BURUNDI

Republic of Burundi

République du Burundi;Republika yu Burundi

CAPITAL: Bujumbura

FLAG: The national flag consists of a white circle in the center with arms extending to the four corners. The circle contains three red stars with green borders. Upper and lower fields formed by the circle and its arms are red; the fields on the sides are green.

ANTHEM: Burundi Bwacu (Our Burundi), beginning "Burundi bwacu, Burundi buhire" ("Our Burundi, O blessed land").

MONETARY UNIT: The Burundi franc (BFr) is a paper currency. There are coins of 1, 5, and 10 francs, and notes of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 francs. BFr1 = $0.00088 (or $1 = BFr11,138) as of 2005.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Labor Day, 1 May; Independence Day, 1 July; Assumption, 15 August; Victory of UPRONA, 18 September; 13 October; All Saints' Day, 1 November; Christmas, 25 December. Movable religious holidays include Easter Monday, Ascension, and Pentecost Monday.

TIME: 2 pm = noon GMT.

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

Burundi is a landlocked country in east-central Africa with an area of 27,830 sq km (10,745 sq mi), of which about 7% consists of lakes. Comparatively, the area occupied by Burundi is slightly smaller than the state of Maryland. It extends 263 km (163 mi) nne–ssw and 194 km (121 mi) ese–wnw. Burundi is bounded on the n by Rwanda, on the e and s by Tanzania, and on the w by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC), with a total boundary length of 974 km (605 mi).

Burundi's capital city, Bujumbura, is located in the western part of the country.

TOPOGRAPHY

Burundi is a country mainly of mountains and plateaus, with a western range of mountains running north–south and continuing into Rwanda. The highest point is Mt. Heha at 2,670 m (8,760 ft). The only land below 914 m (3,000 ft) is a narrow strip of plain along the Ruzizi River (about 800 m/2,600 ft), which forms the western border north of Lake Tanganyika. From the mountains eastward, the land declines gradually, dropping to about 1,400 m (4,600 ft) toward the southeastern and southern border. The average elevation of the central plateau is about 1,525 to 2,000 m (5,000 to 6,500 ft). The major rivers form natural boundaries for most of the country. The Kanyaru and the Kagera separate Burundi from Rwanda along many sections of the common border. The Kagera and the Ruvubu are important as the southernmost sources of the Nile. Most of Burundi's southern border is formed by the Malagarasi River. The principal lakes are Tanganyika, Cohoha, and Rweru.

CLIMATE

Burundi in general has a tropical highland climate, with a considerable daily temperature range in many areas. Temperature also varies considerably from one region to another, chiefly as a result of differences in altitude. The central plateau enjoys pleasantly cool weather, with an average temperature of 20°c (68°f). The area around Lake Tanganyika is warmer, averaging 23°c (73°f); the highest mountain areas are cooler, averaging 16°c (60°f). Bujumbura's average annual temperature is 23°c (73°f). Rain is irregular, falling most heavily in the northwest. Dry seasons vary in length, and there are sometimes long periods of drought. However, four seasons can be distinguished: the long dry season (June–August), the short wet season (September–November), the short dry season (December–January), and the long wet season (February–May). Most of Burundi receives between 130 and 160 cm (51–63 in) of rainfall a year. The Ruzizi Plain and the northeast receive between 75 and 100 cm (30–40 in).

FLORA AND FAUNA

Most of the country is savanna grassland. There is little forest left; Burundi is one of the most eroded and deforested countries in all of tropical Africa. Of the remaining trees, the most common are eucalyptus, acacia, fig, and oil palms along the lakeshores. There are over 2,500 species of plants.

Wildlife was abundant before the region became agricultural. Still found are the elephant, hippopotamus, crocodile, wild boar, lion, antelope, and flying lemur, as well as such game birds as guinea fowl, partridge, duck, geese, quail, and snipe. Some 451 breeding bird species have been reported. The crowned crane is prevalent. As the region becomes more densely populated, some species are dwindling or disappearing.

In Lake Tanganyika there is a great variety of fish, including the Nile perch, freshwater sardines, and rare tropical specimens. Most of the 133 fish species in Lake Tanganyika are found nowhere else in the world.

ENVIRONMENT

Wildlife survives only in those areas of the country not heavily cultivated, and rapid population growth is reducing the amount of uncultivated land. The cutting of forests for fuel is uncontrolled despite legislation requiring permits. Only about 5.7% of Burundi's total land area is protected. Soil erosion due to deforestation, improper terracing, and overgrazing is also a serious problem. Burundi also has a problem with maintaining the purity of its water supply. It has only 4 billion cu m of renewable water resources, of which 64% is used for agricultural purposes. About 90% of the nation's urban population and 78% of rural dwellers have access to pure water.

According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the number of threatened species included 7 types of mammals, 9 species of birds, 6 species of amphibian, 1 type of mollusk, 3 types of other invertebrates, and 2 species of plants. Threatened species include the mountain gorilla, cheetahs, African elephants, and the whale-headed stork.

POPULATION

The population of Burundi in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 7,795,000, which placed it at number 93 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 3% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 47% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 95 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–2010 was expected to be 2.8%, a rate the government viewed as too high. (Adolescent pregnancy was a significant problem, as was low rate of contraceptive use.) The projected population for the year 2025 was 13,913,000. The population density was 280 per sq km (725 per sq mi), making it one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. The density is greatest in north-central Burundi.

The UN estimated that 9% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 6.57%. The capital city, Bujumbura, had a population of 378,000 in that year. Apart from Bujumbura, urban areas are small and serve mainly as commercial and administrative centers.

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS has had a significant impact on the population of Burundi. The UN estimated that 8.3% of adults between the ages of 15–49 were living with HIV/AIDS in 2001. The AIDS epidemic causes higher death and infant mortality rates, and lowers life expectancy.

MIGRATION

At the end of 1992 there were about 271,700 refugees in Burundi. When ethnic massacres broke out anew in Rwanda in 1994, several hundred thousand Rwandan refugees streamed across the border into Burundi. By August 1996, all of these refugees had returned to Rwanda, compelled by the insecurity in Burundi. At the end of 1992, Tanzania was harboring 149,500 refugees from Burundi, and Rwanda another 25,200. Hundreds of thousands of Hutu from Burundi crossed into Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC, formerly Zaire) in late 1993 to escape massacre at the hands of the Tutsi-dominated army. In early 1994, many of these refugees returned home. In 1994, with the outbreak of the civil war in Rwanda, 270,000 Burundi refugees who were there returned home. By November 1996, 120,000 Burundians returned home from the DROC. However, there were still over 240,000 Burundi refugees in the DROC and Tanzania.

At the end of 1996, it was estimated that 500,000 Burundians were still displaced internally, either clustered with military posts if they were of Tutsi ethnicity or in the hills if they were Hutu. In January 1999 Burundi and Tanzania took steps to revive talks on repatriation. However, a series of rebel attacks in the Ruyigi province in April 1999 seriously hindered repatriation efforts in that area. Increased violence in Bujumbura, beginning in July 1999, also slowed efforts. In 2003, there were 381,000 internally displaced persons (IDP) within the country. As of 2004, 48,805 people were registered as refugees, primarily from the DROC; another 11,893 were registered as asylum seekers. Also in 2004, there were 90,321 returned refugees. In 2004 over 19,500 Burundians sought refuge in the DROC and over 440,000 in Tanzania. The net migration rate for 2005 was estimated as zero.

ETHNIC GROUPS

The population is made up mainly of Hutu, a Bantu people, traditionally farmers, who constitute about 85% of the inhabitants. A tall warrior people, the Tutsi (Watutsi, Watusi, Batutsi), a Hamitic people, constitute about 14% of the population but dominate the government and military. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were the Twa (Batwa), a Pygmy tribe of hunters, related to the Pygmies of the DROC. They make up about 1% of the population. There are about 82,000 immigrant Africans. Europeans and Asians number about 5,000.

LANGUAGES

The main language is Kirundi, a Bantu language. Both Kirundi and French are official languages. Swahili is used as a lingua franca along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area.

RELIGIONS

About 60% of the population are Roman Catholic and about 10% are Muslim. The remainder practice other Christian faiths, indigenous religions, or have no religious affiliation.

The Transitional Constitutional Act of 2001 provided for freedom of religion and this right is generally respected in practice. Religious groups must register with the Ministry of Interior and maintain a headquarters within the country. The heads of major religions are given diplomatic status. Certain Catholic holidays are observed as public holidays.

TRANSPORTATION

A great hindrance to Burundi's economic development is lack of adequate transportation. The country is landlocked, and there are no railroads. Roads total 14,480 km (8,998 mi) as of 2002, and only about 7% of them remain open in all weather; the rest are classed as local roads or tracks. In 2003, there were 24,000 passenger cars and 23,500 commercial vehicles.

Burundi is dependent on Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC) for its imports. Through Bujumbura, Lake Tanganyika serves as the country's sole inland waterway, and as a link with Kigoma in Tanzania for rail shipment to Dar es Salaam. In 1987, the African Development Bank awarded a 50-year loan of CFA Fr218 billion to finance the construction of a shipyard in Bujumbura.

Air service is maintained by Air Burundi, which operates domestic service and flies to Rwanda, Tanzania, and the DROC. International service is also provided by Air Zaïre, Sabena, and other airlines. As of 2004, there were an estimated eight airports in Burundi, of which the international airport in Bujumbura (as of 2005) was the country's primary and only paved airport. There are also a number of helicopter landing strips. In 1997, 11,000 passengers traveled on international and domestic flights.

HISTORY

The first known inhabitants of what is now Burundi were the Twa, a Pygmy tribe of hunters. Between the 7th and 10th centuries, the Hutu, a Bantu agricultural people, occupied the region, probably coming from the Congo Basin. In the 15th and 16th centuries, tall warriors, the Tutsi, believed to have come originally from Ethiopia, entered the area.

The Tutsi, a nomadic pastoral people, gradually subjugated the Hutu and other inhabitants of the region, although they adopted the Hutu language, as did the Twa, so that all three groups were Bantu-speaking. A feudal social system based on caste—the conquering Tutsi and the subjected Hutu—became the dominant feature of social hierarchy, and especially of economic and political relations. The Hutu did the farming and grew the food in return for cattle, but generally had no part in government. The Tutsi were the ruling caste and did no manual labor. To a certain extent, however, the castes were open to each other. Custom allowed a particularly worthy Twa or Hutu to rise to the rank of a Tutsi; conversely, an impoverished Tutsi who had fallen from his former estate could be assimilated into the Hutu.

The penetration of and eventual conquest by the Tutsi was reported as a slow and peaceful process that initiated a process of political integration. The ownership of land was gradually transferred from the Hutu tribes to the mwami, the semidivine king of the Tutsi. The first mwami, Ntare I Rushatsi, is thought to have come to power in the 16th century. While the ruling mwami was in theory an absolute king, he was often regarded as primus inter pares among the ganwa, prince-like aristocrats of royal lineage. But the mwami had his court and his army, and he could not easily be removed from office.

The first European known to have reached the territory was John Hanning Speke, who traveled with Richard Burton to Lake Tanganyika in 1858. They paddled to the north end of the lake in their search for the headwaters of the Nile. In 1871, Stanley and Livingstone landed at Bujumbura and explored the Ruzizi River region. Subsequently, other explorers, principally German, visited Burundi. After the Berlin Conference of 1884–85, the German zone of influence in East Africa was extended to include Rwanda and Burundi. A German, Count von Götzen, discovered Lake Kivu in 1894. The first Roman Catholic missionaries came in 1898 and in 1899 the territories then known as Ruanda-Urundi officially came under the administration of German East Africa.

The German authorities made no changes in the indigenous organization, choosing only Tutsi for positions of colonial authority. They administered the territory through the traditional authorities in accordance with the laws and customs of the region. However, the history of Burundi under the German administration was marked by constant factional struggles and rivalry, in contrast to the peaceful state of affairs in Rwanda. When Belgian troops occupied the country in 1916, they found it in dissension and the three-year-old mwami, Mwambutsa IV, the center of court intrigue. In 1923, the League of Nations awarded Belgium a mandate to the region of Ruanda-Urundi. The Belgians adopted the same policy of indirect administration employed by the Germans, retaining the entire Tutsi-dominated hierarchy. In 1946, RuandaUrundi became a United Nations Trust Territory under Belgian administration.

On 18 September 1961, elections for the National Assembly were held in Urundi under the auspices of the UN. The result was a sweeping victory for UPRONA, the party headed by Prince Louis Rwagasore, eldest son of the mwami. On 13 October 1961, shortly after Prince Rwagasore had become premier, he was assassinated. Two leaders of the Christian Democratic Party were charged, convicted of responsibility for the murder, and executed.

The UN had strongly urged that Urundi and Ruanda come to independence united, since their relationship had long been close, their economies were integrated, and their people were ethnically one. However, the UN reluctantly decided that there was insufficient support for the union in both regions, and on 27 June 1962, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that called for the creation of two independent nations, Burundi and Rwanda.

On 1 July 1962, Burundi became an independent, constitutional monarchy headed by Mwami (King) Mwambutsa IV. The king set up a government that comprised equal numbers of Hutu and Tutsi, with a Hutu as prime minister. In 1965, the assassination of the prime minister, and Mwambutsa's subsequent refusal to appoint a Hutu prime minister even though the Hutu won a parliamentary majority, began a destabilizing cycle of Hutu uprisings and government repression. Mwambutsa was deposed in July 1966, and was succeeded in September by his son, Charles, who then became known as Ntare V. On 29 November 1966, Ntare V was in turn overthrown by a military coup headed by the Tutsi prime minister, Col. Michel Micombero, who abolished the monarchy and declared Burundi a republic with himself as president.

In 1969, an alleged Hutu coup attempt ended in the arrest of 30 prominent businessmen and officials. Another Hutu-led coup attempt in April 1972 led to widespread civil war, in which mass killings of Hutu by Tutsi and of Tutsi by Hutu were reported. Ntarve V was killed on 29 April 1972, reportedly by Hutu, which, led to the massacre of 150,000 Burundian Hutu a month later. On 21 July 1973, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported that there were at least 85,000 Hutu refugees from Burundi, of whom an estimated 40,000 were in Tanzania, 35,000 in Zaire, and 10,000 in Rwanda. President Micombero later conceded that more than 100,000 persons had been killed in the course of the 1972 insurgency, and perhaps hundreds of thousands of refugees had fled. Most of the deaths were among the Hutu, and educated Hutu were systematically massacred under Micombero's de facto military regime. By August 1972 nearly all educated Hutu had fled or been killed. During 1973, rebel bands conducted raids into Burundi from across the Rwandan and Tanzanian borders, and Burundi's relations with those two neighbors deteriorated. By the end of 1973, however, the government was fully in control.

On 1 November 1976, President Micombero was stripped of all powers in a bloodless military coup led by Lt. Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, and the Supreme Revolutionary Committee (SRC) that subsequently took power named Bagaza president. The new regime, like the old, was dominated by Tutsi. At a party congress of UPRONA in 1979, a party central committee headed by President Bagaza was selected to replace the SRC, and civilian rule was formally restored. Although the military remained active in both the party and in the government, Bagaza encouraged land reform, electoral reform, and reconciliation. A new constitution was adopted in a national referendum in 1981, and a National Assembly was elected in 1982. Bagaza was reelected unopposed to a new five-year term in 1984. However, after 1984 Bagaza's human rights record worsened due to his suppression of religious freedom and political opposition. In September 1987, he was overthrown in a bloodless military coup while he attended a conference in Canada. Maj. Pierre Buyoya became president.

Buyoya withdrew recognition of opposition parties, suspended the 1981 constitution, and established his ruling Military Committee for National Salvation (CSMN). Ethnic violence erupted in 1988, and in response to rumors of the murder of Tutsi in the north, the army massacred between 5,000 and 25,000 Hutu. Over 100,000 were left homeless and 60,000 took refuge in Rwanda. Throughout 1988, an estimated 150,000 people were killed.

Major Buyoya agreed to the restoration of multiparty politics in 1991, and a new constitution was approved in March 1992. Competition between approved, ethnically balanced parties in the June 1993 election brought to office Burundi's first elected president, as well as its first Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye. Ndadaye got 66% of the vote, while Buyoya received just 33%. Ndadaye began to talk of reform of the Tutsi-dominated armed forces, but on 21 October 1993, Ndadaye and several cabinet members were assassinated by a faction of Tutsi soldiers. Other cabinet officers, including Prime Minister Sylvie Kinigi, a Tutsi, took refuge in the French embassy. Ethnic violence continued, launching the country into civil war, with some 10,000 murdered and 800,000 fleeing the country. It has been estimated that as many as 100,000 may have been killed in this round of violence.

The military coup attempt failed, however, and Ndadaye's FRODEBU party (Burundi Democratic Front) regained control, electing Cyprien Ntaryamira as president in January 1994. In February, Ndadaye's successor was inaugurated, but his coalition was unable to restore order. In an effort to negotiate peace, he went to Tanzania for consultations. On his flight home, the plane in which he was returning, along with Rwanda's President Habyarimana, was shot down near the Rwanda capital, Kigali, on 6 April 1994. Two other members of his cabinet also died in the attack. This crash marked the beginning of the Rwandan genocide.

The constitutionally provided line of succession left the post of president to Sylvestre Ntibantunganya. He served in a transitional capacity until October 1994 when the Assembly elected him to serve a four-year term. In contrast to the genocide that erupted in Rwanda, Ntibantunganya managed to maintain relative stability in Burundi—for a time. However, the influx of refugees from Rwanda and increased armament of Hutu and Tutsi groups fueled sporadic violence prompting the government to impose a curfew in Bujumbura in December.

The death toll attributable to ethnic strife and political problems continued to mount during the first half of 1995. In 1993 alone, an estimated 150,000 had died in ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi. The averting of a citywide strike in the capital of Bujumbura in early February 1995 helped ease the ethnic tension, but the relief was short-lived. On 11 March, Mines and Energy Minister Ernest Kabushemeye was shot to death as the violence flared anew. Later that month, fighting in the central market left four people dead. By 25 March, thousands of people were fleeing Bujumbura to escape the violence, and hundreds were feared dead in new fighting. The exodus grew to 50,000 refugees from a city with a total population of 300,000. Two suburbs where clashes had occurred were practically deserted.

The flare-up also affected refugees from neighboring Rwanda who had fled to seven northern Burundi camps to escape HutuTutsi violence in their own country. An estimated 20,000 refugees undertook a two-day trek to Tanzania to escape the violence at one of the camps, which left 12 dead and 22 wounded. The seven camps, which once held more than 25,000 Rwandans, were closed by August 1996 as the last group of the refugees returned to its homeland.

Despite an Organization of African States (OAS) peace mission, the Hutu militias and Tutsi-dominated government army battled throughout the early days of June in Bujumbura's suburbs. The OAS mission was aimed at ending months of fighting between the majority Hutu and the Tutsi before the clashes could develop into an all-out war.

