Burundi is a landlocked, densely populated nation of over ten million people in the Great Lakes Region of Africa whose history, like that of its neighbor Rwanda, has been marked by conflict and tension between its two major ethic groups Hutu and Tutsi.
The country straddles the crest of the Nile-Congo watershed. The Kagera River, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile.
Burundi's major environmental issues include:
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); and,
habitat loss which threatens wildlife populations.
It is susceptible to flooding, landslides, and drought.
Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions.
More than 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries.
An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005.
The government of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who was reelected in 2010, continues to face many political and economic challenges.
Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15 adults has HIV/AIDS.
Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply.
Less than 2% of the population has electricity in its homes.
Terrain: Hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains. Its lowest point is Lake Tanganyika (772 metres) and its highest point is Heha (2,670 metres).
Climate: Equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January)
Source: NASA
Topography of Burundi. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Ecology and Biodiversity
Albertine Rift montane forests (green) is an area of exceptional faunal and moderate floral endemism. These mountains also support the Mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei), which is one of the most charismatic flagship species in Africa, and an effective target for much of the current conservation investment in the area. The mountain chain comprising the Albertine Rift straddles the borders of five different nations, and this makes effective ecoregional conservation a challenge in the area. Although there are a number of National Parks and Forest Reserves in the area, the recent wars have made their management difficult over much of the ecoregion. Additional threats include conversion of most forest areas outside reserves into farmland, together with logging, firewood collection, and bushmeat hunting within the remaining forest areas.
Victoria Basin forest-savanna mosaic (yellow)
Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands (orange) covers about 70 percent of central and northern Zambia, the southeastern third of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), western Malawi, much of Tanzania and parts of Burundi and northeastern Angola. Consisting mainly of broadleaf, deciduous savannas and woodlands, it is characteristically interspersed with edaphic grassland and semi-aquatic vegetation as well as areas of evergreen groundwater forest
Ecoregions of Burundi. Source: World Wildlife Fund
Government
Government Type: republic
Capital: Bujumbura - 455,000 (2009)
Administrative Divisions: 17 provinces;
Bubanza,
Bujumbura Mairie,
Bujumbura Rural,
Bururi,
Cankuzo,
Cibitoke,
Gitega,
Karuzi,
Kayanza,
Kirundo,
Makamba,
Muramvya,
Muyinga,
Mwaro,
Ngozi,
Rutana,
Ruyigi
Independence Date: 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Legal System: mixed legal system of Belgian civil law and customary law. Burundi has not submitted an International court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction declaration; but accepts International criminal court (ICCt) jurisdiction
International Environmental Agreements
North of Lake Victoria in eastern Africa (large lake in center), fires (red dots) were scattered across the savanna in February 2003. Lake Victoria straddles the border between Ugando (north) and Tanzania (south, with Kenya to its northeast. At top left and right are Sudan and Ethiopia. At left is a portion of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Between DRC and Tanzania are Rwanda (top) and Burundi (bottom). In the false-color images, vegetation is bright green, naturally bare soil is pinkish tan, burn scars are reddish brown, water is dark blue or black, and clouds are light blue or white. Source: NASA. Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
Fishermen on Lake Tanganyika. Source: Francesca Ansaloni.
Burundi is party to international agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, and Wetlands. It has signed, but not ratified the intetnational Law of the Sea.
People and Society
Population: 10,216,190 (July 2011 est.)
Ethnic groups: Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000
Burundi's export earnings - and its ability to pay for imports - rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices.
The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the coffee trade.
An ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced more than 48,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally.
Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15 adults has HIV/AIDS.
Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply.
Less than 2% of the population has electricity in its homes.
Burundi's GDP grew around 4% annually in 2006-11.
Political stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and economic activity has increased, but underlying weaknesses - a high poverty rate, poor education rates, a weak legal system, a poor transportation network, overburdened utilities, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms.
The purchasing power of most Burundians has decreased as wage increases have not kept up with inflation.
Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors--Burundi's foreign aid represents 42% of its national income, the second highest rate in Sub-Saharan Africa. The delay of funds after a corruption scandal cut off bilateral aid in 2007 reduced government's revenues and its ability to pay salaries.
Burundi joined the East African Community, which should boost Burundi's regional trade ties, and received $700 million in debt relief in 2009.
Government corruption is also hindering the development of a healthy private sector as companies seek to navigate an environment with ever-changing rules.
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $3.672 billion (2011 est.)
GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $1.7 billion (2011 est.)
The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman. The act also created a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to serve as head of the United States intelligence community; act as the principal adviser to the President for intelligence matters related to the national security; and serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 amended the National Securit ... (Full Bio)
Known worldwide by its panda logo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats. Now in its fifth decade, WWF works in more than 100 countries around the globe to conserve the diversity of life on Earth. With nearly 1.2 million members in the U.S. and another 4 million worldwide, WWF is the world's largest privately financed conservation organization. WWF directs its conservation efforts toward three global goals: 1) saving endangered ... (Full Bio)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958, partially in response to the Soviet Union's launch of the first artificial satellite. NASA grew out of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, which had been researching flight technology for more than 40 years. Today, NASA conducts its work in four principle organizations, called mission directorates: Aeronautics: pioneering and proving new flight technologies that improve our ab ... (Full Bio)
Burundi is a landlocked, densely populated nation of over ten million people in the Great Lakes Region of Africa whose history, like that of its neighbor Rwanda, has been marked by conflict and tension between its two major ethic groups Hutu and Tutsi.
