I | INTRODUCTION |
Burundi, landlocked republic in eastern Africa,
bounded on the north by Rwanda, on the east and south by Tanzania, and on the
west by Lake Tanganyika and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly
Zaire). Formerly ruled by tribal monarchies, the area that is now Burundi was
colonized by Germany in the late 19th century and under German and then Belgian
administration until its independence in 1962. Bujumbura is the capital and
largest city.
II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
With an area of 27,834 sq km (10,747 sq mi),
Burundi is one of Africa’s smallest countries. Most of the country is a hilly
plateau region, with elevations ranging between 1,400 and 1,800 m (between 4,600
and 5,900 ft). Elevations decrease gradually to the east and southeast. The
narrow western margin, bordering the Ruzizi River and Lake Tanganyika, lies in
the trough of the Great Rift Valley. Southeast of Bujumbura, Burundi’s highest
peak, Karonje, rises to an elevation of 2,760 m (9,055 ft).
A | Rivers and Lakes |
The main rivers are the Ruzizi, Malagarasi,
and Ruvuvu, none of which are navigable. Dominating the south and west of the
country, Lake Tanganyika is shared by Burundi, the DRC, and Tanzania. In the
northeast Lake Cohoha and Lake Rugwero straddle the border with Rwanda. Water
from the Malagarasi and Ruzizi rivers is used for irrigation in the extreme
eastern and extreme western lowlands.
B | Plants and Animals |
Savanna vegetation (grassland interspersed
with trees) predominates in most of the country. Eucalyptus, acacia, and oil
palm are the most common trees. Forests, once extensive, are now concentrated in
national parks and nature reserves. The diverse wildlife is limited by dense
human settlement and includes elephants, leopards, hippopotamuses, crocodiles,
wild boars, antelope, monkeys, and galagos (bush babies). Birds, such as guinea
hens, partridges, ducks, geese, quail, and snipe, are particularly plentiful
around the northeastern lakes.
C | Natural Resources |
Arable land and land used for permanent
crops account for 53 percent of Burundi’s land area. Another 5 percent is
covered by forest. The principal mineral resources are peat, uranium, nickel,
petroleum, tin, bastnasite, and gold.
D | Climate |
The climate is tropical, moderated in most
places by altitude. The average annual temperature is 20°C (68°F) on the plateau
and 23°C (73°F) in the Great Rift Valley. Dry seasons are from May to August and
from January to February, and the rest of the year is rainy. The average annual
precipitation is about 850 mm (about 33 in), but can vary significantly year to
year. Lack of rain periodically causes droughts, and excessive rainfall can
cause floods and landslides.
E | Environmental Issues |
Poor land management has damaged the
country’s environment. Overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into
marginal lands have contributed to severe soil erosion. Most of the country’s
once extensive forests have been cleared for pastureland and farmland, and human
settlements are encroaching upon the habitats of Burundi’s wildlife. Of the
animal species that inhabit Burundi, 28 (2004) are threatened. Burundi has
ratified an international agreement intended to protect endangered species.
About 5.6 percent (2007) of the country’s total area is officially protected
from development. The main protected areas are Kibira National Park, Ruvubu
National Park, Ruzizi Nature Reserve, and Bururi Nature Reserve.
III | POPULATION |
The population of Burundi (2008 estimate) is
8,691,005. The overall density of 339 persons per sq km (877 per sq mi) is one
of the highest in Africa. The population is 89 percent rural. Most Burundians
live in family groupings dispersed throughout the highlands, and villages are
uncommon. Instability due to violence between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups
in both Burundi and Rwanda has led to mass migrations. Most Hutu have fled
Bujumbura and some have gone to Rwanda. Thousands of persecuted Rwandan Tutsi
have crossed into Burundi. Burundi’s life expectancy at birth is 52 years, among
the lowest in the world, due to poverty, ethnic strife, and numerous diseases,
including one of the highest incidences of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS) in the world. The population growth rate in 2008 was an estimated 3.4
percent. The country’s capital and most important city is Bujumbura, on the
northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.
A | Ethnic Groups and Languages |
The chief ethnic groups are the Hutu and
the Tutsi, who have traditionally comprised 85 percent and 14 percent of the
population, respectively. The Twa, a pygmy group, account for 1 percent. The
official languages are Kirundi and French. Swahili is also widely spoken along
Lake Tanganyika.
B | Religion |
About two-thirds of the population is
Christian, chiefly Roman Catholic, and 32 percent adhere to traditional beliefs,
which are based on belief in a spirit world and a single abstract god, Imana.