On 25 July 1996, Maj. Pierre Buyoya seized power in a coup backed by the Burundi military. The National Assembly continued to function, although during Buyoya's "Transition Period" its powers were severely curtailed. Soon thereafter, six East African nations cut trade ties to the country and imposed and economic embargo after demanding Maj. Buyoya restore parliament. The African leaders also demanded that Major Buyoya, president of Burundi from 1987 to 1993, begin peace talks with Hutu rebels. Yet ethnic violence escalated in the months following Major Buyoya's takeover. Each side blamed the other for the assassination in September of Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna, Burundi's senior Roman Catholic archbishop. In 1999, in his new role as facilitator of the Arusha Peace Process, Nelson Mandela asked all parties—the government, rebel forces, and international organizations—to sit down and discuss the issues. In the early months of 2000 several such meetings were held in Tanzania, leading up to the signing of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement for Burundi on 28 August 2000. However, Mandela's efforts ran up against entrenched regional conflicts and ethnic animosities as several armed factions refused to accept the peace agreement.

Seeking to secure national borders, Burundian troops intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998, but were redeployed to Burundi to engage rebels operating within the country and from across the Congolese border. In October 2002, Burundi's smaller rebel groups—the CNDD-FDD (Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la democratie—National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy) of Jean Bosco Ndayikengurukiye and the Palipehutu-FNL (Forces for National Liberation) of Alain Mugabarabona—signed a cease-fire, followed by a similar agreement between the CNDD-FDD of Pierre Nkurunziza and the transitional government of Burundi. Only the Palipehutu-FNL of Agathon Rwasa had not signed a cease-fire with the transitional government by mid-June 2003.

Under the Arusha Accords, a three-year transitional government was inaugurated 1 November 2001 under the leadership of Pierre Buyoya. On 30 April 2003, Buyoya stepped down under the terms of the accord, making way for a Hutu vice president, Domitien Ndayizeye, to assume the presidency for the remaining 18 months. However, since the signing of the cease-fires, fighting between the army and CNDD-FDD rebels has occurred on a daily basis. On 3 February 2003, the African Union authorized an African Mission in Burundi (AMIB), which fielded troops from South Africa, Ethiopia, and Mozambique to safeguard cantonment areas and to provide technical assistance to the disarmament and demobilization process. In late 2003 the Burundian government and the CNDD-FDD signed renewed cease-fire and power-sharing agreements. In March 2004, members of the CNDD-FDD assumed governmental and parliamentary offices. Many bilateral donors, as well as the World Bank, assisted in funding Burundi's disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program for former rebel combatants. However, some conflict continued, and in August 2004, the extremist Palipehutu-FNL massacred more than 150 Congolese Tutsi refugees, and as of late 2005 continued to stage attacks.

Reaching a stable compromise on post-transition power sharing was difficult. Although a post-transition constitution was approved in September 2004, it was approved over a boycott by the Tutsi parties. In addition, the Arusha Peace Agreement mandated that local and national elections be held before the ending of the transitional period on 31 October 2004, but transitional institutions were extended. On 28 February 2005, however, Burundians popularly approved a post-transitional constitution by national referendum, with elections set to take place throughout the summer of 2005. After local, parliamentary, and other elections in June and July, on 19 August 2005, the good governance minister, Pierre Nkurunziza, became the first post-transitional president.

GOVERNMENT

Under the 1981 constitution, the president of the republic was elected by universal adult suffrage. The sole candidate was the president of UPRONA, the only legal political party. The president, who was head of state, was assisted by a council of ministers. Legislative power was vested in the 65-member National Assembly, of which 52 were elected and 13 appointed by the president. The president and legislators served five-year terms. Following the September 1987 coup, President Pierre Buyoya dismissed all members of the government and ruled as head of the newly established Military Committee of National Redemption until it was disbanded in December 1990. A new constitution, which recognized "democracy, human rights and development", was adopted on 13 March 1992 after a popular referendum. It provides for a directly elected president, a prime minister, and an 81-seat National Assembly.

In 1998, the position of prime minister was abolished. In 2001, the National Assembly was expanded from 121 to approximately 140 seats under the transitional constitution adopted October 18, 2001. On 17 September, 2004, the National Assembly adopted a post-transition constitution that was approved in a nation-wide referendum 28 February, 2005. A new electoral calendar was established at a regional summit in Uganda, and during the summer of 2005, a post-transition government was elected. Burundian people voted in Commune Council direct elections on 3 June 2005, and National Assembly direct elections on 4 July 2005. Senate members were elected by the electoral college on 29 July 2005, and a joint legislative session elected Pierre Nkurunziza as president on 19 August 2005 in a vote of 151 to 9.

According to the 2005 constitution, the president can be elected to a maximum of two five-year terms, and is named by a vote in the two houses of parliament. The permanent, post-transition government was established 26 August 2005, consisting of 100-seat directly elected National Assembly, and a senate. As of 2005, the assembly also had 18 additional deputies appointed as needed to ensure the stipulations made in the Arusha agreement. This mandates that the assembly is composed of at least 30% women and has an ethnic composition of 60% Hutu, 40% Tutsi, and 3 Batwa members. The structure of the senate from the transitional government was retained, which includes no less than 37, and no more than 54 seats, for five-year terms. There are two senators for each of the 17 provinces (including the capital), one each for Hutu and Tutsi, which are elected in three rounds of voting by communal electoral colleges. Three seats are reserved for the Batwa minority. Additional seats are reserved for all former presidents. Up to 14 additional senators are appointed by the president to achieve the 30% gender quota for women. In 2005, the senate had a total membership of 49 seats.

POLITICAL PARTIES

It was only after 1948 that Belgium permitted competing political parties, and two emerged: the multi-ethnic Union for National Progress (Parti de l'Unité et du Progrès National—UPRONA), led by Tutsi Prince Louis Rwagasore, and the Belgium-supported Christian Democratic Party (Parti Démocrate Chrétien—PDC). However, in 1961, Rwagasore was assassinated following the the UPRONA victory in legislative elections.

Before independence, no fewer than 23 political parties were officially registered. Of these, only two retained political significance in the years following independence: UPRONA, and the People's Party (Parti du Peuple—PP), an all-Hutu party. UPRONA, which initially controlled 58 seats in the National Assembly out of a total of 64, was soon torn by internecine leadership rivalries. In time, these rivalries took on the qualities of a racial feud between Tutsi and Hutu. In the National Assembly, the PP merged with the Hutu wing of UPRONA to form the so-called Monrovia Group, while the Tutsi wing of UPRONA referred to itself as the Casablanca Group.

In June 1965, legislative elections were held for the first time since independence. UPRONA won 21 seats, the PP 10, and independents 2. President Micombero, a Tutsi, proclaimed UPRONA to be the sole legal political party by a decree promulgated on 23 November 1966. On 1 November 1976, leaders of the coup that deposed Micombero announced that UPRONA had been dissolved, but in 1979, the party was incorporated into the government structure. According to the 1981 constitution, it was the only legal political organization. The president of UPRONA was president of the republic and also head of the party's 70-member Central Committee and 8-member Politburo.

Fifty-two members of the National Assembly were elected under the auspices of UPRONA in October 1982 from 104 candidates, about 75% of them Tutsi, chosen by local UPRONA committees. Several cabinet members and high party officials were defeated. In September 1987, following the coup that ousted President Bagaza, all members of UPRONA were dismissed.

The 1 June 1993 presidential election and the 29 June parliamentary election that year led to the defeat of UPRONA. President Ndadaye's party, the Burundi Democratic Front (FRODEBU) received 72% of the vote and 65 of parliament's 81 seats. UPRONA won the remaining seats with 21% of the ballots cast. Other parties include the Burundi People's Party (RPB), the Party for the Reconciliation of the People (PRP), and the People's Party (PP).

Newer, smaller parties have emerged in recent years, including: the Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation (ABASA), Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development (RADDES), Party for National Redress (PARENA), and the People's Reconciliation Party (PRP).

Smaller rebel factions with political influence include the CNDD-FDD (Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie Forces pour la defense de la democratie—National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy) and the Palipehutu-FNL (Forces for National Liberation).

As of the elections in late 2005, there were 30 registered political parties without representation in either house of parliament. Six parties are represented in one or both houses, with the formerly small CNDD-FDD controlling the overwhelming majority of seats in both houses. The six major parties are the CNDD-FDD with 32 Senate and 64 Assembly seats; FRODEBU with 5 Senate, 30 Assembly; UPRONA with 2 Senate, 15 Assembly seats; and the CNDD, the breakaway party from the CNDD-FDD with 3 Senate and 4 Assembly seats.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Burundi was formerly divided into 8 provinces, but a redistricting plan in 1982 increased the number to 15—which eventually expanded to 16—each under a military governor. However, as of the mid-1990s, Burundi was divided into 17 provinces, including the capital city regions.

Communal councils exist for each of the 129 communes. Twenty-five members sit on each of the councils, and on 2 June 2005, the CNDD-FDD won 1,781 of the 3,225 available council seats (55%). There are also local Colline (hill) councils elected independent of party. These elections were held on 23 September 2005. Both of these local councils are directly elected, and the Colline councils serve a term of five years.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

The legal system of Burundi is based on German and French civil codes and customary law. In 1987 there were 64 tribunals of first instance. The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court are located in the capital, Bujumbura.

The 1992 constitution established a number of new courts, including a constitutional court to review all new laws for conformity to the constitution. It also created a high court responsible for resolving charges of high level crimes by high level government officials. A military court had jurisdiction over crimes by members of the military.

The military coup in 1996 abrogated the 1992 constitution and replaced it by a transitional decree. The decree of 13 September 1996 provided for an independent judiciary, which in fact was dominated by the Tutsi ethnic group. The decree also provided for the right to privacy. Authorities generally respect the law requiring search warrants.

As of 2005, the judicial system was divided into the Cour Supreme (Supreme Court), Constitutional Court (created by the 2005 constitution), and three Courts of Appeal. The president nominates members of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, with the Supreme Court the final court of appeal. There are 17 province-level Tribunals of First Instance, and 123 local tribunals.

ARMED FORCES

In 2005, Burundi had 50,500 active personnel in its armed forces. The Army had 40,000 personnel, including a 200 member Air Wing. The troops included seven infantry battalions, two light armored squadrons, one engineer battalion, one air defense battalion, and one artillery battalion. The Air Wing had two combat capable aircraft that were also used in a training capacity. Paramilitary gendarmerie numbered around 5,500. The defense budget in 2005 was $46.1 million.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Burundi was admitted to UN membership on 18 September 1962 and is a member of ECA and several nonregional specialized agencies. It also belongs to the African Development Bank, G-77, the ACP Group, COMESA, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), and the African Union. It became a member of the WTO on 23 July 1995. Burundi, Rwanda, and the DROC form the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL), which is intended to foster development in the region of lakes Kivu and Tanganyika. Burundi also cooperates with Rwanda and Tanzania in the development of the Kagera River Basin. In addition, Burundi is part of the Nonaligned Movement. The United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) was established in May 2004 and consists of 44 member countries offering support for reconciliation and peacekeeping among the Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups from the boundary regions of Burundi, DROC, Rwanda, and Uganda.

In environmental cooperation, Burundi is part of the Basel Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity, CITES, the Kyoto Protocol, the Montréal Protocol, and the UN Conventions on Climate Change and Desertification.

ECONOMY

Burundi's is an agricultural and livestock economy with over 90% of the population engaged in subsistence agriculture. Bananas, plantains, sweet potatoes, and manioc are Burundi's staple crops, followed by beans, taro, and maize. Coffee and tea are the main export crops. Coffee provides roughly 50% of export earnings, which are thus vulnerable to international coffee prices and seasonal yields. Cotton is Burundi's other principal export, but cotton production has been plagued by excessive rain. Livestock sales are discouraged by a tradition that encourages the maintenance of large herds. Sales of hides and skins amount to some 3% of exports.

Burundi's mineral sector is currently small, with a potential that remains undetermined. Gold, tungsten, columbo-tantalite, bastnaesite, and cassiterite are each mined in small quantities. Explorations have revealed petroleum under Lake Tanganyika and in the Ruzizi Valley, as well as large nickel deposits at Musongati. Copper, cobalt, and platinum are expected to be found in association with the nickel. Phosphate rock deposits have also been located.

Since 1993, ethnic tensions and ongoing violence have severely disrupted the economy, bringing the government's economic reforms to a halt. International sanctions in 1996 exacerbated the poor economic situation, causing further food shortages, and high inflation. There was a 50% increase in the number of people falling below the poverty line. Although the Arusha Peace Accords had been signed in 2000, violence continued into 2003, as one million people fled their homes. Over 300,000 people since 1993 had been killed in Burundi's civil war. Political instability is also compounded by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Nearly one in ten adults are infected with HIV/AIDS, and medicines are in short supply. Sanctions imposed by neighboring countries on Burundi have stunted the economy, although a regional trade embargo was lifted in 1999. However, by the end of 2005 fighting had stopped in most of the country, and greater internal stability and donor-financed capital expenditure is hoped to aid growth throughout the economy during 2006 and in coming years. This can be seen in the gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the period 2000–2004. In 2000 GDP grew at a negative growth rate of 0.9% but bounced back in 2001 and 2002 to 3.2% and 3.6% respectively. It declined to a 1.3% in 2003 but strongly bounced back to 5.5% in 2004.

INCOME

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2005 Burundi's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $4.4 billion. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange based on current dollars. The per capita GDP was estimated at $700. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 5.5%. The average inflation rate in 2005 was 14%. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 45.6% of GDP, industry 20.8%, and services 33.6%.

Foreign aid receipts amounted to $224 million or about $31 per capita and accounted for approximately 39.0% of the gross national income (GNI).

The World Bank reports that in 2003 household consumption in Burundi totaled $519 million or about $72 per capita based on a GDP of $595.0 million, measured in current dollars rather than PPP. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that for the period 1990 to 2003 household consumption changed at an average annual rate of -1.7%. It was estimated that in 2002 about 68% of the population had incomes below the poverty line.

LABOR

The total labor force in 2002 was put at 2.99 million, mostly in small subsistence farming. Of the total labor force, an estimated 93.6% were engaged in agriculture, followed by 4.1% in the services sector and 2.3% in industry. There was no unemployment data available.

Workers are legally permitted to form and join unions, although the army, gendarmie, and foreign workers are prohibited from unionizing. The current labor code permits strikes but only after alternative remedies have been exhausted and six days notice given. Unions are permitted to be affiliated with international organizations. Urban civil servants make up the majority of union members. Approximately 50% of the country's public sector employees are union members, but less than 10% of those that made up the formal workforce in the private sector were unionized. Most of Burundi's labor force was employed in the informal sector of the economy, which was unregulated and offered little or no protection to worker's labor rights.

Although the country's labor code restricts child labor, limiting minors under the age of 18 to only those forms of employment deemed acceptable to the Ministry of Labor, such as light work, and to apprenticeships that do not hamper the child's health, normal development or schooling, in addition to forced and compulsory labor, reports indicated that the nation's security forces continue to use children (and adults) to perform menial tasks without pay. According to a 2003 survey by UNICEF, some 640,000 minors were performing compulsory labor. In addition, children in rural areas under 16 years of age performed heavy manual labor during the day, during the school year, on a regular basis.

While there was a formal minimum wage of $0.15 per day, as of 2005, this was insufficent to support a family, so most families rely on second incomes and subsistence agriculture as well. Burundi's labor codes mandate a 45-hour workweek and an eight-hour work day, excluding those activities that are related to the country's security. However, enforcement was not always carried out.

AGRICULTURE

About 90% of the population depends on agriculture for a living. Most agriculture consists of subsistence farming, with only about 15% of the total production marketed. An estimated 1,351,000 hectares (3,338,000 acres), or about 52.6% of the total land area, is arable or under permanent crops; about 5.5% of cropland is irrigated. The average farm family plot is 0.8 hectares (two acres). Agriculture accounted for 51% of the GDP in 2004. Coffee and tea exports comprise the majority of foreign earnings; coffee alone accounted for 39% of exports of goods in 2004. Agricultural exports accounted for 48% of exports in 2004. Principal crops for local consumption are manioc, beans, bananas, sweet potatoes, corn, and sorghum. Production in 2004 included bananas, 1,600,000 tons, mostly for wine; manioc, 710,000 tons; sweet potatoes, 834,000 tons; beans, 220,000 tons; sorghum, 74,000 tons; corn, 123,000 tons; peanuts, 8,800 tons; and yams, 9,900 tons.

The primary export crop is coffee, chiefly of the arabica variety. The government regulates the grading, pricing, and marketing of the coffee crop, and all coffee export contracts require approval. In 2004, coffee production was 20,100 tons. Other export crops are cotton and tea. Seed cotton production was 3,000 tons, and cotton fiber production (after ginning) was about 1,300 tons in 2004. That year, tea production was 6,600 tons. Tea exports in 2004 of 753 tons represented 3% of total exports; the government has been encouraging cotton and tea production in order to diversify exports. Palm oil is obtained from trees in plantations along the shore of Lake Tanganyika. Tobacco and wheat cultivated in the highland areas also yield some cash income.

Much of the land has suffered a loss of fertility because of soil erosion from poor agricultural practices, irregularity of rainfall, lack of fertilizer, and shortened fallow periods.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Livestock in 2004 included some 325,000 head of cattle, 750,000 goats, 230,000 sheep, 70,000 pigs, and 4.3 million chickens. Social prestige has traditionally been derived from ownership of cattle. This, together with improved sanitary conditions, has resulted in the accumulation of large herds of poor-quality stock; for example, the average milk yield per cow is only 350 kg a year (17% of world average). Total milk production was estimated at 19,200 tons in 2004. Meat consumption is estimated at only 48 calories per person per day, only one-tenth of the world's average. Production of meat in 2004 was 23,400 tons. The herds retard economic development by cutting down the amount of land available for food growing, and they destroy pastureland by overgrazing. Through various technical assistance programs, the government is seeking to eliminate excess cattle, improve the remaining livestock, and introduce modern stock-raising methods.

FISHING

There are three main methods of fishing in Lake Tanganyika: industrial, native, and traditional. Industrial fishing, which developed after 1946, is carried on by small trawlers accompanied by several rowboats. Native fishing is in catamarans equipped with lights, nets, and engines. Traditional fishing is in pirogues equipped with lights and landing nets. The total fish catch was 14,897 tons in 2003.

FORESTRY

Erosion and cutting, chiefly for fuel, have almost entirely eliminated Burundi's forests. The harvesting of wood has increased only slightly since the late 1970s, and the emphasis has now shifted to reforestation. Forests and woodlands cover an estimated 325,000 hectares (803,000 acres). Natural forest covered only about 3.7% of the land area in 2000. The average annual deforestation rate was 9% during the 1990s. Of an estimated 8.6 million cu m (303 million cu ft) in roundwood production in 2003, 99% was for fuel.

