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Central Africa, landlocked, smaller than Maryland, hilly, mountainous with some plains.
In November 2003, after ten years of conflict in Burundi, the Force for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) opted for peace and elections, and in early 2005 their candidates won elections to both houses of Parliament: the Senate and National Assembly. In August, 2005, parliament elected the leader of the FDD, Pierre Nkurunziza, a Hutu and born against Christian as chief of state.
Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.
Factbook: "Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with more than 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 rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices."
Estimated per capita GDP:
2008 $400 (ranks third from the bottom)
2007 $400
2006 $400
War has impeded development. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply.
Exports in small amounts: coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides
For 2008: deaths: 12.91, down from 17.43 in 2005; births 41.72, up from 39.66 in 2005
Since October 1993 an ethnic-based war has resulted in more than 200,000 deaths.
Estimated in 2005 approximately one in ten adults has HIV/AIDS.
Estimated for July 2008: 8.691 million. Growth rate estimated for 2008: 3.443 percent per year.
More arriving than leaving, a net gain of 5.62 persons per 1,000 population.
For 2007: many are arriving from Zimbabwe. Estimated for 2007 a net gain of 7.13 per 1,000 population.
Infant mortality estimated for 2008: 60.77, down from 69.29 in 2005 (deaths before the age of one year, per 1,000 live births).
Average life expectancy at birth estimated for 2008: 51.71 years, up from 43.5 in 2005
Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: 6 percent (2003).
In early 2005 only one in two children were going to school. In August 2005 the new chief of state, Pierre Nkurunziza, a born again Christian, abolished fees for schooling. Many Burundians had not been able to afford those fees. Parents were eager to have their children educated, and now schools are overwhelmed by the numbers of children.
SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Copyright © 2008 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.