About 1 percent are Muslims.
C | Education |
Primary education is free and officially
compulsory for children aged 7 through 12, although in 2002–2003 only 77 percent
of primary school-age children were in school. Secondary school enrollment was
even lower, with 11 percent of secondary school-age children attending school.
The literacy rate for Burundi is 54 percent of the population. Attendance and
literacy rates are very low due to national instability and shortages of
teachers and school supplies. The University of Burundi (founded in 1960) in
Bujumbura is the leading institution of higher education.
D | Way of Life |
Most Burundians live in self-contained
compounds of small round grass huts scattered over the country’s many hills. The
rugo, the traditional Tutsi hut, is divided into sections and surrounded
by an enclosure and cattle corrals. Families farm scattered plots of land on
different soils at different altitudes to minimize crop failure. The floors of
valleys are avoided due to higher temperatures and tsetse fly infestation.
Social roles are largely determined by ethnicity, with the Tutsi as herders, the
Hutu as peasant farmers, and the Twa as hunter-gatherers. Family life is central
in all groups. Traditionally, the principal goal in life has been parenthood.
Women traditionally dress in brightly colored wraps, and men in white. However,
many have adopted Western clothes. The Burundian diet consists mainly of sweet
potatoes and beans, with bananas, cassava, corn, peas, millet, and fruits added
in season. Cattle are herded as signs of wealth and status rather than for their
value as food. Meat is consumed by most Burundians only about once or twice a
month. Fish is eaten more frequently. Gourds are grown for use as containers.
Beer and milk are common beverages. Pastimes include soccer, poetry recitation,
storytelling, and mancala, a board game common throughout Africa.
E | Social Issues |
Hutu-Tutsi ethnic rivalry has been the
dominant feature of Burundian society since independence. This severe and often
violent problem is compounded by poverty, high unemployment, overcrowding,
environmental stress, and the high incidence of AIDS. Crime is high in and
around Bujumbura.
IV | CULTURE |
The richness of Burundian culture is
apparent in a strong literary and musical tradition and a wide range of fine
crafts. Little government funding for cultural activities is available. However,
an art school at Gitega and an artisans’ center at Giheta have done much to
encourage artistic expression and preservation. The major libraries are at the
University of Burundi, the American Cultural Center, and the French Cultural
Center in Bujumbura and the Burundi Literature Center in Gitega. The most
important museums are Bujumbura’s Living Museum (founded in 1977) and the
National Museum (founded in 1955) in Gitega.
A | Literature, Music, and Dance |
Burundians cherish strong oral traditions.
Folk tales and fables are often set to music and no distinction is made between
music and poetry. The Tutsi are particularly known for their epic songs and
dynastic poetry, strongly flavored with traditional mythology. Cattle, local
history, and the travels of the god Imana throughout the country are the most
important themes of Burundian literary and musical traditions. Tall, splendidly
adorned intore dancers and tambourinaires (drummers) were
traditionally entertainers for the royal elite and tourists.
B | Art and Architecture |
Traditional Burundian art includes
basketry, ironworking, and the making of gourd containers. The Twa are famed for
their pottery. The traditional Tutsi hut or rugo is considered the most
important local architectural style, while modern European-style construction
predominates in the capital and in government buildings.
V | ECONOMY |
One of the world’s poorest nations, Burundi
has a predominantly agricultural economy. The country’s estimated gross domestic
product (GDP) was $903 million in 2006. Export earnings are dominated by a
single crop: coffee. National budget figures for 1999 showed a large deficit,
with $167 million in revenues and $128 million in expenditures. The government
and foreign companies dominate the export sector of the economy. Burundi is
heavily dependent on foreign aid, principally from Western Europe. Past
austerity measures have added to ethnic tensions. In turn, ethnic and political
instability has severely affected Burundi’s production capacity. Burundi’s labor
force numbers 4.2 million people, of which 15 percent are engaged in
agriculture, 22 percent in industry, and 59 percent in services.
A | Agriculture and Fishing |
Subsistence agriculture is the main means
of livelihood. Chief food crops are sweet potatoes, cassava, bananas, beans, and
maize. The most important cash crop is coffee. Cotton and tea are also grown for
export. In 2006 livestock numbered 395,741 cattle, 750,000 goats, and 242,933
sheep. Social and cultural importance is attached to the ownership of large
cattle herds. They are, however, economically underutilized and overgrazing has
contributed to soil erosion. Commercial fisheries and subsistence fishing around
Lake Tanganyika supply domestic demand.