MINING

Mining and energy accounted for about 1% of Burundi's GDP in 2004. The country has been known to produce columbium (niobium)-tantalum ore, gold, kaolin (china clay), tin, and tungsten ore, mostly for export, and limestone, peat, sand, and gravel for domestic consumption. Burundi had significant deposits of feldspar, kaolin, nickel, phosphate, platinum-group metals, quartzite, rare-earth metals, vanadium, and limestone for cement. There were gold deposits at Mabayi, Muyinga, Cankuzo, and Tora-Ruzibazi, where artisanal mining took place. After waning in the early 1990s, gold production rose to 1,000 kg in 1994 and 2,200 kg in 1996, and then dropped to 1,500 kg in 1997–2000. In 2004, gold mine production totaled an estimated 2,900 kg. The government has tried to transfer technical skills to artisanal miners, to raise productivity and increase state revenues. The Burundi Mining Corp., a government–private venture, was exploring the possibility of producing gold on a commercial basis at Muyinga, where resources were estimated at 60 tons of gold. Deposits of cassiterite, columbite-tantalite, and wolframite associated with pegamatites were found in Kayanza and Kirundo provinces. Nickel reserves, found in 1974, were estimated at 370 million tons (3%–5% of the world's total); high transportation costs, low world market prices, and political instability have delayed their exploitation. Since 1993, foreign investment and development of Burundi's resources have been hindered by civil unrest, social strife, and economic sanctions imposed by regional states; the economy contracted by 23% in the period 1993–96. Although the sanctions were lifted in 1999, internal strife continued to hurt the economy. In 2000, Burundi joined with 19 other nations to form Africa's first free-trade area, and the World Bank and other international donors pledged to give $440 million in reconstruction aid to Burundi. In 2004, production of columbite-tantalite (gross weight) was 23,356 kg, and of peat, 4,643 metric tons. Kaolin was not mined in 2004. Tin mines produced an estimated 10 metric tons in 2004. Tungsten mine output totaled 9 metric tons in 2004.

ENERGY AND POWER

Bujumbura and Gitega are the only two cities in Burundi that have municipal electricity service. Burundi's total installed capacity was 49,000 kW in 2001. Two dams completed since 1984 have increased the amount of power production from hydroelectric installations. In 2001, estimated production of electricity totaled 0.155 billion kWh, of which 0.154 billion kWh was from hydroelectric sources, with geothermal and thermal sources accounting for the rest. Consumption in 2001 was estimated at 0.17 billion kWh. Burundi imports all of its petroleum products from Kenya and Tanzania, and has no known reserves of petroleum or natural gas. Consumption of oil in 2001 is estimated at 3,000 barrels per day. Burundi is estimated to have no known consumption of natural gas in 2001. A subsidiary of Amoco has an oil exploratory concession in and around Lake Tanganyika. Wood and peat account for 94% of energy consumption in Burundi. Peat offers an alternative to increasingly scarce firewood and charcoal as a domestic energy source. The government is promoting peat production and is fostering the development of renewable energy resources, such as solar electricity and biogas.

INDUSTRY

Industrial activities are almost exclusively concentrated in Bujumbura and accounted for an estimated 19.4% of the GDP in 2002. The industrial sector transforms to varying degrees agricultural and forestry products: cotton, coffee, tea, vegetable oil, and woods. There are also several small plants for soft drinks, blankets, footwear, soap, insecticides, building materials, furniture, and metal goods. The future of industrial development is largely linked to the development of political stability and the growth of electric power and transportation, as well as improved commercial relations with neighboring countries.

Industrial production rose almost 2% in 1998, the first increase since ethnic warfare began in 1993. Production of sugar, milk, paints, soap, bottles, pharmaceutical products, and textiles increased between 10% and 40% in 1998. The Teza tea plant was reconstructed (after being destroyed by rebels in 1996), increasing production from 1997 by 59% in 1998. Mining projects were also resumed, including nickel and gold operations. The country has no known oil, natural gas, or coal resources. Since 2001, the construction industry recovered somewhat, as new building projects were started in Bujumbura. Brarudi, a brewery, is the country's largest and most reliable source of tax revenue. Brarudi beer has a good reputation in the region.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Technical aid is supplied by many donors, including the EEC, the World Bank, Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the United States, Switzerland, and China. The National Center of Hydrometeorology, the Ministry of Geology and Mines, the Institute of Agronomical Sciences of Burundi (founded in 1960), and a medical laboratory devoted to nutritional studies are located in Bujumbura. The University of Burundi, in Bujumbura, has faculties of sciences, medicine, psychology and education, agriculture, and applied sciences. In 1987–97, science and engineering students accounted for 18% of college and university enrollments. The Higher Institute of Agriculture is in Gitega. In the period 1987–97, total expenditures for research and development totaled 0.3% of GDP. A total of 32 technicians and 21 scientists and engineers per million people were actively engaged in research and development for the period.

The Living Museum of Bujumbura has a reptile house, an aquarium, an aviary, a fishing museum, a botanical garden, and a herpetology center.

DOMESTIC TRADE

Ethnic violence since 1993 has limited domestic commerce. Burundi's economy is characterized by subsistence agriculture; commercialization and nationwide distribution of daily necessities and foodstuffs are practically nonexistent. There is a very small manufacturing sector centered in Bujumbura, producing beer, soft drinks, soap, insecticides, textiles, and cigarettes, primarily for local distribution. Rural markets are the principal distribution centers. The National Office of Commerce is a state trading concern. Smaller trading operations are often in the hands of Greeks, Indians, and Arabs. All domestic trade is influenced by the coffee harvest, which during the harvest season (June–September) provides increased income and stimulates trading, with a somewhat inflationary effect.

Business hours are usually 8 am to noon and 2 to 5 pm on weekdays and 8 am to noon on Saturday. Banks are open 8 to 11:30 am Monday–Friday.

FOREIGN TRADE

In 2004, Burundi's imports exceeded its exports by 266%. Burundi's export income is highly volatile and fluctuates sharply with shifts in world coffee prices. Burundi's most important cash crop is coffee (73.3%), which is the most exported commodity. Tea (7.0%), hides (6.7%), gold (5.6%), and sugars (4.9%) encompass practically all of Burundi's remaining exports. Important imports

include capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, and chemicals.

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

The Economist Intelligence Unit reported that in 2004 the purchasing power parity of Burundi's exports was $48 million while imports totaled $175.9 million, resulting in a trade deficit of $127.9 million.

BANKING AND SECURITIES

Until the DROC became independent in 1960, the monetary and banking systems of Ruanda-Urundi were integrated with those of the Congo. Thereafter, Ruanda-Urundi had its own monetary structure and central bank. Shortly after the UN-sponsored Addis Ababa conference of July 1962, Rwanda and Burundi entered into an economic agreement providing for a continuation of the monetary union. After the breakup of the economic union in December 1963, Burundi's banking operations were transacted through the Bank of the Kingdom of Burundi, which in 1967 became the Bank of the Republic of Burundi, the central bank and bank of issue. Burundi has a number of commercial banks, which handle a substantial portion of short-term credit (vital for the coffee season) that include the Commercial Bank of Burundi, the Credit Bank of Bujumbura, and the Belgian-African Bank of Burundi. There are also a savings bank, a postal savings bank, and a joint Libyan-Burundian financial institution. Other financial institutions are the National Economic Development Bank and the Central Fund for Mobilization and Finance.

The World Bank suspended all but three minor social-sector programs in late October 1996. A World Bank delegation visited Burundi in February 1997 to assess the situation, and concluded that conditions were not right for a resumption of funding. As a result of the deteriorating balance-of-payments situation, reserves were run down, from $209 million at the end of 1995 to $140 million in December 1996 and $108 million in 1998.

The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate commonly known as M1—were equal to $96.4 million. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $138.7 million. The discount rate, the interest rate at which the central bank lends to financial institutions in the short term, was 14%.

INSURANCE

Insurance companies operating in Burundi include the Commercial Union of Insurance and Reinsurance (Union Commerciale d'Assurances et de Réassurances-UCAR), the partly state-owned Insurance Co. of Burundi (Société d'Assurances du Burundi-SOCABU), and a branch of the General Insurance of France. Motor vehicle insurance is the only compulsory coverage.

PUBLIC FINANCE

Burundi is extremely dependent on foreign aid, although the crisis in 1993 forced the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to suspend structural adjustment programs. Emphasized reforms included price liberalization, governmental transparency, debt reduction, and a wider variety of exports.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2005 Burundi's central government took in revenues of approximately $215.4 million and had expenditures of $278 million. Revenues minus expenditures totaled approximately -$62.6 million. Total external debt was $1.2 billion.

The IMF reported that in 1999, the most recent year for which it had data, budgetary central government revenues were BFr63,536 million and expenditures were BFr88,593 million. The value of revenues in US dollars that year was us$113 million and expenditures us$157 million, based on a official exchange rate for 1999 of us$1 = BFr563.56 (as reported by the IMF). Government outlays

by function were as follows: general public services, 43.1%; defense, 27.7%; public order and safety, 2.8%; economic affairs, 5.2%; health, 2.6%; recreation, culture, and religion, 0.4%; education, 18.0%; and social protection, 0.2%.

TAXATION

There are income taxes on businesses and individuals, and a tax on transactions. Other direct taxes are on vehicles and real estate. About twice as much money is collected from indirect taxes, of which the most important are import and export duties, and a tax on beer.

CUSTOMS AND DUTIES

Import duties, which are levied mainly ad valorem, include a revenue duty averaging 15–35% and an import duty averaging 2–5%. The government also levies a 4% statistical tax on all imports. Burundi is a member of the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and, as a party to the Lomé Convention, receives preferential treatment by the European Union.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Because of its ethnic conflict, limited domestic market, and lack of infrastructure, Burundi has attracted few private foreign investors. The 1979 investment code provides basic guarantees to foreign investors and the corporation tax may be waived for five years. In practice there were delays in the repatriation of profits. Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to Burundi were insignificant until 2000 when they reached $11.7 million. They later became zero again. The low level of FDI inflows is attributed to the fact that Burundi is a landlocked least developed country with little natural resources and a tiny market. FDI inward stock grew from $30 million in 1990 to about $34 million in 1995 and then jumped to $48 million in 2002. Two of the three largest affiliates of foreign transnational companies (TNCs) in Burundi in 2002 originated from Belgium and are engaged in financial sector activities. The third, which is also engaged in financial sector activities is jointly owned by Belgium and Germany.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Burundi began a complete review of economic and financial policy with the help of the UN in 1986, when a reform of the currency and the first of a series of devaluations occurred. The first five-year plan was designed to improve economic growth, reduce inflation, and diversify export production. Few of these objectives were met, and the program was discontinued in 1991. A second reform of the currency and further devaluation took place in 1992. These reforms led up to the gradual decline of living standards and exacerbated ethnic tensions, resulting in the ethnic clashes of the 1990s.

Burundi is dependent on foreign assistance for both development programs and current operations. Diversification of its export base and financial stability are key goals. The African Development Bank, European Union, and Belgium are Burundi's principal providers of development financial and technical support. Support has been pledged for the health sector, education, refugee rehabilitation, and general reconstruction.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved $13 million in assistance to support Burundi's reconstruction and economic recovery program in 2003, following the 2000 Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement. It was the first such IMF assistance to Burundi since the outbreak of hostilities in 1993. The program addresses security and humanitarian assistance needs, as well as the improvement of basic infrastructure. Low world coffee prices in the late 1990s and early 2000s resulted in a reduction of foreign exchange earnings, and the government resolved to find other ways to generate growth.

In 2005, the new government stated its intention to continue with the economic policy reforms contained in the IMF's poverty reduction and growth facility. Inflation has remained high averaging 10.1% per annum for the period 2000–2005 due in part to a poor harvest which kept food prices elevated. However, there is optimism that the next harvest will be better, and food prices are expected to decline. Strong coffee production in 2004/05 and high international prices boosted exports in the first half of 2005. Donors have promised to support the country's political transition to democracy with financial aid.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Under the tribal system, the individual's basic welfare needs have traditionally been the responsibility of the group. Even now, the family remains the most important social welfare institution. There are social centers for women and youth. Missions help to look after orphans and the aged. For the small percentage of wage earners, there is a government social security system that insures against accidents and occupational diseases and provides old-age and disability pensions. This program is funded by employer and employee contributions. Workers covered by the labor code are entitled to workers' compensation for temporary and permanent disabilities. Employed persons are entitled to family allowances.

The Transitional Constitution Act guarantees equal protection for all citizens, but it has not been effectively implemented. Women suffer job discrimination and sexual violence, which is rarely reported to the authorities. The stigma of rape is so pervasive that women are subject to ridicule by authorities, and often are required to provide food and other costs of incarcerating the rapist. Domestic violence is commonplace although no cases involving abuse of women have ever been heard in a Burundian court. Children are often used for forced labor, have been subjected to violence, and have lost family members to the civil war.

Burundi's poor human rights record remains unchanged, with failure to control excesses by security forces, including reprisals against civilians following rebel attacks. Abductions are commonplace. Prison conditions are life threatening.

HEALTH

Following independence, the World Health Organization (WHO) assisted in the organization of public health services and the training of sanitarians and public health nurses for Burundi. Students from Burundi received medical training at universities in France and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO coordinated all public health programs and helped in campaigns against smallpox, tuberculosis, and malaria. WHO, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and UNICEF also provided aid for nutrition and maternal and child health programs. Following the assassination of the president of Burundi in 1993, widespread violence involving tribal groups uprooted many of the country's people. Approximately 683,000 people fled to neighboring countries, rural villages, or towns where sanitation is poor.

Outbreaks of group A meningitis are occurring in Burundi. There have been over 2,500 cases of meningitis. Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), borne by the tsetse fly, is a problem in the Ruvuvu River Valley. Malaria and schistosomiasis (bilharziasis) are common along the Ruzizi River. Intake of animal protein and fat is inadequate and almost all diseases associated with malnutrition are found in Burundi. In 1995, 2,297 cases of cholera were reported. A four-year program covering 30–40% of the country, started in 1986, was intended to rehabilitate and expand rural water supplies. Approximately 58% of the population had access to safe water.

In 2004, there were an estimated 5 doctors, 28 nurses, and 1 pharmacist per 100,000 people. Total health care expenditures were estimated at 3.7% of GDP.

In 2005, the infant mortality rate was 64.39, down from 102 per 1,000 live births. The maternal mortality rate of 1,900 per 100,000 live births was one of the highest in Africa. Only 9% of married women (ages 15 to 49) practiced contraception. In 1999, Burundi immunized children up to one year of age as follows: diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 74% and measles, 75%. Approximately 38% of children under five years old were considered to be malnourished.

Average life expectancy in 2005 was estimated at 50 years, up from 42 years in 2000. There were approximately 8,000 war-related deaths during the conflict between the Tutsis and Hutus from 1988 to 1992. The death rate was estimated at 16 per 1,000 as of 2002. The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 6.00 per 100 adults in 2003. As of 2004, there were approximately 250,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country. There were an estimated 25,000 deaths from AIDS in 2003.

HOUSING

Civil war has caused homelessness through displacement of residents and destruction of homes. In 2004, about 1.2 million people were still without basic permanent shelter. Foreign assistance programs for reconstruction and improvements in housing are underway. The basic type of housing in the rural areas is the hut, most commonly beehive shaped, made of strips of wood woven around poles, and covered with tin (thatch has become scarce). The huts are generally not grouped into villages but are organized in groups on a family basis. Government resettlement projects have been considering plans to build mud and cement brick dwellings with roofs of corrugated iron sheets or ceramic tile. The average dwelling is a two- or three-room home, which generally houses about five people.

EDUCATION

Until 1954, all education was provided by religious missions; it was almost entirely limited to the primary grades. Education is now compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 12. Primary education lasts for six years. General secondary education lasts for seven years. At the secondary level, students also have an option of technical studies (five years) or vocational schooling (seven year). The academic year runs from October to June. The languages of instruction in schools are Kisundi and French.

Primary school enrollment in 2003 was estimated at about 57% of age-eligible students; 62% for boys and 52% for girls. The same year, secondary school enrollment was estimated at about 9% of age-eligible students; 10% for boys and 8% for girls. In 2000, it was estimated that only about 26.7% of all students complete their primary education. The student-to-teacher ratio for primary school was estimated at about 50:1 in 2003; the ratio for secondary school was about 19:1.

The University of Burundi, in Bujumbura (founded in 1960), is the country's only institution of higher learning. In 2001, there were about 11,000 students enrolled in some type of higher education program. The adult literacy rate for 2004 was estimated at about 58.9%, with 66.8% for males and 51.9% for females.

The Ministry of National Education is the primary administrative body. As of 2003, public expenditure on education was estimated at 3.9% of GDP, or 13% of total government expenditures.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

There are about 60 public libraries in Burundi, with the largest in and around the capital. Libraries in Bujumbura include the Public Library, which has 27,000 volumes; the library of the University of Burundi, with 192,000 volumes; and a specialized collection at the Department of Geology and Mines. The French Cultural Center in Bujumbura holds 33,000 volumes.

The National Museum in Gitega (founded in 1955) houses a collection of musical instruments, weapons, witchcraft implements, and a sizeable library. The Musée Vivant, established in 1977 in Bujumbura, contains exhibits reflecting all aspects of life in the country. It also includes a reptile house, aquarium, aviary, openair theater, and botanical gardens.

MEDIA

In 2003, there were an estimated three mainline telephones for every 1,000 people; about 4,700 people were on a waiting list for telephone service installation. The same year, there were approximately nine mobile phones in use for every 1,000 people.

In 2001, there were four FM radio stations, two of which were owned by the government, including the Voice of the Revolution, broadcasting in Kirundi Swahili, French, and English. There were eight privately owned radio stations in 2004, including Radio Isanganiro, Bonesha FM, and African Public Radio (RPA); all of these are broadcast in French, Kirundi, and Kirundi Swahili. Some stations receive funding from international donors. Transmissions can be received from British Broadcasting and Radio France Internationale. A television service, Télévision Nationale du Burundi, was established in 1984, and began color transmission in 1985. In 2004, there was only one television station, which was owned by the government. In 2003, there were an estimated 220 radios and 35 television sets for every 1,000 people. The same year, there were 1.8 personal computers for every 1,000 people and two of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet. There were two secure Internet servers in the country in 2004.

The government issues a French-language daily, Le Renouveau du Burundi, with a circulation of 20,000 in 2002, and several periodicals, including a weekly newspaper, Ubumwe, published in Kirundi, with a 1999 circulation of 20,000, and Burundi Chrétien, another weekly published in French. There were five private weekly papers as of 2004 and eight private Internet and fax newssheets.

Though there are no official restrictions upon expression or the press, the regime owns the only daily newspaper and two of the major radio stations, and information is said to be slanted toward pro-government opinions.

ORGANIZATIONS

Various commercial, agricultural, cultural, social, and welfare organizations exist in Burundi. The Burundi Chamber of Commerce and Industry is located in Bujumbura. The UPRONA has affiliate labor, youth, and women's organizations.

