total: 974 km border countries: Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km, Zaire 233 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
International disputes: none
Climate: temperate; warm; occasional frost in uplands; dry season
from June to September
Terrain: hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east,
some plains
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Mount Heha 2,760 m
Natural resources: nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat,
cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium
Land use:
arable land: 43%
permanent crops: 8%
meadows and pastures: 35%
forest and woodland: 2%
other: 12%
Irrigated land: 720 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the
expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little
forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for
fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations
natural hazards: flooding, landslides
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species; signed, but
not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of
the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Geographic note: landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo
watershed
People———
Population: 5,943,057 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 47% (male 1,404,375; female 1,398,228)
15–64 years: 50% (male 1,454,545; female 1,527,644)
65 years and over: 3% (male 62,955; female 95,310) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.54% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 43.02 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 15.15 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: −12.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
note: in a number of waves since October 1993, hundreds of thousands
of refugees have fled the civil strife between the Hutu and Tutsi
factions in Burundi and crossed into Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zaire;
the refugee flows are continuing in 1996 as the ethnic violence
persists
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 102.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 49.33 years male: 48.28 years female: 50.42 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.55 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundi
Ethnic divisions:
Africans: Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%
non-Africans: Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000
Religions: Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%),
indigenous beliefs 32%, Muslim 1%
Languages: Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along
Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 35.3%
male: 49.3%
female: 22.5%
Government—————
Name of country:
conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi
local long form: Republika y'u Burundi
local short form: Burundi
Data code: BY
Type of government: republic
Capital: Bujumbura
Administrative divisions: 15 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura,
Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo,
Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi
Independence: 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian
administration)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
Constitution: 13 March 1992; provides for establishment of a
plural political system
Legal system: based on German and Belgian civil codes and
customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Sylvestre NTIBANTUNGANYA (acting president
from 8 April 1994 to 30 September 1994, president since 1