B | Mining |
Mining includes the small-scale
exploitation of gold and peat. Important reserves of uranium and nickel
(estimated at 5 percent of the world’s reserves) remain to be exploited. Tin and
bastnasite ores have been mined sporadically in the past. Test drilling has
indicated the presence of oil under Lake Tanganyika, but petroleum exploitation
has not yet proved significant.
C | Manufacturing and Services |
Manufacturing is limited to processing
agricultural products, particularly coffee, and producing consumer goods
intended to decrease reliance on imports. These consumer goods include
cigarettes, soap, glass, blankets, cement, shoes, beer, and insecticides. Almost
all banking, insurance, transportation, communication, technical, and trading
services are located in Bujumbura. Despite official efforts, tourism has not
proved to be significant.
D | Energy |
Burundi has two small coal-fired generating
plants and two small hydroelectric dams, which in 2003 produced 141 million
kilowatt-hours of electricity, or 80 percent of the country’s needs. A portion
of the country’s electricity is now supplied by hydroelectric facilities in
Bukavu, the DRC. However, for most Burundians, wood and other traditional fuels
remain the primary source of energy for heating and cooking, providing 94
percent of all the energy used.
E | Transportation and Communications |
Burundi has no railroads but possesses a
road network of about 14,500 km (about 9,000 mi), of which 640 km (400 mi) are
paved, and about 1,950 km (about 1,210 mi) are classified as national roads.
Most trade is shipped by way of Tanzania through the port of Bujumbura at the
head of Lake Tanganyika. Bujumbura has the only international airport. Air
Burundi, the national airline, has a limited schedule. The government controls
radio and television broadcasting. The country has 1 daily newspaper in French
and two weeklies, one in French and one in Kirundi.
F | Foreign Trade |
In 2002 annual exports were $27 million and
imports $129 million. In the early 1990s coffee accounted for 81 percent of the
value of exports. Cotton, hides, and tea are the only other important exports,
with tea increasing to nearly 10 percent of export value in the early 1990s.
Principal trading partners for exports were the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium
and Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Textiles, motor vehicles, flour, and petroleum
products are imported, principally from Belgium and Luxembourg, France, Germany,
and Japan.
G | Currency and Banking |
The unit of currency is the Burundi franc
(1,028.40 francs equal U.S.$1; 2006 average). The Banque de la République de
Burundi (1967) is the national bank of issue. Other banks include a half dozen
commercial banks and a post office savings bank system.
VI | GOVERNMENT |
Burundians approved a new constitution in a
February 2005 referendum. The new constitution was crafted to create a balance
of political power between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority.
A | Executive |
Under the terms of the 2005 constitution,
the president is the head of government and the commander in chief of the armed
forces. The president is elected by universal suffrage, except for the first
president who was elected by a two-thirds majority in both houses of the
legislature. The president can serve a maximum of two, five-year terms. The
president has the power to declare war and to nominate members of the cabinet
and members of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. The president’s
appointees to the 20-member cabinet must be 60 percent Hutu, 40 percent Tutsi,
and 30 percent women. The president selects two deputies (vice presidents), a
Hutu and a Tutsi, who are chosen from the elected members of the legislature and
who represent two different political parties.
B | Legislature |
The legislature consists of the National
Assembly and the Senate. Under the terms of the 2005 constitution, the National
Assembly is to be composed of at least 100 members, of whom 60 percent are to be
Hutu, 40 percent Tutsi, and 30 percent women. Three members must be from the Twa
tribe. Members are directly elected to five-year terms. Legislation in the
National Assembly must be passed by a two-thirds majority. The Senate is
composed of two representatives from each of Burundi’s 17 provinces. Its members
are chosen by an electoral college. At least 30 percent of the senators must be
women, and legislation is passed by a two-thirds majority.
C | Judiciary |
The legal system is headed by the Supreme
Court and is based on German and Belgian codified law and traditional customary
law. The 2005 constitution created a Constitutional Court, which is designed to
rule on the constitutionality of lower court rulings and government actions. The
Supreme Court, however, is the final court of appeal.
D | Local Government |
Burundi is divided into 17 provinces, each
subdivided into arrondissements and communes. Local authorities tend to be
dominated by the national government.