The National Council of Churches of Burundi has a membership of 500,000 Protestant denominations and congregations. The group supports issues of social welfare, peace, reconciliation, human rights, and general educational as well as evangelical activities.

Youth organizations include the National Youth Council, the Young Catholics Movement, the Red Cross Youth, YMCA, Boy Scouts, and Girl Guides. There are sports associations representing such pastimes as tennis, handball, and track and field. There are a number of women's organizations, including the Burundi Women's Union, which serves to encourage participation in government and politics, and the multinational Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

There are national chapters of the Red Cross Society, UNICEF, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and Caritas.

TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

Due to an ongoing civil war, tourism in Burundi has declined since 1993, although it has many tourist attractions. Lake Tanganyika is internationally famous for its scenic beauty. Points of interest include Bujumbura, the capital, on Lake Tanganyika; Gitega, the former capital, with its museum and traditional handicraft center; and the Mosso area in the southeast, with its fairly abundant wildlife. The northeast has a great variety of tropical birds. Burundi is rich in folk art; the dances and drummers of the Tutsi are particularly well known.

In 2003, tourist expenditure receipts totaled $1.2 million. All visitors require a valid passport and visa. A certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is recommended along with precautions for malaria.

In 2004, the US Department of State estimated the cost of staying in Burundi at $184 per day.

FAMOUS BURUNDIANS

Mwami Ntare I Rushatsi (c.1500), a warrior and astute administrator, succeeded in unifying the country under Tutsi rule. Mwambutsa IV (1913–78), the last mwami under the Belgian administration, was deposed in July 1966. Prince Louis Rwagasore (1930–61), the son of Mwambutsa, was the founder of UPRONA. Michel Micombero (1940–83) was president from 1966 until 1976, when he was replaced by Jean-Baptiste Bagaza (b.1946). Bagaza served until 1987, when he was succeeded by a military junta led by Pierre Buyoya (b.1949).

DEPENDENCIES

Burundi has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chrétien, Jean-Pierre. The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History. New York: Zone Books, 2003.

Eggers, Ellen. Historical Dictionary of Burundi. 2nd ed. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 1997.

Forster, Peter G. Race and Ethnicity in East Africa. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000.

Janzen, John M. Do I Still Have a Life?: Voices from the Aftermath of War in Rwanda and Burundi. Lawrence: University of Kansas, 2000.

Jennings, Christian. Across the Red River: Rwanda, Burundi, and the Heart of Darkness. London: Phoenix, 2001.

McElrath, Karen (ed.). HIV and AIDS: A Global View. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002.

Ould Abdallah, Ahmedou. Burundi on the Brink, 1993–95: A UN Special Envoy Reflects on Preventive Diplomacy. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2000.

Scherrer, Christian P. Genocide and Crisis in Central Africa: Conflict Roots, Mass Violence, and Regional War. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2002.

Zeilig, Leo and David Seddon. A Political and Economic Dictionary of Africa. Philadelphia: Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2005.

BURUNDI

Republic of Burundi

Major City:
Bujumbura

Other Cities:
Bururi, Gitega, Ngozi

EDITOR'S NOTE

This chapter was adapted from the Department of State Post Report dated August 1994. Supplemental material has been added to increase coverage of minor cities, facts have been updated, and some material has been condensed. Readers are encouraged to visit the Department of State's web site at http://travel.state.gov/ for the most recent information available on travel to this country.

INTRODUCTION

The Republic of BURUNDI is a landlocked country in a mountainous, isolated region of central Africa. Once a German East African possession, it later was administered by Belgium as part of Ruanda-Urundi, first under a League of Nations mandate, and later as a United Nations trust territory. It became a constitutional monarchy in 1962 and a republic in 1966.

An unusual aspect of Burundi is the scarcity of towns and villages—its traditional social structure is based on scattered farmsteads. Life centers around hillside hut compounds, called rugos, where about 95 percent of the population lives, engaging primarily in subsistence agriculture. A few coffee trees or tea bushes also provide cash income. The lyre-horned cattle, seen throughout the countryside, form another important part of Burundi's traditional rural life.

MAJOR CITY

Bujumbura

Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, is a small city in beautiful surroundings, with an agreeable year-round tropical climate. Its population is about 278,000. Downtown Bujumbura stretches along the flat northeastern edge of Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest lake in the world (after Lake Baikal in southern Siberia), and once thought to be the source of the Nile. The wealthier residential area slowly has been climbing the hillsides east of the city, and some of the villa-like homes have magnificent views of the lake, the Ruzizi River plain, and the beautiful mountains of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), just 15 miles away across the lake.

Bujumbura is a small but colorful city, which can be traversed by car in a matter of minutes. Many of the main streets are paved, and traffic is rarely a problem, except during commuter hours. Streets throughout much of the residential area are not paved but remain passable, even during the rainy season. Flowering trees in Bujumbura include flamboyants, acacia, jacaranda, and frangipani. Tropical ornamental plants thrive here, and flowers are plentiful in any season.

In the downtown commercial area, the streets are lined with small shops, usually owned by Greeks, Belgians, or Asians. Among these are various food businesses, general dry goods shops, sales and service establishments, shoe stores, some European gift shops, pharmacies, and a flower shop. Street vendors sell fresh fruits and vegetables. A large open-air market thrives in the mornings, selling basketry, foods, charcoal, used clothing (much of it from the U.S.), cloth, and small items for African consumers.

Three hotels in Bujumbura, the Source du Nil, Novotel, and the Club des Vacances provide international rooms and service. Other hotels are available at much lower cost, but are not normally used by Americans.

Bujumbura's lakefront is dominated by a port area which is visited weekly by two steamers transporting goods and passengers up and down the 400-mile lake under the Tanzanian flag. Just south of the port is a scenic beach area, where residents like to drive in the evenings to view the sunset and look for hippopotami who live in the reeds and waters along the beach.

The residents of Bujumbura live in and around the city in various "quarters" and suburbs which have developed according to ethnic origin and economic status. Large foreign groups include Zairians, Belgians, Indians, Ismaili Muslims, French, and a few Arabs. Although Kirundi and French are the official languages in Burundi, many of these foreign groups use Swahili for commerce. At least some knowledge of French is necessary for shopping and social life, as little English is spoken here.

The American community is limited to the U.S. diplomatic staff and a few business people and missionaries. There is little tourism in Burundi.

Food

Fresh tropical fruits (such as bananas, papayas, pineapples, man-goes, lemons, avocados, tangerines, strawberries, and oranges) and vegetables (including cucumbers, green beans, cabbage, tomatoes, artichokes, carrots, cauliflower, beets, lettuce, potatoes, turnips, onions, peas, leeks, green onions, green peppers, and parsley) are available at reasonable prices, although some are seasonal.

Lake Tanganyika provides Bujumbura with succulent whitefish, such as capitaine, sangala, and bangabanga, which are mild flavored and of varying size. An indigenous freshwater sardine that makes a tasty cocktail snack when deep fried can be found.

Local beef and poultry are expensive, and quality varies. Local pork and lamb are quite good. Three local European butcher shops make a variety of sausages and bacon and several types of ham and lunch meat. Other sausages, ham, special meats, and shellfish imported from Kenya and Europe are expensive.

Local milk is not considered safe; yogurt and butter are good but not always available. Cheeses, when available, are good. European cheeses, ice cream, poultry, temperate zone fruit, and other special foods are available in food stores that cater to Europeans or can be special ordered from Europe, but prices are high because of air freight costs.

Bakeries in town produce a variety of European-type breads and some pastries. Bread always seems to be available locally, but flour shortages do occur.

Burundi's locally grown and processed arabica coffee is excellent. Good locally produced tea is also available. The local brewery makes fine light and dark beers in addition to bottling cola, orange and lemon sodas, tonic, and a good soda water. Brief shortages of these beverages sometimes occur.

Some stores carry a large selection of canned goods and other European and Kenyan food and household products, but prices are high.

Clothing

Summer clothes are worn throughout the year in Burundi. Little ready-made clothing is sold locally. Tailors are available, but the selection of yard goods is small, and any high-quality wash-and-wear fabric is expensive. All clothing should be washable, as dry cleaning is of questionable quality.

Lightweight suits, similar to those worn in summer in Washington, D.C., are appropriate year-round. Short-sleeved shirts are acceptable at work, but a coat and tie are preferred for special business visits. Men also wear safari suits, made to order in Bujumbura or in Nairobi. For most evening social occasions, a sport shirt without tie and coat is worn. A dinner jacket is rarely needed. For trips into the mountains, a light jacket or sweater is useful. A variety of footwear is recommended.

Women find that summer dresses, slacks, or pantsuits are worn to the office or around town. Hosiery is unnecessary. A good supply of shoes is needed; open styles are best for this tropical climate, along with tennis or hiking shoes for outdoor activities. For most evening occasions, the dress is tenue relaxe, which for women usually means long dresses or evening pants outfits that range from casual to dressy, depending on the occasion and the host. One or two long dresses will serve for more formal occasions. A stole is useful for cooler evenings, and mountain trips call for a light jacket or sweater. Some find raincoats too hot in the tropics, but umbrellas are necessary.

A generous supply of washable children's clothing as well as shoes are needed for any extended stay. Jeans and T-shirts are as popular in Burundi as elsewhere. Boys of all ages wear shorts as well as long pants. Smaller children wear rubber boots during the rainy season. Sweaters are needed occasionally in the evening.

All family members should bring appropriate gear for swimming, boating, tennis, golf, horseback riding, or other sports in which they plan to participate.

Supplies & Services

There is a lack of some services and products in Bujumbura. Most basic hygiene items, such as soap, toothpaste, deodorant, and feminine hygiene products are available, but at high prices. Limited supplies of play materials and household products are also expensive, as are gift wrap and party favors (which are depleted rapidly during holiday seasons). Local pharmacies stock basic needs, but do not often have special items. Photographic supplies must be ordered from abroad.

Bujumbura has no reliable dry cleaning service. Some tailors are available, and best results can be obtained through personal recommendations. Four beauty shops and two barbershops operate in Bujumbura, and the beauty shops serve both men and women.

Some skilled European electricians work in the capital, but labor and materials are expensive.

Religious Activities

In Bujumbura, Catholic Sunday services are held in Kirundi or French at the Cathedral Regina Mundi. Protestant services are offered in Kirundi or French in various churches around town. In addition, a number of English-speaking missionaries in rotation conduct Protestant Fellowship services often featuring visiting speakers from all over the world. A children's English Sunday School is held during the fellowship service.

Domestic Help

Reliable household help is available. Most households employ a combination houseboy/cook, who does the cooking, cleaning, and laundry. The employer is responsible for the medical care of the servant and his family. The employer may also provide work clothing and give an additional month's pay for a New Year's bonus.

Larger families often hire servants who specialize in particular functions, such as laundry, cooking, and child care. Servants generally are male, and speak French.

Education

Bujumbura has no English-language schools. However, American children at nursery, elementary, and secondary levels are successfully pursuing their studies in French at the French School of Bujumbura, which is a member of the French overseas school system, and partially supported by the Government of France. Some American students also enroll in the Belgian School of Bujumbura, which is also highly regarded.

Because studies are conducted in a language other than English, supplemental tutoring in French is provided, as is additional course work to help students maintain their U.S.-system grade level. Tutors are also available for supplemental English classes to help school-aged children attain appropriate levels of reading, writing, grammar, and spelling in English. Some expatriate children attend school in Europe or return to the U.S. In addition, there are English-language boarding schools in Kenya, but matriculation is sometimes difficult.

Special educational opportunities are limited, or nonexistent, depending on the availability of qualified instructors which varies from year to year. Official Americans and their families are eligible for French and Swahili lessons, following the guidelines of the Foreign Service Institute program. Kurundi lessons are available from private tutors. Adult and child education in art, music, or dancing is available.

Recreation

Soccer is Burundi's national sport, and matches usually are played on Sunday afternoons. The various sporting clubs sponsor occasional competitions or tournaments but, otherwise, spectator sports are infrequent. Basketball and volleyball are played in the schools.

The few organized activities that take place center around private clubs, where dues are reasonable and where no special clothing is required, except for tennis whites. The clubs include:

Entente Sportive, a social and sports club with a large outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts, playgrounds, a nine-hole golf course, outdoor basketball, and a club house with an excellent restaurant that is the center of social activities in the city.

Cercle Hippique, a riding club where rates are reasonable and formal riding attire is not required. Lessons are available for adults and children.

Cercle Nautique, a small yacht club on the shore of Lake Tanganyika, with mooring for sailboats and power boats. Water-skiing is common here, and fishing from the pier is popular on weekend afternoons, although catches are marginal. Cercle Nautique is a gathering spot for drinks and snacks in the early evenings and on weekends. A good bar that serves light lunches on weekends is also available.

In addition to the club facilities in Bujumbura, there is a popular swimming beach located at the Club des Vacances Hotel. The hotel is situated on the northern shore of Lake Tanganyika, approximately four miles from Bujumbura. The Castle, near Rumonge, a 45-to 60-minute drive south from Bujumbura, features an uncrowded, pleasant, sandy beach and crystal-clear water, making it another popular spot. Bring any beach equipment, such as chairs and umbrella. Such items here, if available, are expensive.

All along the shores of Lake Tanganyika, some danger exists from crocodiles and hippopotami, as well as from bilharzia, a waterborne disease spread by a tiny snail that breeds near reeds in still water. Swimming from a boat in the middle of the lake is considered safe from these dangers. No restrictions on beach attire exist.

Hunting permits are difficult to obtain, and importation of firearms, even for use in a neighboring country, should not be done without consulting authorities.

Burundi has no proper campsites, but camping opportunities are extensive in neighboring Tanzania, as well as in Kenya. Campers should bring all necessary gear, including tents, air mattresses, sleeping bags, lanterns, camp stoves, and eating and cooking utensils. Tents can be rented at some campsites. Several attractive picnic areas are within a short drive from Bujumbura.

Burundi is a birdwatcher's paradise, with a region in the north noted for its various species. Bujumbura is full of colorful birdlife, as is the Ruzuzi River plain.

The mountainous interior of Burundi is beautiful. Except for the few paved truck roads, traveling is difficult. Hotels and restaurants are found only in three or four towns.

A 40-minute drive (21 miles) along the paved road to Bugarama leads to the over 6,000-foot crest between the Nile and Zaire River basins. The area offers many picnic sites, including the beautiful tea plantation at Teza.

Road trips outside the country are feasible to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and to Rwanda. Travel by car from Bujumbura north to Kigali, Rwanda, takes five hours. From Kigali, it is possible to reach the Akagera Game Park in northeastern Rwanda. The park has abundant wildlife, and its flora has not been damaged by elephants and giraffes, as is sometimes the case in East Africa. Rwanda also has the highly scenic volcano region in the northwest, around Lake Kivu, where gorillas can be seen. The nearby twin towns of Gisenye (Rwanda) and Goma (DRC) offer pleasant hotel accommodations.

The same Lake Kivu area can be reached by going from Bujumbura to Bukavu, DRC, (about 90 miles) and from Bukavu to Goma (about 150 miles) along the western shore of Lake Kivu. The Bukavu-Goma road is twisting, rough, and slippery during the rainy season, but the magnificent scenery is worth the effort. In the Goma vicinity, there are opportunities for hiking up to volcanos, some of which are still active. Two-and-a-half hours north of Goma is lovely Virunga Game Park, with a good hotel. The park is known for its hippos, elephants, lions, and Cob antelope. Bukavu has a park with a mountain gorilla group, just 24 miles from town. The sometimes exhausting hike through the thick forest to find and observe the gorillas is a unique experience.

The closest modern rest spot is Nairobi, Kenya, which is 500 air miles and 960 land miles from Bujumbura—much of it over difficult roads in Uganda. (Currently, travelers are discouraged from making this trip by land because of Ugandan political conditions.)

Many people take advantage of the proximity to Tanzania, which contains some of the best game parks in Africa. Travel by road, while sometimes difficult, provides an enjoyable and memorable experience.

Entertainment

Entertainment is limited in Bujumbura. Movies at the three cinemas are always in French. Several excellent restaurants are patronized by the American community; the menus are somewhat varied, and the cuisine is generally French, Greek, or Belgian. Prices range from moderate to expensive. Musée Vivant, a small museum with a botanical garden, reptile house, aviary, and crafts village is an interesting spot.

Private social activity is informal and frequent, usually revolving around home entertainment such as barbecues, poker nights, or dinner and a movie. There is some entertaining in private clubs or restaurants, but this is expensive. Two nightclubs in town have recorded or taped music. Bujumbura also has several discotheques, but private clubs offer the best opportunity for meeting new people.

Much of the American community is organized around the Bujumbura American Recreation Association (BARA). It operates the Torchlight Club, a nightclub-like place for parties and movies. BARA also has a video club with over 300 films.

Lions Club International, Rotary Club, and Round Table are represented in Bujumbura, and these groups also serve in forming international contacts.

Burundians value courtesy and good manners. At the same time, they do not necessarily follow Western conventions of social conduct. Personal contact generally plays a much greater role here. Burundians seem to enjoy the relaxed, informal style of entertaining favored by many Americans.

OTHER CITIES

Located in the southwestern section of the country, BURURI has sites of interest including mosques and Roman Catholic churches. The tropical climate allows the growth of various fruits, corn, and rice. Fishing on nearby Lake Tanganyika makes the production of smoked fish a major industry here.

Burundi's only community of appreciable size (other than the capital) is the small city of GITEGA in the central part of the country. Gitega is located approximately 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Bujumbura and is connected to the capital by a major road. It is a center for education and religion. Several primary, secondary, and technical schools are located here along with places of worship for Catholics, Protestants, and Muslims. Crops such as sorghum, bananas, cassava, sweet potatoes, beans, and corn are grown in areas surrounding Gitega. Industrial enterprises in Gitega are limited to peat exploitation and a small tannery. It is the location of the National Museum, opened in 1955, with its well-displayed historical and folk exhibits, as well as the site of a library. A Catholic mission here operates an art school that sells some native carvings, bas-reliefs, and ceramic work. There also are a few hotels and restaurants in the city. Gitega's population is approximately 27,000.

NGOZI is a small town located in north-central Burundi. A government hospital is located here along with several churches and mosques. Cassava, sweet potatoes, beans, coffee, bananas, and tea are grown near the town. In recent years, tin mining has become a growing industry near Ngozi. Ngozi has a population of roughly 15,000.

COUNTRY PROFILE

Geography and Climate

The Republic of Burundi, measuring 10,747 square miles, is about the size of Maryland. It is located in the heart of central Africa, along the northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. To the north is Rwanda, a country of about equal size, with the same local language and many of the same customs. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) is to the west, across the shared Ruzizi River and Lake Tanganyika, both forming a part of the western section of the Great Rift Valley. To the south and east lies Tanzania.