The country straddles the crest of the Nile-Congo watershed. The Kagera River, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile.
Burundi's major environmental issues include:
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); and,
habitat loss which threatens wildlife populations.
It is susceptible to flooding, landslides, and drought.
Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions.
More than 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries.
An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005.
The government of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who was reelected in 2010, continues to face many political and economic challenges.
Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15 adults has HIV/AIDS.
Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply.
Less than 2% of the population has electricity in its homes.
Terrain: Hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains. Its lowest point is Lake Tanganyika (772 metres) and its highest point is Heha (2,670 metres).
Climate: Equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January)
Source: NASA
Topography of Burundi. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Ecology and Biodiversity
Albertine Rift montane forests (green) is an area of exceptional faunal and moderate floral endemism. These mountains also support the Mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei), which is one of the most charismatic flagship species in Africa, and an effective target for much of the current conservation investment in the area. The mountain chain comprising the Albertine Rift straddles the borders of five different nations, and this makes effective ecoregional conservation a challenge in the area. Although there are a number of National Parks and Forest Reserves in the area, the recent wars have made their management difficult over much of the ecoregion. Additional threats include conversion of most forest areas outside reserves into farmland, together with logging, firewood collection, and bushmeat hunting within the remaining forest areas.
Victoria Basin forest-savanna mosaic (yellow)
Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands (orange) covers about 70 percent of central and northern Zambia, the southeastern third of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), western Malawi, much of Tanzania and parts of Burundi and northeastern Angola. Consisting mainly of broadleaf, deciduous savannas and woodlands, it is characteristically interspersed with edaphic grassland and semi-aquatic vegetation as well as areas of evergreen groundwater forest
Ecoregions of Burundi. Source: World Wildlife Fund
Government
Government Type: republic
Capital: Bujumbura - 455,000 (2009)
Administrative Divisions: 17 provinces;
Bubanza,
Bujumbura Mairie,
Bujumbura Rural,
Bururi,
Cankuzo,
Cibitoke,
Gitega,
Karuzi,
Kayanza,
Kirundo,
Makamba,
Muramvya,
Muyinga,
Mwaro,
Ngozi,
Rutana,
Ruyigi
Independence Date: 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Legal System: mixed legal system of Belgian civil law and customary law. Burundi has not submitted an International court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction declaration; but accepts International criminal court (ICCt) jurisdiction
International Environmental Agreements
North of Lake Victoria in eastern Africa (large lake in center), fires (red dots) were scattered across the savanna in February 2003. Lake Victoria straddles the border between Ugando (north) and Tanzania (south, with Kenya to its northeast. At top left and right are Sudan and Ethiopia. At left is a portion of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Between DRC and Tanzania are Rwanda (top) and Burundi (bottom). In the false-color images, vegetation is bright green, naturally bare soil is pinkish tan, burn scars are reddish brown, water is dark blue or black, and clouds are light blue or white. Source: NASA. Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
Fishermen on Lake Tanganyika. Source: Francesca Ansaloni.
Burundi is party to international agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, and Wetlands. It has signed, but not ratified the intetnational Law of the Sea.
People and Society
Population: 10,216,190 (July 2011 est.)
Ethnic groups: Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000
Burundi's export earnings - and its ability to pay for imports - rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices.
The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the coffee trade.
An ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced more than 48,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally.
Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15 adults has HIV/AIDS.
Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply.
Less than 2% of the population has electricity in its homes.
Burundi's GDP grew around 4% annually in 2006-11.
Political stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and economic activity has increased, but underlying weaknesses - a high poverty rate, poor education rates, a weak legal system, a poor transportation network, overburdened utilities, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms.
The purchasing power of most Burundians has decreased as wage increases have not kept up with inflation.
Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors--Burundi's foreign aid represents 42% of its national income, the second highest rate in Sub-Saharan Africa. The delay of funds after a corruption scandal cut off bilateral aid in 2007 reduced government's revenues and its ability to pay salaries.
Burundi joined the East African Community, which should boost Burundi's regional trade ties, and received $700 million in debt relief in 2009.
Government corruption is also hindering the development of a healthy private sector as companies seek to navigate an environment with ever-changing rules.
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $3.672 billion (2011 est.)
GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $1.7 billion (2011 est.)
Bujumbura. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Geography
Burundi is a landlocked, densely populated nation of over ten million people in the Great Lakes Region of Africa whose history, like that of its neighbor Rwanda, has been marked by conflict and tension between its two major ethic groups Hutu and Tutsi.
The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman. The act also created a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to serve as head of the United States intelligence community; act as the principal adviser to the President for intelligence matters related to the national security; and serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 amended the National Securit ... (Full Bio)
Known worldwide by its panda logo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats. Now in its fifth decade, WWF works in more than 100 countries around the globe to conserve the diversity of life on Earth. With nearly 1.2 million members in the U.S. and another 4 million worldwide, WWF is the world's largest privately financed conservation organization. WWF directs its conservation efforts toward three global goals: 1) saving endangered ... (Full Bio)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958, partially in response to the Soviet Union's launch of the first artificial satellite. NASA grew out of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, which had been researching flight technology for more than 40 years. Today, NASA conducts its work in four principle organizations, called mission directorates: Aeronautics: pioneering and proving new flight technologies that improve our ab ... (Full Bio)
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