Cibitoke, Gitega, Muyinga, Ngozi
Best Places: Kibira National Park, Ruvubu National Park, Rusizi Natural Reserve, Bururi Natural Reserve, Rwihinda Lake Natural Reserve, Nyakazu Break and the Karera Falls
Time zone : CAT (UTC+2)
Calling code :+257
Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only one hundred days in office. Since then, some 200,000 Burundians have perished in widespread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. Hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced or have become refugees in neighboring countries. Burundi troops, seeking to secure their borders, briefly intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. A new transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001, signed a power-sharing agreement with the largest rebel faction in December 2003 and set in place a provisional constitution in October 2004. Implementation of the agreement has been problematic, however, as one remaining rebel group refuses to sign on and elections have been repeatedly delayed, clouding prospects for a sustainable peace.
RELIGION OF Burundi: Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%
POPULATION OF Burundi: 6,231,221 - estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.)
HISTORY OF Burundi: The earliest known people to live in Burundi were the Twa, a short "pygmy" people who remain as a minority group there. The people currently known as Hutu and Tutsi moved into the region several hundred years ago, and dominated it. Like much of Africa, Burundi then went through a period of European colonial rule, ending with its independence from Belgium in 1962. In the decades since then, it has been the scene of recurring brutal mutual bloodlettings between the Hutu and Tutsi populations (much like the better-known genocide in neighboring Rwanda), and a series of political assassinations. Peace and the (re)establishment of civil democracy took place in 2005 with a cease-fire and the election of former Hutu rebel Pierre Nkurunziza as president.
CULTURA OF Burundi: The culture of Burundi is related to that of neighboring countries and its prominence has been limited by the civil war. The Master Drummers of Burundi are the most famous performing group from the nation, and football (soccer) is the most popular sport.
Burundian people are generally thought to be quiet and reserved. It is often said that you can offend a Burundian or even cheat him and even if he knows you are cheating him, he will never tell you. In their traditional philosophy anyone talking too much is not considered to be intelligent.
ECONOMY OVERVIEW OF Burundi: Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. Since October 1993 an ethnic-based war has resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced 800,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 525,000 others internally. Doubts about the prospects for sustainable peace continue to impede development. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in ten adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply.
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