Mountains rise steeply from the Tanganyika shore to almost 9,000 feet along the Zaire-Nile watershed divide to the east of Bujumbura, which itself is situated at an altitude of 2,600 feet. Green valleys and hillsides—intensively cultivated in wheat, peas, corn, and tea—typify the rest of the countryside on the divide. East of the divide, the central plateau (3,500 to 6,000 feet) gradually becomes more open and rolling, with predominating crops of bananas, corn, beans, and coffee. Toward the Tanzanian border, the altitude drops sharply at some eastern points into largely uninhabited valleys, such as the Mosso in southeastern Burundi.

The Bujumbura area has a distinct dry season and two rainy seasons. The short rainy interval extends from October to December. The long rainy period begins in February and continues through mid-May. Average annual rainfall in Bujumbura measures about 31 inches, but twice that amount occurs in the mountains. During the long, dry, summer season (mid-May to early October), a haze often obscures the mountains and even much of the lake view, but a brisk breeze around midday helps to freshen the air.

Temperatures in Bujumbura generally range from about 72°F at night to between 85°F-91°F during the day. However, temperatures may be hotter at midday during the dry season or cooler (below 80°F) on cloudy days during the rainy period. The equatorial sun at Bujumbura's altitude can be intense and very hot, with attendant sunburn problems. Humidity during the rainy season is not as severe or oppressive as in coastal African towns. Cool evenings may require a light sweater or stole, particularly after acclimatization brings sensitivity to minor temperature changes.

Much cooler temperatures are recorded in the mountains of the interior, where there are occasional night frosts in June and July. Hailstorms sometimes occur during the rainy season. Daytime temperatures in the shade are usually in the upper 60s or low 70s along the crest, and nighttime lows are about 50°F. However, midday exposure of unprotected skin to strong sun—even for brief periods—at altitudes greater than 6,000 feet can result in severe burns.

Population

Burundi's population is estimated at 5.9 million. With a population density of approximately 600 people per square mile, Burundi is one of the most densely inhabited countries in Africa. Three ethnic groups comprise the indigenous population: Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa, all of whom speak Kirundi as their native tongue.

The official languages of Burundi are French and Kirundi, although Swahili is spoken in Bujumbura and a few other commercial sectors. Because Kirundi is a difficult tonal language that requires a long learning process, most Westerners rely on French to communicate with Burundians. In recent years, the government has stressed English in schools, and some Burundian officials now have a good knowledge of English.

Government

Burundi, formerly known as Urundi, came under the German East African Administration at the close of the 19th century. In 1919, the area called Ruanda-Urundi (now Rwanda and Burundi) was ceded to Belgium under a League of Nations mandate, which in turn became a United Nations trustee-ship after World War II. Burundi was granted independence July 1, 1962 as a constitutional monarchy.

A military coup d'état in November 1966 overthrew the king (mwami ), and established a republic under the leadership of Capt. (eventually Lt. Gen.) Michel Micombero. A second military coup 10 years later ousted Micombero on charges of corrupt and inefficient government, and brought to power Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, who had received university-level military training in Belgium. Bagaza was elected by direct suffrage in 1984. However, Bagaza's regime became increasingly repressive and unpopular. In September 1987, Bagaza was overthrown in a military coup. His replacement, Major Pierre Buyoya, suspended Burundi's constitution and named a 31-member Military Committee for National Salvation (CMSN) to govern the country. The CMSN remained the primary governmental authority until mid-1990, when it was replaced by a civilian-led National Security Council. A new constitution adopted in 1991 provided for a directly elected president, a prime minister, and an 81-seat National Assembly. It was supplanted on 6 June 1998 by a Transitional Constitution which enlarged the National Assembly to 121 seats and created two vice presidents.

Two national, mainstream governing parties are the Unity for National Progress or UPRONA; and the Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU. A multiparty system was introduced after 1998.

Burundi is divided into 16 provinces, each headed by a governor. Provinces are subdivided into communes, communal subsectors called zones, and groups of hills and individual hills (collines ) which traditionally organize along family lines.

The Burundi flag consists of a white diagonal cross on green and red quarters, with three red stars (for unity, work, and progress) on a central circle.

Arts, Science, Education

There is no compulsory education in Burundi. The country's literacy rate in 1995 was about 35 percent.

The University of Burundi, including the semi-autonomous Teachers College (ENS) in Bujumbura, has an estimated 3,300 students. Its law, arts and letters, economics, and agricultural departments, as well as the ENS, offer four years of study leading to a degree. The University of Burundi has a medical school. A large number of French, Belgian, Swiss, Russian, and other foreign professors teach at the university.

Five schools in Bujumbura operate for foreign students, offering classes from kindergarten through high school.

Four private kindergartens operate for preschool children aged three to five.

Commerce and Industry

Burundi's economy is heavily dependent on agriculture. Over 90 percent of Burundi's people are engaged in subsistence farming. Burundi's principal product is arabica coffee, most of which is sold to the European Community (EC). Coffee provides up to 80 percent of Burundi's export earnings. Other cash crops include tea, cotton, tobacco, and palm oil.

The manufacturing sector in Burundi is small and centered primarily in Bujumbura. The city has a few light industries producing beer, soft drinks, soap, metal parts, insecticides, textiles, cigarettes, and paint.

High-grade nickel deposits and other minerals were discovered in the 1980s, providing new resource potential. The government, international organizations, and several firms are studying techniques for exploiting these minerals. In 1985, Amoco began a major oil exploration program in Burundi.

Wood is Burundi's main source of energy. The Mugere hydroelectric dam, constructed by the Chinese, was opened in 1986 and supplies part of the electrical power consumed in Bujumbura.

EC countries such as Germany, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Belgium are Burundi's main trading partners.

Burundi is extremely dependent on foreign aid. The EC nations, China, the United States, World Bank, and the United Nations have all contributed substantial amounts of economic assistance.

The Chambre de Commerce et de l'Industrie du Burundi has an office in Bujumbura. The postal address is B.P. 313.

Transportation

No domestic transportation system is acceptable except weekly Air Burundi flights to Gitega. A World War I era German navy steamer transports passengers and cargo around Lake Tanganyika. Bujumbura International Airport is located approximately 10 miles (15 kilometers) from Bujumbura. Direct air service exists between Bujumbura and Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), Uganda, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Russia, and Belgium. Participating airlines are Air France, Aeroflot, Air Tanzania, Air Zaire, Kenya Airlines, Cameroon Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and Sabena.

Although all-weather roads provide access to the game parks in Zaire and Rwanda, as well as overland travel to Uganda and Kenya, political conditions may discourage such travel. Travelers can reach the game parks in Tanzania by car, but distances are great, and roads may be impassable.

Taxis are available within Bujumbura. Fares are negotiated at the beginning of a trip. A vehicle with a driver may be rented, but rates are high. Tips (always less than 10 percent) are welcome, but not mandatory.

The country's rudimentary public transportation system makes a dependable, personally owned automobile a necessity. Burundi, and its most easily reached neighbors, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), use left-hand drive, but right-hand-drive cars are permitted. A valid operator's license is the only requirement for obtaining a permit to drive in Burundi.

Most roads outside the city of Bujumbura are unpaved. However, there is a good, all-weather highway to Kigali, Rwanda; a fair road connects the city to Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire); and, within the country, roads to the cities of Rumonge, Gihofi, Nyanza Lac, Muyinga, and Gitega are paved. Generally rough roads dictate the need for a car with adequate ground clearance.

The Americans living in Burundi own an equal mix of American and foreign-made cars. Outside the U.S. community, predominant makes include Toyota, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Land or Range Rovers. Smaller cars prevail because of the extremely high cost of gasoline. Local dealers and service are available for the above makes, but there is no guarantee of parts availability. Cars built for the American market have different specifications from those built for Burundi. Ideally, vehicles should be equipped with heavy-duty suspension, cooling systems, heavy-duty batteries, and tube-type tires.

Air conditioning is a welcome feature, but not essential. It is advisable to keep an extra supply of oil, gas, and air filters; spark plugs; oil, brake, and transmission fluid; fan belts; windshield wipers; and various bulbs and fuses to simplify maintenance and reduce costs.

Communications

Bujumbura has a relatively dependable local telephone service, although it is subject to interruptions. Service within the country is fairly good. Delays are often encountered when placing international calls, but a ground-satellite relay station usually produces clear connections.

Commercial cable service is available, but extremely expensive. The rate system is complex.

International airmail service to and from Burundi is generally good. Letters to Europe take about five days for delivery, and to the U.S., about 10 days. Surface mail is in transit four to eight months to or from the U.S. Packages are subject to customs problems, and service is often unreliable.

The one radio station in Burundi is the government-controlled La Voix de la Révolution. It broadcasts on several FM frequencies in French, Kirundi, Swahili, and English.

A shortwave radio is a must for international and sports news. A good receiver can pick up British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Voice of America (VOA), Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), as well as non-English broadcasts.

Burundi's television service, Télévision Nationale du Burundi broadcasts from a station in Bujumbura. Programs are in Kirundi or consist of French-language news and films. Also, Zaire television can be seen on a set capable of receiving SECAM standard broadcasts for color or, CCIR standard for black-and-white. Many expatriates have American standard (NTSC) television and VCRs and order commercially or privately made tapes from the U.S.

The only local Western-language newspaper is Le Renouveau du Burundi, an eight-page, daily, French-language paper published by the Burundi Ministry of Information. It often features good and accurate international news, but generally arrives one day late. The most widely read English-language newspaper is the International Herald Tribune, which arrives from The Hague one to five days late. Editions of Time, Newsweek, and The Economist, or Sunday editions of the New York Times and the Washington Post can be ordered by mail, but these subscriptions often are three to four weeks in arriving.

Health and Medicine

Medical Facilities

General medical practitioners, both European and Burundian, can be consulted in Bujumbura. Local opto-metrical and ophthalmological care is not recommended, but good care is available in Nairobi. Burundi's hospitals do not meet Western standards and, except in emergencies, most Western expatriates use facilities in Kenya or South Africa.

Routine dental care is unavailable in Bujumbura. However, Nairobi, Kenya has good dental facilities. Orthodontic work cannot be done in Bujumbura. Western Europe or South Africa offer the nearest acceptable facilities.

Community Health

Malaria, viral infections, colds, insect bites, and easily infected cuts are the most common ailments in Bujumbura. Those suffering from asthma or allergies also may have problems, particularly during the dusty dry season.

The level of public sanitation compares favorably with other developing countries, but falls below U.S. standards. Open drains, lack of a sewage system, garbage piles, open field burning, and other unsanitary practices are still common.

Preventive Measures

Malaria prophylaxis should be initiated at least one week before arriving in Burundi. Mefloquine is recommended because the mosquitoes are chloroquine resistant. The list of inoculations recommended by the U.S. Department of State for its employees includes those for yellow fever, smallpox, tetanus, typhoid, and polio; gamma globulin shots also are on the list. Yellow fever and cholera immunizations are required for entry into the country.

AIDS is a major problem, especially among prostitutes. In Africa, AIDS is primarily a heterosexual disease and extreme caution is urged.

Although the water supply in Bujumbura is considered safe, boiling and filtering is recommended because of the doubtful condition of pipes, particularly in the older downtown areas. In restaurants, locally bottled beverages are readily available (cola, soda water, tonic, orange and lemon-lime soft drinks, and an excellent beer). Scrupulous care must be taken in the preparation of food. Vegetables should be washed and all household staff members who handle food should receive periodic physical examinations.

The risk of bilharzia exists along much of the Lake Tanganyika shoreline, although some beaches and mid-lake areas are less dangerous.

Persons with pets should bring flea and tick collars, spray, or powder. Competent veterinary care is available, but it is often necessary to purchase veterinary medicines and vaccines from Nairobi, Europe, or the U.S.

LOCAL HOLIDAYS

Jan. 1 … New Year's Day

Feb. 5 … Unity Day

Mar/Apr. … Easter^*

May 1 … Labor Day

May/June … Ascension Day^*

July 1 … Independence Day

Aug. 15 … Assumption Day^*

Oct. 13… Prince Louis Rwagasore Day

Oct. 21… President Ndadaye's Day

Nov. 1 … All Saints' Day

Dec. 25 … Christmas Day

^*Variable

NOTE FOR TRAVELERS

Passage, Customs & Duties

Travel to Burundi is nearly always by air, although it is possible to cross the border by road or ferry. Travelers generally transit Paris, Brussels, or Nairobi, Kenya. Most flights go through Nairobi, and provide an opportunity for last-minute shopping.

A passport, visa, and evidence of immunization against yellow fever and meningococcal meningitis are required. Only those travelers resident in countries where there is no Burundian Embassy are eligible for entry stamps, without a visa, at the airport upon arrival. These entry stamps are not a substitute for a visa, which must be obtained from the Burundi Immigration Service within 24 hours of arrival. Travelers without a visa are not permitted to leave the country. Travelers should obtain the latest information and details from the Embassy of the Republic of Burundi, Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20007; telephone (202) 342-2574 or the Permanent Mission of Burundi to the United Nations in New York. Overseas inquiries may be made at the nearest Burundian embassy or consulate.

Travelers who wish to travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with visas and/or entry/exit stamps from Burundi, Rwanda or Uganda may experience difficulties at DRC airports or other ports of entry. Some travelers with those visas or exit/entry stamps have been detained for questioning in DRC.

Americans living in or visiting Burundi are encouraged to register at the Consular section of the U.S. Embassy in Burundi and obtain updated information on travel and security within Burundi. The U.S. Embassy is located on the Avenue des Etats-Unis. The mailing address is B.P. 34, 1720 Bujumbura, Burundi. The telephone number is (257) 223-454, fax (257) 222-926.

Pets

All pets entering Burundi must have accredited rabies and health certificates. The rabies vaccination should be given 30 to 60 days before arrival, and the health certificate should be dated within 48 hours of the start of the pet's travel. Quarantine is not required for arriving animals.

Pet food is available, but extremely expensive and often past the date of expiration on the label. Most expatriates prepare pet food from meat products that are locally available.

The time in Burundi is Greenwich Mean Time plus two.

Currency, Banking and Weights and Measures

The official currency is the Burundi franc (BFr), linked directly to the U.S. dollar. Currency importation is not restricted, but must be declared.

No U.S. banks have affiliated offices in Bujumbura.

The metric system of weights and measures is used.

RECOMMENDED READING

The following titles are provided as a general indication of the material published on this country:

Africa South of the Sahara 1992. London: Europa Publications, 1991.

Kay, Reginald. Burundi Since the Genocide. London: Minority Rights Group, 1987.

Powzyk, J.A. Tracking Wild Chimpanzees in Kibira National Park. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1988.

Wolbers, Marion T. Burundi. Places& Peoples of the World Series. New York: Chelsea House, 1989.

BURUNDI

Compiled from the November 2003 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:
Republic of Burundi

PROFILE
PEOPLE
HISTORY
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
ECONOMY
FOREIGN RELATIONS
U.S.-BURUNDI RELATIONS
TRAVEL

PROFILE

Geography

Location: Central Africa. Bordering nations—Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda.

Area: 27,830 sq. km. (10,747 sq. mi.); about the size of Maryland.

Cities: Capital—Bujumbura (pop. 300,000). Other cities—Cibitoke, Muyinga, Ngozi, Bubanza, Gitega, Bururi.

Climate: Warm but not uncomfortable in Bujumbura; cooler in higher regions.

Terrain: Hilly, rising from 780 meters (2,600 ft.) at the Shore of Lake Tanganyika to mountains more than 2,700 meters (9,000 ft.) above sea level.

People

Nationality: Noun—Barundi (sing. and pl.); adjective—Burundian(s).

Population: (2002 est.) 6.85 million. Annual growth rate: 2002, 4.5 %; 2003 est., -1.5%.

Ethnic groups: Hutu 85%; Tutsi 14%; Twa 1.0%.

Religions: Roman Catholic 60%-65%; Protestant 10%-15%; traditional beliefs 15%-20%; Muslim 5%.

Languages: Official—Kirundi, French; other—Kiswahili, English.

Education: Years compulsory—6. Attendance—84.05% male, 62.8% female. Literacy—34% adult.

Health: (2002 est.) Life expectancy—40.5 yrs. (men), 42 yrs. (women). Infant mortality rate—129/1,000.

Government

Type: Republic; 3-year transitional government as of November 1, 2001.

Independence: July 1, 1962 (from Belgium).

Constitution: A transitional Constitution was adopted October 18, 2001.

Branches: Executive—transitional president, transitional vice president, 26-member Counsel of Ministers. Legislative —186-member National Assembly (85 elected, 101 appointed by the signatories to the Arusha Peace Accords), 54-member Senate, 3 seats reserved for former presidents, including one for former transitional President Buyoya, 3 seats reserved for the ethnic Twa minority, 2 from each of the 16 provinces and the city of Bujumbura, one Hutu and one Tutsi, plus 14 appointed by the president according to his own criteria. Judicial—constitutional and subsidiary courts.

Administrative subdivisions: 16 provinces plus the city of Bujumbura, 117 communes.

Political parties: Multi-party system consisting of 21 registered political parties, of which FRODEBU (the Front for Democracy in Burundi, predominantly Hutu with some Tutsi membership) and UPRONA (the National Unity and Progress Party, predominantly Tutsi with some Hutu membership) are national, mainstream parties. Other Tutsi and Hutu opposition parties and groups include, among others, PARENA (the Party for National Redress, Tutsi), ABASA (the Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation, Tutsi), PRP (the People's Reconciliation Party, Tutsi), CNDD (the National Council for the Defense of Democracy, Hutu), PALIPEHUTU (the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People, Hutu) and FROLINA/FAP (the Front for the National Liberation of Burundi/Popular Armed Forces, Hutu).

Suffrage: Universal adult; elections to be held in accordance with the Arusha Peace Accords and the transitional Constitution before November 2004.

Economy

GDP: (2002) $628.06 million; (2003 est.) $583.09 million.

Real growth rate: (2002) 4.5%; (2003 est.) -1.5.

Per capita GDP: (2002) $104.7; (2003 est.) $97.2.

Inflation rate: (2002) -1.4%; (2003 est.) 11%.

Central government budget: Receipts—(2002) $127.2 million; (2003 est.) $116.6 million; spending—(2002) $162.9 million; (2003 est.) $172.8 million.

Natural resources: Nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum deposits not yet exploited, vanadium.

Agriculture: (2002, 41% of GDP) Products—coffee, tea, sugar, cotton fabrics and oil, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca), beef, milk, hides, livestock feed, rice. Arable land—44%.

Industry: (2002, 18.5% of GDP) Types—sugar refining, coffee processing, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, food processing, chemicals (insecticides), public works construction, light consumer goods, assembly of imported components.

Services: (2002) 40.5% of GDP.

Mining: Commercial quantities of alluvial gold, nickel, phosphates, rare earth, vanadium, and other; peat mining.

Trade: (2002) Exports—$31.2 million: coffee (50% of export earnings), tea, sugar, cotton fabrics, hides. Major markets—U. K., Germany, Benelux, Switzerland. Imports—$103.9 million: food, beverages, tobacco, chemicals, road vehicles, petroleum and products. Major suppliers—Benelux, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan. Total external debt (2002) $1.136 billion.