E | Political Parties |
The dominant political party is the Forces
for the Defense of Democracy (FDD), which won a majority in both the National
Assembly and the Senate in 2005 elections. The FDD is predominantly Hutu, but
under the 2005 constitution all political parties must be ethnically integrated.
Other significant political parties are the predominantly Hutu Burundi Democracy
Front (Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi, or FRODEBU) and the predominantly
Tutsi UPRONA.
F | Social Services |
Burundi’s health and social security
systems are rudimentary and underfinanced. AIDS, typhus, tuberculosis,
pneumonia, dysentery, and kwashiorkor (severe protein deficiency) are the most
serious health problems.
G | Defense |
Burundi’s armed forces are composed of a
paramilitary gendarmerie (police force) and an army, which includes naval and
air units. In 2004 the total force numbered 50,500, all volunteers. Since
independence the military has been very politically active and in turn has
fallen victim to corruption and often violent purges.
H | International and Regional Organizations |
Burundi is a member of the United Nations
(UN), the East African Community, and the African Union and is a signatory of
the Lomé Convention (agreements of cooperation between the European Union and
many developing countries).
VII | HISTORY |
In the early 14th century, the Hutu
arrived, probably from the Congo Basin, and imposed their language and customs
on the Twa, who are believed to be Burundi’s original inhabitants. The
development of an organized kingdom began in the 15th century, when the Tutsi,
probably migrating from the north, established themselves as feudal rulers.
Tutsi kings, or mwamis, became monarchs of distinct kingdoms in Burundi
and Rwanda. Their rule was enforced by chiefs and subchiefs, who each ruled an
umusozi, a fiefdom consisting of a single hill. Political and economic
relations were based on an unequal feudal relationship, known as the
ubugabire system, in which most Hutu became serfs subjugated by and
economically dependent on the Tutsi. However, Burundi’s economic and
sociopolitical structures were not as rigid as those of Rwanda. The power of the
mwami was not absolute, and various princely leaders, known as ganwa,
often vied for the throne. Unlike in Rwanda, marriages between Hutu and Tutsi
were common in Burundi.
A | European Colonization |
In 1858 the British explorers Sir Richard
Burton and John Hanning Speke were the first Europeans to visit Burundi.
Austrian explorer Oskar Baumann and German Count Gustav Adolf von Götzen arrived
in the 1890s, and soon Roman Catholic clergy established missions in the area.
Later Burundi (then called Urundi) and Rwanda (then called Ruanda) were
incorporated into German East Africa. The indigenous Tutsi rulers maintained
good relations with the Germans and later with the Belgians, who occupied the
country during World War I (1914-1918). After the war, the area was mandated to
Belgium by the League of Nations and became known as the Territory of
Ruanda-Urundi. Following World War II (1939-1945), it became a United Nations
(UN) trust territory. The Belgians continued previous policies of supporting
mission education and ruling through Tutsi chiefs. The colonial authorities
strengthened precolonial inequalities and were late in seeking reforms.
Nevertheless, the Belgians encouraged the mwami to phase out the ubugabire
system in 1955.
B | Independence and Violence |
As African political consciousness
increased, the Hutu grew more vocal in protesting inequalities. In 1959 ethnic
antagonisms in Rwanda erupted into violence. The Rwandan Tutsi king fled the
country, and an exodus of some 200,000 Tutsi followed, many of whom went to
Burundi. At the insistence of the UN Trusteeship Council, Burundi became an
independent constitutional monarchy under Mwami Mwambutsa IV on July 1, 1962,
and was admitted to the UN in September. However, political rivalry between Hutu
and Tutsi threatened regional stability. Fearing a Hutu revolution similar to
Rwanda’s, the Burundian Tutsi reacted brutally.
In 1963 thousands of Hutu victimized in
Burundi took refuge in Rwanda. The Burundian power structure remained in Tutsi
hands, despite a Hutu majority in the legislature after 1965. Accusing Mwambutsa
of intriguing to strengthen his position, a group of Hutu police attempted a
coup in October 1965. Loyalist police led by Captain Michel Micombero, a Tutsi,
thwarted the rebels, but the mwami fled the country. In July 1966 he was
declared deposed by his son, Mwami Ntare V. Four months later Micombero led a
successful coup, declared Burundi a republic, appointed himself president, and
established a National Revolutionary Committee to help stabilize his regime and
develop the economy. In April 1972 a Hutu uprising led to widespread massacres
claiming at least 100,000 lives, mainly Hutu. Ntare, who was under house arrest,
was also killed. The uprising was quelled, but unrest continued, and thousands
of Hutu refugees found haven in nearby countries.