PEOPLE

At 206.1 persons per sq. km., Burundi has the second-largest population density in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most people live on farms near areas of fertile volcanic soil. The population is made up of three major ethnic groups—Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. Kirundi is the most widely spoken language, French and Kiswahili also are widely spoken. Intermarriage takes place frequently between the Hutus and Tutsis. The terms "pastoralist" and "agriculturist," often used as ethnic designations for Tutsi and Hutu, respectively, are only occupational titles which vary among individuals and groups. Although Hutus encompass the majority of the population, historically Tutsis have been politically and economically dominant.

HISTORY

In the 16th century, Burundi was a kingdom characterized by a hierarchical political authority and tributary econo mic exchange. A king (mwani) headed a princely aristocracy (ganwa) which owned most of the land and required a tribute, or tax, from local farmers and herders. In the mid-18th century, this Tutsi royalty consolidated authority over land, production, and distribution with the development of the ubugabire—a patron-client relationship in which the populace received royal protection in exchange for tribute and land tenure.

Although European explorers and missionaries made brief visits to the area as early as 1856, it was not until 1899 that Burundi came under German East African administration. In 1916 Belgian troops occupied the area. In 1923, the League of Nations mandated to Belgium the territory of Ruanda-Urundi, encompassing modern-day Rwanda and Burundi. The Belgians administered the territory through indirect rule, building on the Tutsi-dominated aristocratic hierarchy. Following World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations Trust Territory under Belgian administrative authority. After 1948, Belgium permitted the emergence of competing political parties. Two political parties emerged: the Union for National Progress (UPRONA), a multi-ethnic party led by Tutsi Prince Louis Rwagasore and the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) supported by Belgium. In 1961, Prince Rwagasore was assassinated following an UPRONA victory in legislative elections.

Full independence was achieved on July 1, 1962. In the context of weak democratic institutions at independence, Tutsi King Mwambutsa IV established a constitutional monarchy comprising equal numbers of Hutus and Tutsis. The 1965 assassination of the Hutu prime minister set in motion a series of destabilizing Hutu revolts and subsequent governmental repression. In 1966, King Mwambutsa was deposed by his son, Prince Ntare IV, who himself was deposed the same year by a military coup lead by Capt. Michel Micombero. Micombero abolished the monarchy and declared a republic, although a de facto military regime emerged. In 1972, an aborted Hutu rebellion triggered the flight of hundreds of thousands of Burundians. Civil unrest continued throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In 1976, Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza took power in a bloodless coup. Although Bagaza led a Tutsi-dominated military regime, he encouraged land reform, electoral reform, and national reconciliation. In 1981, a new Constitution was promulgated. In 1984, Bagaza was elected head of state, as the sole candidate. After his election, Bagaza's human rights record deteriorated as he suppressed religious activities and detained political opposition members.

In 1987, Maj. Pierre Buyoya overthrew Colonel Bagaza. He dissolved opposition parties, suspended the 1981 constitution, and instituted his ruling Military Committee for National Salvation (CSMN). During 1988, increasing tensions between the ruling Tutsis and the majority Hutus resulted in violent confrontations between the army, the Hutu opposition, and Tutsi hardliners. During this period, an estimated 150,000 people were killed, with tens of thousands of refugees flowing to neighboring countries. Buyoya formed a commission to investigate the causes of the 1988 unrest and to develop a charter for democratic reform.

In 1991, Buyoya approved a Constitution that provided for a president, multi-ethnic government, and a parliament. Burundi's first Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye, of the Hutu-dominated FRODEBU Party, was elected in 1993. He was assassinated by factions of the Tutsi-dominated armed forces in October 1993. The country was then plunged into civil war, which killed tens of thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands by the time the FRODEBU government regained control and elected Cyprien


Ntaryamira president in January 1994. Nonetheless, the security situation continued to deteriorate. In April 1994, President Ntayamira and Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana died in a plane crash. This act marked the beginning of the Rwandan genocide, while in Burundi, the death of Ntaryamira exacerbated the violence and unrest. Sylve stre Ntibantunganya was installed as president for a 4-year term on April 8, but the security situation further deteriorated. The influx of hundreds of thousands of Rwandan refugees and the activities of armed Hutu and Tutsi groups further destabilized the regime.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

In November 1995, the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zaire announced a regional initiative for a negotiated peace in Burundi facilitated by former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. In July 1996, former Burundian President Buyoya returned to power in a bloodless coup. He declared himself president of a transitional republic, even as he suspended the National Assembly, banned opposition groups, and imposed a nationwide curfew. Widespread condemnation of the coup ensued, and regional countries imposed economic sanctions pending a return to a constitutional government. Buyoya agreed in 1996 to liberalize political parties. Nonetheless, fighting between the army and Hutu militias continued. In June 1998, Buyoya promulgated a transitional Constitution and announced a partnership between the government and the opposition-led National Assembly. After Facilitator Julius Nyerere's death in October 1999, the regional leaders appointed Nelson Mandela as Facilitator of the Arusha peace process. Under Mandela the faltering peace process was revived, leading to the signing of the Arusha Accords in August 2000 by representatives of the principal Hutu (G-7) and Tutsi (G-10) political parties, the government, and the National Assembly. However, the FDD and FNL armed factions of the CNDD and Palipehutu G-7 parties refused to accept the Arusha Accords, and the armed rebellion continued.

In November 2001, a 3-year transitional government was established under the leadership of Pierre Buyoya (representing the G-10) as transitional president and Domitien Ndayizeye (representing the G-7) as transitional vice president for an initial period of 18 months. In May 2003, Mr. Ndayizeye assumed the presidency for 18 months with Alphonse Marie Kadege as vice president. While the establishment of a transitional government represents significant progress toward representative government and elections, failure to reach agreement with the rebel factions on an end to the fighting has delayed implementation of military reform and other social and political measures called for by the Arusha Accords. A permanent cessation of hostilities will be essential for the complete implementation of the democratization and security provision of the Arusha Accords. President Ndayizeye continues to negotiate with the CNDD-FDD on an integration plan under the auspices of Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa. There are plans for local and national elections before the conclusion of the transitional period in November 2004.

Principal Government Officials
Last Updated: 12/10/03

President: Ndayizeye, Domitien
Vice President: Kadege, Alphonse

Min. of Agriculture & Livestock:Ndikumagenge, Pierre

Min. of Civil Service: Kobako, Gaspard

Min. of Commerce & Industry: Minani, Thomas

Min. of Communal Development: Hicintuka, Cyrille

Min. of Communications & Spokesman for the Government: Nduwimana, Onesime

Min. of Development, Planning, & Reconstruction: Wakana, Seraphine

Min. of Energy & Mines: Nkundikije, Andre

Min. of External Relations & Cooperation: Sinunguruza, Therence

Min. of Finance: Gahungu, Athanase

Min. of Handicrafts, Vocational Training, & Adult Literacy: Hakizimana, Godefroid

Min. of Institutional Reforms, Human Rights, & Relations with Parliament: Rungwamihigo, Deogratias

Min. of Interior: Nyandwi, Simon

Min. of Justice & Keeper of the Seals: Kiganahe, Didace

Min. of Labor & Social Security: Nditabiriye, Dismas

Min. of Land Management, Environment, & Tourism: Mbonerane, Albert

Min. of National Defense: Niyungeko, Vincent, Maj. Gen.

Min. of National Education: Ntihabose, Salvator

Min. of Public Health: Kamana, Jean

Min. of Public Security: Dwima-Bakana, Fulgence

Min. of Public Works & Infrastructure:Ntahomenyereye, Salvator

Min. of Repatriation, Reinsertion, & Reintegration: Ngendahayo, Francoise

Min. of Social Action & Promotion of Women: Nduwimana, Marie-Goretti

Min. of Transportation, Posts, & Telecommunications: Ndikumugongo, Severin

Min. of Youth, Sports, & Culture: Muteragiranwa, Barnabe

Min. in Charge of Mobilization for Peace & National Reconciliation: Butoyi, Antoine

Min. in the Office of the President in Charge of HIV/AIDS: Rukingama, Luc

Min. of State in Charge of Good Governance: Nkurunziz, Pierre

Governor, Central Bank: Toyi, Salvator Ambassador to the US: Ndikumana, Thomas

Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Nteturuye, Marc

Burundi maintains an embassy in the United States at Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20007 (tel. 202-342-2574).

ECONOMY

The mainstay of the Burundian economy is agriculture, accounting for 41% of GDP in 2002. Agriculture supports more than 90% of the labor force, the majority of whom are subsistence farmers. Although Burundi is potentially self-sufficient in food production, the ongoing civil war, overpopulation, and soil erosion have contributed to the contraction of the subsistence economy by 30% in recent years. Large numbers of internally displaced persons have been unable to produce their own food and are dependent on international humanitarian assistance. Burundi is a net food importer, with food accounting for 9.4% of imports in 2002.

The main cash crop is coffee, which accounted for 50% of exports in 2002. This dependence on coffee has increased Burundi's vulnerability to fluctuations in seasonal yields and international coffee prices. Coffee processing is the largest state-owned enterprise in terms of income. In recent years, the government has tried to attract private investment to this sector, with some success. Efforts to privatize other publicly held enterprises have stalled. Other principal exports include tea, sugar, and raw cotton. In 2003, a combination of floods and insect infestation resulted in a severe drop in coffee production. Revenues are estimated to be less than one-fifth those in 2002.

Little industry exists except the processing of agricultural exports. Although potential wealth in petroleum, nickel, copper, and other natural resources is being explored, the uncertain security situation has prevented meaningful investor interest. Industrial development also is hampered by Burundi's distance from the sea and high transport costs. Lake Tanganyika remains an important trading point. The trade embargo, lifted in 1999, negatively impacted trade and industry.

Burundi is heavily dependent on bilateral and multilateral aid, with external debt totaling $1.136 billion in 2002. A series of largely unsuccessful 5-year plans initiated in July 1986 in partnership with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) attempted to reform the foreign exchange system, liberalize imports, reduce restrictions on international transactions, diversify exports, and reform the coffee industry.

IMF structural adjustment programs in Burundi were suspended following the outbreak of the crisis in 1993; the IMF re-engaged in Burundi in 2002 with a post-conflict credit. The World Bank has identified key areas for potential growth, including the productivity of traditional crops and the introduction of new exports, light manufactures, industrial mining, and services. Other serious problems include the state's role in the economy, the question of governmental transparency, and debt reduction.

To protest the 1996 coup by President Buyoya, neighboring countries imposed an economic embargo on Burundi. Although the embargo was never officially ratified by the UN Security Council, most countries refrained from official trade with Burundi. Following the 1996 coup, the United States suspended all but humanitarian aid to Burundi. The regional embargo was lifted on January 23, 1999, based on progress by the government in advancing national reconciliation through the Burundi peace process.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Burundi's relations with its neighbors have often been affected by security concerns. Hundreds of thousands of Burundian refugees have at various times crossed to neighboring Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians are in neighboring countries as a result of the ongoing civil war. Most of them, more than 750,000 since 1993, are in Tanzania. Some Burundi an rebel groups have used neighboring countries as bases for insurgent activities. The 1993 embargo placed on Burundi by regional states negatively impacted its diplomatic relations with its neighbors; relations have improved since the 1999 suspension of these sanctions.

Burundi is a member of various international and regional organizations, including the United Nations, the African Union, and the African Development Bank, and will become a member of COMESA, the free-tariff zone of east and south Africa, in January 2004.

U.S.-BURUNDI RELATIONS

Burundi is an important factor in regional stability in the Great Lakes region. The United States encourages political stability, democratic change, respect for human rights, and shared economic development in Burundi. The United States supports the Arusha/Tanzania peace process aimed at national reconciliation and the eventual formation of a constitutional government, and encourages a peaceful solution to the civil conflict in Burundi. In the long term, the United States seeks to strengthen the process of internal reconciliation and democratization within all the states of the region to promote a stable, democratic community of nations that will work toward mutual social, economic, and security interests on the continent.

The United States has provided financial support for the peace process. U.S. bilateral aid with the exception of humanitarian assistance was ended following the 1996 coup. In view of progress in the peace talks, the United States and other international donors are reconsidering their policy of assistance. A State Department Travel Advisory was listed for Burundi in August 1999.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Bujumbura (E), B.P. 1720, Avenue Des Etas-Unis, Tel [257] 22-34-54, after-hours Tel 21-48-53, Fax 22-29-26; AID/OFDA Tel 22-59-51, Fax 22-29-86. E-mail: (user last name plus initials) @bujumburab.us-state.gov

Last Modified: Wednesday, September 24, 2003

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet
May 5, 2003

Americans planning travel to Burundi should read the Travel Warning for Burundi and the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, available on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website at http://travel.state.gov.

Country Description: Burundi is a small, inland African nation that entered a period of instability following the assassination of Burundi's first democratically elected president in 1993. A three-year transitional government was established on November 1, 2001. While the Government has concluded cease-fire agreements with three of the four rebel groups, hostilities continue with the fourth. Violations of the cease-fire with the largest rebel faction occur frequently. Facilities for tourism, particularly outside the capital, are limited. The capital is Bujumbura. The official language is French.

Entry and Exit Requirements: A passport, visa, and evidence of immunization against yellow fever are required for entry. Only those travelers resident in countries where there is no Burundian embassy are eligible for entry stamps, with out a visa, upon arrival at the airport. These entry stamps are not a substitute for a visa, which must be obtained from the Burundi Immigration Service within twenty-four hours of arrival. Travelers without a visa are not permitted to leave the country. The latest information about visas may be obtained from the Embassy of the Republic of Burundi, Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007; telephone (202) 342-2574, or from the Permanent Mission of Burundi to the United Nations in New York at telephone (212) 499-0001 thru 0006. Overseas, inquiries may be made at the nearest Burundian embassy or consulate.

Travelers who wish to travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and who have visas and/or entry/exit stamps from Burundi, Rwanda or Uganda, may experience difficulties at DRC airports or other ports of entry. Some travelers with these visas or exit/entry stamps have been detained for questioning in the DRC.

In an effort to prevent international child abduction, many governments have initiated procedures at entry/exit points. These often include requiring documentary evidence of relationship and permission for the child's travel from the parent(s) or legal guardian not present. Having such documentation on hand, even if not required, may facilitate entry/departure.

Safety and Security: The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens against travel to Burundi. Americans in Burundi are urged to exercise caution and maintain security awareness at all times. Due to continuing hostilities between government and rebel forces, including danger on the road to and from Bujumbura's airport, and the requirement to observe curfew hours, the U.S. Embassy restricts U.S. Government personnel from flying in or out of Bujumbura during the hours of darkness.

In light of continuing political tensions, all areas of Burundi are potentially unstable. Fighting between rebel forces and the Burundian military continues to be a problem in the interior and in the outskirts of the capital. Burundian rebels regularly attack the outlying suburbs of Bujumbura and vehicles on the roadways. Throughout the early months of 2003, government forces and rebels clashed repeatedly just outside the capital. Rebels continue to operate in the province surrounding the capital, rebel forces have launched several rocket and mortar attacks on the city, and local authorities are unable to guarantee safety. The U.S. Embassy emphasizes the importance of remaining vigilant and respecting any curfews in effect. For the most up-to-date curfew information, please check with the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura. Given the ongoing insecurity, travelers should also check with the U.S. Embassy before traveling out of the capital.

Crime: Street crime in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, poses a high risk for visitors. Crime includes muggings, purse-snatching, pick-pocketing, burglary, auto break-ins, and auto-hijackings, including during daylight hours. Criminals operate individually or in small groups. Muggings of persons jogging or walking alone in all sections of Bujumbura have been reported, especially on public roads bordering Lake Tanganyika. For the last several years, expatriate employees of several international non-governmental organizations have occasionally become the victims of armed robberies in their offices, homes, and on the road.

If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for assistance. The embassy/consulate staff can, for example, assist you in finding appropriate medical care, contacting family members or friends, and explaining how funds can be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and find an attorney if needed. The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

U.S. citizens may refer to the Department of State's pamphlets, "A Safe Trip Abroad" and "Tips for Travelers to Sub-Saharan Africa," for ways to promote a more trouble-free journey. Both are available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, via the Internet at http://www.gpoaccess.gov, or via the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov.

Medical Facilities: Medical facilities are limited in Burundi. Medicines and prescription drugs are in short supply, if not completely unavailable. Sterility of equipment is questionable, and treatment is unreliable. Travelers should carry properly labeled prescription drugs and other medications with them.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and if it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation. U.S. medical insurance plans seldom cover health costs incurred outside the United States unless supplemental coverage is purchased. Further, U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs do not provide payment for medical services outside the United States. However, many travel agents and private companies offer insurance plans that will cover health care expenses incurred overseas, including emergency services such as medical evacuations.

When making a decision regarding health insurance, Americans should consider that many foreign doctors and hospitals require payment in cash prior to providing service and that a medical evacuation to the United States may cost well in excess of 50,000 dollars (US). Uninsured travelers who require medical care overseas often face extreme difficulties. When consulting with your insurer prior to your trip, ascertain whether payment will be made to the overseas healthcare provider or if you will be reimbursed later for expenses that you incur. Some insurance policies also include coverage for psychiatric treatment and for disposition of remains in the event of death.

Useful information on medical emergencies abroad, including overseas insurance programs, is provided in the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs brochure, "Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad," available via the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page or autofax: (202) 647-3000.

Other Health Information: Travelers planning to visit Burundi should consider taking prophylaxis against malaria. Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease. P. falciparum malaria, the serious and sometimes fatal strain found in Burundi and many parts of Central Africa, is resistant to the anti-malarial drug chloroquine. Because travelers to Burundi are at high risk for contracting malaria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that travelers should take one of the following following antimalarial drugs: mefloquine (Lariam - tm), doxycycline, or atovaquone/proguanil (Malarone – tm). The CDC has determined that a traveler who is on an appropriate antimalarial drug has a greatly reduced chance of contracting the disease. In addition, other personal protective measures, such as the use of insect repellents, help to reduce malaria risk. Travelers who become ill with a fever or flu-like illness while traveling in a malaria-risk area and up to one year after returning home should seek prompt medical attention and tell the physician their travel history and what antimalarials they have been taking. For additional information on malaria, protection from insect bites, and antimal arials, please visit the CDC Travelers' Health website at: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/malinfo.htm.

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747); fax 1-888-CDC_FAXX (1-888-232-3299); or via the CDC's Internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad, please consult the World Health Organization at http://www.who.int/ith.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter driving conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning driving in Burundi is provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance:

Safety of Public Transportation: Poor/Not Recommended
Urban Road Conditions/Maintenance: Poor
Rural Road Conditions/Maintenance: Poor
Availability of Roadside Assistance: Non-existent

Drivers without drivers' licenses, and the ease with which a driver's license can be acquired without training, make Burundian drivers less than careful, considerate, or predictable.

There are no traffic signals or signs in Bujumbura, and virtually nothing of the kind elsewhere in the country. Roadways are not marked, and the lack of streetlights and shoulders make driving in the countryside at night especially dangerous. Additionally, drivers may encounter cyclists, pedestrians, and livestock in the roadway, including in and around the capital, Bujumbura. Mini-vans used as buses for 18 persons should be given a wide berth as they start and stop abruptly, often without pulling to the side of the road.

Big holes or damaged portions of roadway may be encountered anywhere in the country, including in and around the capital; when driving in the countryside, it is recommended that travelers carry multiple spare tires. Service stations are rare outside of major cities. During the rainy season, many side roads are passable only with four-wheel drive vehicles.

Travelers may be stopped at police roadblocks throughout the country, or shot at and stopped by rebels or bandits.

Third-party insurance is required, and it will cover any damages (property, injury, or death). If you are found to have caused an accident, you automatically will be fined 10,000 Burundian francs (approximately $10 U.S.) and your driver's license will be confiscated until the police investigation is completed. Although the law provides for the arrest of drunk drivers, in practice, the police do not consider drunk driving a crime. In the city of Bujumbura, the number for police assistance is 22-37-77; there is no comparable number outside the capital. If you are involved in an accident causing death, it is advised that you leave the scene of the accident and proceed to the nearest police station. In most cases, other drivers will assist you. Ambulance assistance is nonexistent.

For additional general information about road safety, including links to foreign government sites, please see the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov/road_safety.html.

Local Aviation Safety: As a result of an attack on a Sabena passenger flight at night and the danger of attack on the road to and from the airport at night because of the ongoing conflict between government and rebel forces in Burundi, the U.S. Embassy continues to restrict U.S. Government personnel from flying in or out of Bujumbura during the hours of darkness or during the Embassy's curfew hours. The curfew changes from time to time due to changing security conditions; please contact the U.S. Embassy for the most up-to-date curfew information.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service between the United States and Burundi at present, nor economic authority to operate such service, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed the Burundian Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with international aviation safety standards for oversight of Burundi's air carrier operations. For further information, travelers may contact the Department of Transportation within the United States at tel. 1-800-322-7873, or visit the FAA's Internet website at http://www.faa.gov/avr/iasa.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) separately assesses some foreign air carriers for suitability as official providers of air services. For information regarding the DOD policy on specific carriers, travelers may contact the DOD at (618) 229-4801.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens are subject to that country's laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating Burundian law, even unknowingly, may be deported, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Burundi are strict. Convicted offenders can expect jail sentences and heavy fines.

Children's Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, please refer to our Internet site at http://travel.state.gov/children's_issues.html or telephone (202) 736-7000.

Registration/Embassy Location: Americans living in or visiting Burundi are encouraged to register at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Burundi. The U.S. Embassy is located on the Avenue des Etats-Unis, mailing address B.P. 34, 1720 Bujumbura, Burundi. The Consular Section of the Embassy may be reached at tel. (257) 22-34-54; or fax (257) 22-29-26.

Travel Warning
August 12, 2003

This Travel Warning is being issued to inform American citizens that the Department of State has lifted the ordered departure status of non-emergency employees at the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura, Burundi. However, the Department continues to alert U.S. citizens to ongoing safety and security concerns in Burundi and the surrounding Great Lakes Region. This supersedes the Travel Warning of July 13, 2003.

Although non-emergency employees of the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura are now permitted to return to Burundi, the Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against travel to Burundi. The Department urges private American citizens in Burundi to exercise caution and maintain security awareness at all times.

Burundi has been plagued by civil war since 1993. As the result of a peace process undertaken by many of Burundi's political parties, a three-year transition government was installed on November 1, 2001. Two rebel factions continue combat operations, one concentrated around Bujumbura and the other in several areas of the country. Fighting between rebel forces and government troops can be in tense, and often involves non-government, noncombatant targets.

Rebels have launched rocket and mortar attacks on Bujumbura and other major cities. Gunfire in and around the capital has resulted in numerous injuries and deaths. Vehicles on the nation's major roads have been attacked regularly. The Embassy assesses that further attacks are possible.

The U.S. Embassy in Burundi operates with a limited staff and restricts the travel of U.S. Government personnel within the capital, while travel outside the capital is limited to travel by air only. Family members are prohibited from accompanying U.S. Government employees assigned to Burundi, and personnel assigned to Burundi on a temporary basis may have their visits cancelled or curtailed. U.S. Government personnel are strictly prohibited from flying to, from, or within Burundi during the hours of darkness.

The Government of Burundi maintains a curfew for Bujumbura, as does the U.S. Embassy. Curfew hours may be adjusted from time to time due to changing security conditions. Please contact the U.S. Embassy for the most up-to-date curfew information.

U.S. citizens who travel to or remain in Burundi despite this Travel Warning should establish and maintain contact with the U.S. Embassy. American citizens needing up dated travel and security information should contact the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy at Avenue Etats-Unis, telephone (257) 223-454, fax (257) 222-926.

For further information on travel abroad, please consult the Department of State's latest Consular Information publications, including the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, which are available at http://travel.state.gov.

BURUNDI

Republic of Burundi

République du Burundi

Republika yu Burundi

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

LOCATION AND SIZE.

Burundi is a landlocked state in Central Africa, east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, south of Rwanda, and west of Tanzania. It has an area of 27,830 square kilometers (10,745 square miles), slightly smaller than Maryland. Burundi's capital city, Bujumbura, is located on the shore of Lake Tanganyika near the country's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

POPULATION.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa estimated Burundi's population at 6.97 million in 2000, growing at an annual rate of 2.5 percent. In 2000 the birth rate stood at 40.46 births per 1,000 population while the death rate was 16.44 deaths per 1,000. The population is expected to reach 10.37 million by 2015 and 16.94 million by 2050. In 1999, only 9 percent of Burundians lived in urban habitats, which was one of the lowest levels of urbanization in Africa. About 67 percent of Burundians are Christians, mostly Roman Catholics, while 23 percent hold some form of indigenous beliefs, and 10 percent are Muslims.

Approximately 99 percent of the citizens of Burundi are Rundi (or Barundi) and speak Kirundi. Kirundi and French are the country's official languages. Ethnic groups include the Hutu (85 percent), Tutsi (14 percent), and Twa (1 percent). Due to conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups, and among different Tutsi groups, the country experienced mass emigration of refugees. Many people fled to neighboring Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, hoping to avoid violence. The net emigration rate was estimated to be 7.43 emigrants per 1,000 people in 2000.

Burundi has a very young population with 47 percent aged 14 or younger and just 3 percent aged 65 or older. As the younger half of the population grows to maturity and reproduces, Burundi's already high population density of 260 per square kilometer (100 per square mile) is expected to reach dangerous levels. However, the terrifying death toll of the AIDS epidemic may retard such population growth.

It is estimated that 39,000 Burundians died from AIDS in 1999 and 30 percent of all 25-29 year olds were HIV positive. The national rate of HIV infection stood at 11.32 percent. The social and economic costs of the disease are high. For example, the drawn out nature of death from AIDS requires a large amount of care and attention. As a result many of the population (mostly women) who could be employed are instead providing long-term care for the dying. In addition, by 1999 the estimated number of orphans created due to AIDS in Burundi reached 230,000.

OVERVIEW OF ECONOMY

Agricultural production dominates Burundi's national economy. During the colonial period (1899-1962) the German and Belgian administrations forced Burundi's workers to produce goods like coffee and tea for export to Europe. This pattern of production continues, while the mining, manufacturing, and service sectors are less developed.

Violence and political conflict between the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups plagued Burundi after its independence from Belgium in 1962. By the 1990s the instability caused by civil war, Burundi's landlocked status, its colonial legacy, a limited material base, and the general decline of investment in Africa throughout the 1990s led to an overall collapse of the economy. In 1986 the government agreed to a program of economic liberalization with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. However, a brief but brutal resumption of ethnic massacres in 1988, and the resumption of the conflict in 1993, halted this program of economic development.

While Burundi's gross domestic product enjoyed an average annual growth rate of 4.4 percent between 1980-1990, during 1990-1999 the annual growth rate declined by an average of 2.9 percent. Agricultural production fell by 2 percent, industrial production fell by 6.7 percent, and services production fell by 2.5 percent annually during the 1990s. The failing economy was aggravated by an economic embargo imposed by regional and Western powers in an attempt to encourage Burundi's politicians to make peace. This embargo and economic instability contributed to the national economy's balance of payments deficit of US$54 million in 1998 and US$27 million in 1999.

In 1980 Burundi's total external debt stood at US$166 million, but with a government surplus of 9.8 percent of gross domestic product (including external aid) the country was able to pay interest on its debt. By 1998 Burundi's total external debt was US$1.12 billion while the government had a deficit equal to 5.4 percent of the gross domestic product. Burundi's financing of debt as a percentage of exports rose from 20.4 percent in 1985 to 40 percent in 1998, draining the foreign capital generated from exports. Due to the national crisis, external donors were reluctant to lend money to Burundi, and external aid per capita fell from US$53.1 in 1992 to US$11.6 in 1998. The country continues to rely on a decreasing level of foreign aid while it is unable to pay off debts. The inflation rate was recorded at 26 percent in 1999. At the dawn of the 21st century, Burundi was a country in deep economic crisis.

POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND TAXATION

Burundi was ruled by a king (mwami) from the 1500s until colonization. European colonial powers Germany (1899-1916) and Belgium (1916-62) forced Burundians to cultivate crops for European consumption (such as coffee and tea), to act as porters and laborers, and to pay taxes. When Burundi achieved independence in 1962, Belgium still influenced its government and politics. When legislative elections were held in 1961, a Tutsi-dominated party which included Hutus, the Parti de l'Unité et du Progrés National du Burundi (UPRONA), won 80 percent of the votes. Prince Louis Rwagasore was appointed Prime Minister, but at the end of 1961 Rwagasore was assassinated in a plot by the Belgian-sponsored Hutu party, the Parti du Peuple (PDC).

Burundi's main political parties are the multiethnic Front pour la démocratie au Burundi (FRODEBU), UPRONA, and the militant Hutu party Parti de la libération du peuple hutu (PALIPEHUTU). The army is also of central importance in Burundi's politics, as are militia groups, which are often linked to political parties. After an extensive period of military rule, Melchior Ndadaye of FRODEBU won 1993 multiparty elections with 65 percent of the vote. However, after only a few months President Ndadaye was assassinated by the Tutsi-dominated military. This led to a series of large-scale massacres of both Hutu and Tutsi by various militias and the army.

In 1996 Major Pierre Buyoya became president after a military coup. In 1998 Buyoya ushered in a new constitution, which gave executive powers to an elected president and gave legislative power to the 812-member elected Assembly. He led the creation of a 10-year power sharing agreement in 2000, which brought together many of Burundi's political and military organizations. However, a full compromise remained elusive despite mediation and financial inducements by the European Union and the United States. Over 300,000 people, mainly civilians, were killed between 1993 and 2000. Hundreds of thousands more were displaced, and over 0.5 million Hutus were forcibly relocated by the army to live in camps.

The revenue collecting capabilities of the Burundian government are minimal. Tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product amounted to only 12.7 percent in 1999, falling from a 1990 level of 16.3 percent. The IMF estimates that in 1998, taxes on goods and services amounted to 43.2 percent of government revenue, tax on international trade was 28.6 percent, and taxes on income and profits constituted 22.6 percent. The most important individual source of revenue was taxes on the brewing industry, which provided around 40 percent of total government tax receipts. Petroleum provided around 8 percent of indirect taxes .

INFRASTRUCTURE, POWER, AND COMMUNICATIONS

Burundi's transport infrastructure is very limited. A crumbling network of 14,480 kilometers (8,998 miles) of roads, of which 1,028 kilometers (639 miles) are paved, is used by only 19,000 passenger cars and 12,300 commercial vehicles. In 2000 the World Bank encouraged a 50 percent reduction of tanker trucks bringing in fuel to Burundi to reduce the erosion of the country's roads. A 30 percent refined petrol and diesel price rise at the beginning of 2000 helped to create a fuel shortage. The majority of Burundi's trade is conducted across Lake Tanganyika with the Democratic Republic of Congo. There is no rail infrastructure. As Burundi is landlocked it relies on the sea ports of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Mombasa in Kenya. Burundi has 1 international airport, which is located at Bujumbura, while another 3 airports exist but are unpaved. Only 12,000 people traveled by air in Burundi in 1998.

Burundi's power needs are partially supplied by the parastatal Regideso. It controls 4 small hydroelectric power stations that produced 127 million kilowatt hours of electricity in 1998. Burundi is also an importer of electricity which is drawn from hydroelectric plants in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Most of this power is consumed within Bujumbura. With only 17,000 telephone main lines, 343 mobile cellular phones in use by 1995, and no Internet hosts, Burundi's telecommunications system was underdeveloped.

ECONOMIC SECTORS

Because Burundi is landlocked, its exports are costly. They also lose competitiveness due to the tariffs imposed on them from neighboring countries. The most important and largest sector in the economy is agriculture, both for the domestic supply of food and for the provision of

foreign currency through the export of coffee and tea. However, Burundi's dependence on agricultural commodities is a weakness since coffee and tea production are subject to the constant fluctuation of the weather, and the change of prices on international markets. The agricultural sector provided 46 percent of Burundi's GDP in 1998 and employed 93 percent of its people. Comparatively, industry contributed 17 percent of GDP and employed 1.5 percent, while services contributed 37 percent and employed 1.5 percent. Four percent of the country's workers are employed by the government.

AGRICULTURE

Burundi's agricultural sector benefits from a mild climate due to high elevation of the land and regular rainfall. However, deforestation and poor farming methods have caused extensive soil erosion and depletion. It is estimated that there will be no more arable land left in Burundi by 2020, at current depletion rates. The agricultural sector provided 46 percent of GDP in 1998, and 93 percent of the labor force was employed in agricultural production. In the 10-year period from 1988-1997 Burundi produced an annual average of US$80 million of agricultural exports. The most important of these exports were cash crops such as coffee, tea, tobacco, and cotton.

The export of coffee accounts for around 80 percent of all export earnings. In 1992, 40,000 metric tons of Burundian coffee was sold abroad. However, due to the civil war and economic embargo, coffee exports dropped between 1993 and 1996 with an annual average export of only 18,500 tons. By 1997 the coffee sector recovered with 32,000 tons exported. Tea accounts for around 10 percent of all export earnings. Exports actually grew slightly during the civil war and economic embargo. Between 1988-1992 an annual average of 4,600 tons of dry green tea leaves were exported, yet between 1993-1997 an annual average of 5,400 tons was recorded. In 1999 the parastatal Office du Thé du Burundi raised the price of tea by 15 percent in order to encourage farmers to raise production for 2000. However, there was a price slump of both coffee and tea on international markets in 2000 and early 2001.

Burundi's major food crops consist of bananas, cassava, sorghum, rice, maize, and millet. Production of these crops was steady between 1989 and 1997 except for rice, which grew by more than 50 percent from 40,000 tons to 64,000 tons, and cassava, which grew from 569,000 tons to 610,000 tons. However, over the same 9-year period Burundi imported an average of US$16.4 million of food per year.

INDUSTRY

Industry is very limited in Burundi. The industrial sector accounted for 19 percent of GDP in 1990, but due to the instability caused by civil war this fell to 17 percent by 1998.

MINING.

Burundi has extensive mineral reserves. By 2001, gold, tungsten, and cassiterite (tin ore) were mined on a small scale. One gold reserve was estimated to contain 60 tons of gold ore. It is estimated that about 5 percent of world nickel reserves are on Burundian territory, and there are significant reserves of uranium, platinum, and vanadium. Due to political instability, the country's landlocked status, and its limited infrastructure, many of these highly profitable mineral deposits remain untouched.

MANUFACTURING.

Manufacturing is based in Bujumbara. Reaching a high of US$11 million of exports in 1992, manufacturing exports fell to US$1 million by 1997. Imports of manufactured goods heavily outweigh exports with US$55 million imported in 1992, falling to US$33 million in 1997.

A key manufacturing sector within Burundi's economy is the brewing of beer. In 1996, 40 percent of all government tax receipts were received from only 1 brewery, the Dutch-and government-owned company Brarudi. Due to rising inflation Brarudi lost money throughout 1998-1999. High inflation caused a rise in the price of raw material imports used to manufacture beer. Sales fell by 10 percent in 1999 due to the price increases that were passed on to consumers. Other products manufactured in the country include soft drinks, cigarettes, soap, glass, textiles, insecticides, cosmetics, cement, and some agricultural processing.

SERVICES

The service sector in Burundi is of minimal importance. Credit and banking services are limited and the retail sector is based on small trading and shops. Due to the instability caused by civil war the export of commercial services declined from US$7 million in 1990 to US$3 million in 1998.

TOURISM.

Although Burundi has a great deal to offer tourists, such as rare wildlife, beautiful green mountainous landscapes, national parks, and access to one of Africa's largest lakes (Lake Tanganyika), terrible massacres and roaming militia members act as a considerable deterrent to tourists. In 1992, before the outbreak of the political crisis, 86,000 tourists arrived in Burundi (the majority from Africa and Europe), by 1996 only 26,670 were recorded entering the country.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Burundi's balance of trade showed an average annual deficit of US$39.5 million between 1985-1999. In 1999 the deficit stood at US$52 million on exports of US$56 million and imports of US$108 million. To counter this deficit the government consistently resorted to borrowing in order to maintain its spending levels. This led to greater indebtedness and a rise in annual debt repayment levels. Imports and exports were partially reduced in 1996 due to an embargo imposed by regional countries and the European Union in an attempt to force a peace agreement. However, due to smuggling to and from Burundi this embargo was soon rendered ineffective. At the outset of 1999 civil conflict had lessened in intensity, yet shortages of sugar and fuel raised the population's discontent.

The Economist Intelligence Unit estimated Burundi's principal imports in 1997 as US$70.4 million of intermediate goods , US$63.1 million of capital goods , US$55.1 million of food, and US$31.2 million in energy. The main origins of these imports were neighboring Tanzania which supplied 14.8 percent of the total, Kenya (14 percent), the United States (11.1 percent), Belgium-Luxembourg (8.3 percent), and Germany (5.1 percent). The import of refined petroleum products represented around 15 percent of Burundi's total imports, and took between 20-30 percent of all national foreign exchange earnings.

In 1997, Burundi's most important exports were coffee, which sold US$45.2 million, tea (US$20.7 million), hides (US$4.6 million), and cassiterite (US$3.7 million). Burundi's main export partners for these goods were based in the European Union. Belgium and Luxembourg consumed 36.1 percent of all Burundi's exports, while Germany consumed 20.6 percent. Other destinations for Burundi's exports were the Netherlands, which imported 4.1 percent, the United Kingdom (2 percent), and the United States (1 percent).