Micombero was ousted in a bloodless coup
in November 1976. The ruling Supreme Revolutionary Council subsequently named
Colonel Jean-Baptiste Bagaza as president, but peace between the ruling Tutsi
and the Hutu majority remained precarious. A new constitution in 1981 declared
Burundi a one-party state. Coming into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church,
Bagaza became more authoritarian, persecuting clergy and forbidding masses. This
policy led to an erosion of support, and in 1987, while on a foreign visit, he
was overthrown by Major Pierre Buyoya, who ruled as head of the Military
Committee for National Salvation. Suspending the constitution, freeing political
prisoners, lifting restrictions on churches, and touring the country in an
effort to unite the people, he quickly consolidated his power and dealt with
political tensions.
Stability was threatened again in 1988
when the Tutsi-led army engaged in massacres of Hutu that left at least 5,000
dead. Buyoya responded by appointing a Hutu prime minister and including Hutu in
the cabinet. He controlled the military and planned a return to democratic,
civilian rule. A new constitution providing for a multiparty system was ratified
by referendum in March 1992. An unsuccessful coup attempt the same month
reportedly was organized by Bagaza, in exile in Libya.
C | Further Instability |
In June 1993 Burundi held its first
democratic presidential elections since independence. Melchior Ndadaye, a Hutu
and a member of the Burundi Democracy Front, won the elections with 60 percent
of the vote. Buyoya stepped down peacefully, retired from the army, and remained
politically active. In October 1993 army factions loyal to Bagaza assassinated
Ndadaye, sparking a civil war that was to last for nearly 12 years. Instability
in neighboring Rwanda also spread to Burundi. Ndadaye’s death provoked waves of
ethnic violence that sent thousands of refugees fleeing into neighboring Rwanda.
Cyprien Ntaryamira, a Hutu who replaced Ndadaye, attempted to restore order by
reining in the Tutsi-dominated security forces implicated in the violence. In
April 1994, shortly after concluding talks, Ntaryamira and Rwandan president
Juvénal Habyarimana were killed in a suspicious plane crash near Kigali, Rwanda.
Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, former head of the National Assembly, was named acting
president and was formally elected in September 1994. However, Burundi was
locked in a stalemate between the elected, Hutu-dominated government and the
Tutsi-led army. The situation continued to deteriorate, exacerbated by the
influx of thousands of refugees from Rwanda. Many government functions ceased.
In July 1996 Pierre Buyoya seized power
in another military coup and suspended the constitution, claiming that
extraordinary measures were necessary to ensure national survival. In September
1996 Roman Catholic archbishop Joachim Ruhuna, a Tutsi, was killed in an ambush
by Hutu rebels. In response to public outcry over the murder, Buyoya permitted
some political party and parliamentary activity. In 1998 Buyoya and the National
Assembly agreed upon a transitional administration in which Buyoya was formally
sworn in as president.
In 2000 a formal peace agreement aimed at
ending the civil war between Hutu and Tutsi was reached in Arusha, Tanzania. The
peace agreement called for a transitional government leading to a new
constitution and elections. A referendum on the new constitution was planned for
2004.
Hutu and Tutsi parties shared power in
this transitional system. Under this scheme, Buyoya (a Tutsi) handed the
presidency over to Domitien Ndayizeye (a Hutu) in April 2003. At the same time,
membership in the legislature and the military was carefully balanced between
Hutu and Tutsi. In November 2003 the largest rebel group, the Forces for the
Defense of Democracy (FDD), made up mainly of Hutus, joined the peace process.
The delayed referendum on a new
constitution was finally held in February 2005 and was overwhelmingly approved.
In legislative elections that followed, the FDD won a majority in both the
National Assembly and the Senate, and in August, FDD leader Pierre Nkurunziza
was sworn in as the first president under the new constitution. In accordance
with the new constitution, Nkurunziza appointed a 20-member cabinet that
included 60 percent Hutus, 40 percent Tutsi, and 30 percent women. Rival
political parties criticized the appointments for not being inclusive
enough.
The election and swearing-in of
Nkurunziza represented the crowning achievement of the peace process. Since 1993
ethnic violence had claimed more than 300,000 lives in Burundi and led to the
displacement of some 700,000 people. The new government, however, faced the
difficult task of persuading the last active rebel group, the Hutu-dominated
National Liberation Forces (FNL), to join the peace process. The FNL is a rival
of the FDD.
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