MONEY

Due to a lack of confidence in Burundi's national economy since the 1993 conflict, the Burundi franc (BFr) consistently declined in value against the U.S. dollar. In 1995, BFr249.76 bought US$1, while in 2000 a dollar was

the equivalent of BFr720.67. The decline in value of the Burundi franc meant that the average citizen was paying more and more in order to obtain even the most essential products. This process of inflation led to a rise in the price of consumer goods by 31 percent in 1997 and 17 percent in 1998. This meant that, in constant Burundi francs, the price of sugar rose from BFr230 in 1996 to BFr350 in 1999, and the price of petrol per liter rocketed from BFr165 to BFr350. In sum, inflation contributed considerably to the rise of extreme poverty between 1993 and 2000.

POVERTY AND WEALTH

With an annual average GDP per capita of US$730 in 1999, Burundi was one of the poorest countries in the world with 60 percent of the population living in conditions of extreme poverty. The vast majority of Burundians were farmers on small plots of land used for subsistence agriculture or for the cultivation of cash crops such as coffee and tea. The poorest 40 percent of the country controlled only 20 percent of the wealth, whereas the richest 40 percent controlled 63.7 percent. The government spent only 0.6 percent of its gross domestic product on health but 5.8 percent on military expenditures. The majority of Burundian citizens struggled to supply themselves and their families with even the most basic

health care, with only 6 doctors and 17 nurses per 100,000 people. The daily intake of calories for the average Burundian fell from 2,104 in 1970 to only 1,685 in 1997. Over the same period the daily supply of protein fell by 30.8 percent and the intake of fat by 26.7 percent.

WORKING CONDITIONS

In 1998, the minimum wage in Burundi for urban areas was US$0.37 a day and $0.24 a day for the rest of the country; this represents a considerable decline from the 1994 minimum wage of $0.63 and $0.42 respectively. Considering that inflation, nation-wide instability, and the economic embargo led to a dramatic price increase of consumer goods throughout the late 1990s, the decline of the minimum wage over the same period meant that Burundi's 4 million workers were having to pay more to survive with reduced means to do so. The very low level of organization and influence of trade unions and their division along ethnic and religious grounds meant that Burundi's workers lacked a sufficient mechanism to assert their rights against declining pay and poor working conditions.

The rate of illiteracy in Burundi gradually improved through the 1980s and 1990s. In 1985 illiteracy amongst the population aged 15 and above was 68 percent. By 1997 this had been reduced to 55 percent, but this was still 13 percent below the African average. This level of illiteracy worsened due to the civil war, which helped to reduce the level of primary school enrollment from 73 percent in 1990 to 54.2 percent in 1998. In addition, it will be difficult for a government with such limited revenue to provide sufficient education and vocational training for the large number of Burundi's youth. This has significant implications for the country's economic development as the labor force remains generally unskilled. The problem of an unskilled workforce will be accentuated by the AIDS epidemic, which hits the mature working sector the hardest.

COUNTRY HISTORY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1500s. Kingdom of Burundi is formed.

1885. Burundi is allocated to Germany at the Berlin Congress of European colonial powers.

1899. Burundi becomes a full military district of the German Empire.

1916. Belgium occupies Burundi in World War I.

1961. Prince Louis Rwagasore is elected president, and is assassinated less than 5 months later.

1961. Burundi gains independence and the ethnic violence begins.

1972. Massacre by the army and militias claims 200,000 lives and 150,000 Hutu flee the country.

1986. Burundi adopts a program of economic liberalization as prescribed by the IMF and World Bank.

1993. Assassination of democratically elected President Melchoir Ndadaye leads to civil war.

1996. Major Pierre Buyoya becomes president in a military coup.

FUTURE TRENDS

Even though Nelson Mandela and many others have attempted to assist Burundi's peace process it remains unlikely that a long-term solution will be found to the highly complex and tragic conflict in Burundi. This is in part due to the exclusion of certain Hutu militias from talks and the involvement of the Burundian army and Hutu militia groups in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. External donors such as the IMF, World Bank, and European Union are eager to provide aid to the country if it is able to properly adapt free market reforms and end the conflict. In fact, it seems likely that these donors will accept any kind of reform as an excuse to provide much needed capital in this devastated country whose crisis has negative effects on the region as a whole. If a suitable peace agreement can be reached the national economy will enjoy significant growth due to the input of promised external aid, the reconstruction of the national infrastructure, and increased economic stability.

DEPENDENCIES

Burundi has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Africa Institute. Africa A-Z: Continental and Country Profiles. Pretoria, Republic of South Africa: Africa Institute of South Africa, 1998.

Amnesty International. Burundi: Protecting Human Rights: An Intrinsic Part of the Search for Peace. London: Amnesty International, January 2000.

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). <http://www.comesa.int>. Accessed March 2001.

Economist Intelligence Unit. Country Report: Rwanda, Burundi. London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2000.

Human Rights Watch. Burundi: Neglecting Justice in Making Peace. New York: HRW, Volume 12, Number 2(A), April 2000.

International Monetary Fund. Burundi: Statistical Annex, IMF Staff Country Report No.99/8. Washington DC: IMF, February 1999.

International Monetary Fund. International Financial Statistics Yearbook 2000. Washington DC: IMF, 2000.

Jennings, C. Across the Red River: Rwanda, Burundi and the Heart of Darkness. London: Victor Gollancz, 2000.

Lemarchand, R. Burundi: Ethnic Conflict and Genocide. NewYork: Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1996.

Mazrui, A. M. "Ethnicity in Bondage: Is Its LiberationPremature?" in Ethnic Violence, Conflict Resolution, and Cultural Pluralism. Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), 1995.

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. <http://www.uneca.org>. Accessed March 2001.

United Nations, Statistical Yearbook, Forty-Third Issue, 1996. New York: United Nations, 1998.

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook 2000. <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html>. Accessed July 2001.

World Bank. World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty. New York: Oxford University Press 2000.

—Liam Campling

CAPITAL:

Bujumbura.

MONETARY UNIT:

Burundi Franc (BFr). The largest Burundian note in circulation is BFr5,000 and the smallest is BFr10. There are also BFr20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 notes. The only coins in circulation are BFr1, 5, and 10.

CHIEF EXPORTS:

Coffee, tea, cotton, cigarettes, soft drinks, and beer.

CHIEF IMPORTS:

Cement, asphalt, petroleum, fertilizer, pesticides, textiles, and vehicles.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:

US$885 million (purchasing power parity, 1998 est.). [Source: 2000 World Development Indicators. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2000.]

BALANCE OF TRADE:

Exports: US$56 million (1999 est.). Imports: US$108 million (1999 est.).

Burundi

Compiled from the July 2007 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:

Republic of Burundi

PROFILE

Geography

Location: Central Africa. Bordering nations—Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda.

Area: 27,830 sq. km. (10,747 sq. mi.); about the size of Maryland.

Cities: Capital—Bujumbura (pop. 300,000). Other cities—Cibitoke, Muyinga, Ngozi, Bubanza, Gitega, Bururi.

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).

Terrain: Hilly, rising from 780 meters (2,600 ft.) at the Shore of Lake Tanganyika to mountains more than 2,700 meters (9,000 ft.) above sea level.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective—Burundian(s).

Population: (July 2007 est.) 8,390,505.

Annual growth rate: (2007 est.) 3.593%.

Ethnic groups: (estimated) Hutu 85%; Tutsi 14%; Twa 1.0%.

Religions: (estimated) Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%.

Languages: Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area), English.

Education: Years compulsory—6. Attendance—84.05% male, 62.8% female. Literacy—51.6% of total adult population (2003 estimate).

Health: (2007 est.) Life expectancy—total population: 51.29 years; male: 50.48 years; female: 52.12 years. Infant mortality rate—61.93/1,000.

Government

Type: Republic. Democratically elected, post-transition government established August 26, 2005.

Independence: July 1, 1962 (from Belgium).

Constitution: A transitional constitution was adopted October 18, 2001. The parliament adopted a post-transition constitution on September 17, 2004, which was approved in a nation-wide referendum held February 28, 2005.

Government branches: Executive—President, First Vice President in charge of political and administrative affairs, Second Vice President in charge of social and economic affairs, 20-member Council of Ministers. Legislative—A 100-member directly elected National Assembly plus additional deputies appointed as necessary (currently 18 appointed) to ensure an ethnic and gender composition of 60% Hutu, 40% Tutsi, 30% female, and 3 Batwa members. A 54-member Senate (3 seats reserved for former presidents; 3 seats reserved for the ethnic Twa minority; 2 Senators, one Hutu and one Tutsi, from each of the 16 provinces plus the city of Bujumbura appointed by an electoral college comprised of members of locally elected communal and provincial councils; 14 Senators appointed by the president according to the president's own criteria. Women must comprise 30% of the Senate.) Judicial—constitutional and subsidiary courts.

Political subdivisions: 17 provinces including Bujumbura, 117 communes.

Political parties: Multi-party system consisting of 21 registered political parties, of which CNDD (the National Council for the Defense of Democracy, Hutu), FRODEBU (the Front for Democracy in Burundi, predominantly Hutu with some Tutsi membership), and UPRONA (the National Unity and Progress Party, predominantly Tutsi with some Hutu membership) are national, mainstream parties. Other Tutsi and Hutu opposition parties and groups include, among others, PARENA (the Party for National Redress, Tutsi), ABASA (the Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation, Tutsi), PRP

(the People's Reconciliation Party, Tutsi), PALIPEHUTU (the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People, Hutu) and FROLINA/FAP (the Front for the National Liberation of Burundi/Popular Armed Forces, Hutu).

Suffrage: Universal adult.

Economy

GDP: (2006 est.) $776 million.

Real growth rate: (2006) 3.8%.

Per capita GDP: (2004) $96; ($700 using purchasing power parity, 2006 est.).

Inflation rate: (2006) 11%.

Budget: (2006 est.) Revenues—$239.9 million; expenditures—$297 million, including capital expenditures.

Natural resources: Nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone.

Agriculture: (2006 est., 44.9% of GDP) Coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca), beef, milk, hides. Arable land—35.57% (2005 est.).

Industry: (2006 est., 20.9% of GDP) Types—beverage production, coffee and tea processing, cigarette production, sugar refining, pharmaceuticals, light food processing, textiles, chemicals (insecticides), public works construction, consumer goods, assembly of imported components, light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap.

Services: (2006 est.) 34.1% of GDP.

Mining: Commercial quantities of alluvial gold, nickel, phosphates, rare earth, vanadium, and other; peat mining.

Trade: (2006 est.) Exports—$55.68 million f.o.b.: coffee (50% of export earnings), tea, sugar, cotton fabrics, hides. Major markets—U.K., Germany, Benelux, Switzerland. Imports—$207.3 million f.o.b.: food, beverages, tobacco, chemicals, road vehicles, petroleum products. Major suppliers—Benelux, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan.

Total external debt: (2004 est.) $1.4 billion.

PEOPLE

At 206.1 persons per sq. km., Burundi has the second-largest population density in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most people live on farms near areas of fertile volcanic soil. The population is made up of three major ethnic groups—Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. Kirundi is the most widely spoken language; French and Kiswahili also are widely spoken. Intermarriage takes place frequently between the Hutus and Tutsis. Although Hutus encompass the majority of the population, historically Tutsis have been politically and economically dominant.

HISTORY

In the 16th century, Burundi was a kingdom characterized by a hierarchical political authority and tributary economic exchange. A king (mwani) headed a princely aristocracy (ganwa) that owned most of the land and required a tribute, or tax, from local farmers and herders. In the mid-18th century, this Tutsi royalty consolidated authority over land, production, and distribution with the development of the ubugabire—a patron-client relationship in which the populace received royal protection in exchange for tribute and land tenure.

Although European explorers and missionaries made brief visits to the area as early as 1856, it was not until 1899 that Burundi came under German East African administration. In 1916 Belgian troops occupied the area. In 1923, the League of Nations mandated to Belgium the territory of Ruanda-Urundi, encompassing modern-day Rwanda and Burundi. The Belgians administered the territory through indirect rule, building on the Tutsi-dominated aristocratic hierarchy. Following World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations Trust Territory under Belgian administrative authority. After 1948, Belgium permitted the emergence of competing political parties. Two political parties emerged: the Union for National Progress (UPRONA), a multi-ethnic party led by Tutsi Prince Louis Rwagasore and the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) supported by Belgium. In 1961, Prince Rwagas-ore was assassinated following an UPRONA victory in legislative elections.

Full independence was achieved on July 1, 1962. In the context of weak democratic institutions at independence, Tutsi King Mwambutsa IV established a constitutional monarchy comprising equal numbers of Hutus and Tutsis. The 1965 assassination of the Hutu prime minister set in motion a series of destabilizing Hutu revolts and subsequent governmental repression. In 1966, King Mwambutsa was deposed by his son, Prince Ntare IV, who himself was deposed the same year by a military coup lead by Capt. Michel Micomb-ero. Micombero abolished the monarchy and declared a republic, although a de facto military regime emerged. In 1972, an aborted Hutu rebellion triggered the flight of hundreds of thousands of Burundians. Civil unrest continued throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In 1976, Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza took power in a bloodless coup. Although Bagaza led a Tutsi-dominated military regime, he encouraged land reform, electoral reform, and national reconciliation. In 1981, a new constitution was promulgated. In 1984, Bagaza was elected head of state, as the sole candidate. After his election, Bagaza's human rights record deteriorated as he suppressed religious activities and detained political opposition members.

In 1987, Maj. Pierre Buyoya overthrew Colonel Bagaza. He dissolved opposition parties, suspended the 1981 constitution, and instituted his ruling Military Committee for National Salvation (CSMN). During 1988, increasing tensions between the ruling Tutsis and the majority Hutus resulted in violent confrontations between the army, the Hutu opposition, and Tutsi hardliners. During this period, an estimated 150,000 people were killed, with tens of thousands of refugees flowing to neighboring countries. Buyoya formed a commission to investigate the causes of the 1988 unrest and to develop a charter for democratic reform.

In 1991, Buyoya approved a constitution that provided for a president, multi-ethnic government, and a parliament. Burundi's first Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye, of the Hutu-dominated FRODEBU Party, was elected in 1993. He was assassinated by factions of the Tutsi-dominated armed forces in October 1993. The country was then plunged into civil war, which killed tens of thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands by the time the FRODEBU government regained control and elected Cyprien Ntaryamira president in January 1994. Nonetheless, the security situation continued to deteriorate. In April 1994, President Ntayamira and Rwandan President Juvenal Habya-rimana died in a plane crash. This act marked the beginning of the Rwandan genocide, while in Burundi, the death of Ntaryamira exacerbated the violence and unrest. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya was installed as president for a 4-year term on April 8, but the security situation further deteriorated. The influx of hundreds of thousands of Rwandan refugees and the activities of armed Hutu and Tutsi groups further destabilized the regime.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

In November 1995, the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) announced a regional initiative for a negotiated peace in Burundi facilitated by former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. In July 1996, former Burundian President Buyoya returned to power in a bloodless coup. He declared himself president of a transitional republic, even as he suspended the National Assembly, banned opposition groups, and imposed a nationwide curfew. Widespread condemnation of the coup

ensued, and regional countries imposed economic sanctions pending a return to a constitutional government. Buyoya agreed in 1996 to liberalize political parties. Nonetheless, fighting between the army and Hutu militias continued. In June 1998, Buyoya promulgated a transitional constitution and announced a partnership between the government and the opposition-led National Assembly. After Facilitator Julius Nyerere's death in October 1999, the regional leaders appointed Nelson Mandela as Facilitator of the Arusha peace process. Under Mandela the faltering peace process was revived, leading to the signing of the Arusha Accords in August 2000 by representatives of the principal Hutu (G-7) and Tutsi (G-10) political parties, the government, and the National Assembly. However, the FDD and FNL armed factions of the CNDD and Palipehutu G-7 parties refused to accept the Arusha Accords, and the armed rebellion continued.

In November 2001, a 3-year transitional government was established under the leadership of Pierre Buy-oya (representing the G-10) as transitional president and Domitien Ndayizeye (representing the G-7) as transitional vice president for an initial period of 18 months. In May 2003, Mr. Ndayizeye assumed the presidency for 18 months with Alphonse Marie Kadege as vice president. In October and November 2003 the Burundian Government and the former rebel group the CNDD-FDD signed cease-fire and power-sharing agreements, and in March 2004 members of the CNDD-FDD took offices in the government and parliament. The World Bank and other bilateral donors have provided financing for Burundi's disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program for former rebel combatants.

National and regional mediation efforts failed to reach a compromise on post-transition power-sharing arrangements between the predominantly Hutu and Tutsi political parties, and in September 2004 over two-thirds of the parliament—despite a boycott by the Tutsi parties—approved a post-transition constitution. The Arusha Peace Agreement called for local and national elections to be held before the conclusion of the transitional period on October 31, 2004.

On October 20, 2004, however, a joint session of the National Assembly and Senate adopted a previously approved draft constitution as an interim constitution that provides for an extension of transitional institutions until elections are held. On February 28, 2005, Burundians overwhelmingly approved a post-transitional constitution in a popular referendum, setting the stage for local and national elections. In April 2005, Burundi's transitional government was again extended and an electoral calendar was established at a regional summit held in Uganda.

In accordance with the new electoral calendar, the Burundian people voted in Commune Council direct elections on June 3, 2005 and National Assembly direct elections on July 4, 2005. An electoral college of commune and provincial councils indirectly elected Senate members on July 29, 2005. A joint session of the parliament elected Pierre Nkurunziza as President of Burundi on August 19, 2005 in a vote of 151 to 9 with one abstention, establishing the post-transition government. Finally, the Burundian people established Colline (hill) councils through direct elections on September 23, 2005.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 2/1/2008

Pres.: Pierre NKURUNZIZA

First Vice Pres.: Yves SAHINGUVU, Dr.

Second Vice Pres.: Gabriel NTISEZERANA

Min. of Agriculture & Livestock: Ferdinand NDERAGAKURA

Min. of Civil Service, Labor, & Social Security: Clotilde NIRAGIRA

Min. of Environment, Territorial Development, & Public Works: Anatole KANYENKIKO

Min. of External Relations & Cooperation: Antoinette BATUMUBWIRA

Min. of Finance, Economy, Cooperation, & Development: Clotilde NIZIGAMA

Min. of Health: Emmanuel GIKORO, Dr.

Min. of Information, Communication, & Relations With Parliament & Govt. Spokesman: Hafsa MOSSI

Min. of Interior & Communal

Development: Venant KAMANA

Min. of Justice & Keeper of the Seals: Jean-Bosco NDIKUMANA

Min. of National Defense & War Veterans: Germain NIYOYANKANA, Lt. Gen.

Min. of National Education & Scientific Research: Saidi KIBEYA

Min. of National Solidarity, Repatriation, National Reconstruction, Human Rights, & Gender: Immaculee NAHAYO

Min. of Public Security: Alain Guillaumme BUNYONI

Min. of Regional Integration: Venerand BAKEVYUMUSAYA

Min. of Trade, Industry, & Tourism: Euphrasie BIGIRIMANA

Min. of Transport, Posts, & Telecommunications: Philippe NJONI

Min. of Water, Energy, & Mines: Samuel NDAYIRAGIJE

Min. of Youth, Sports & Culture: Jean-Jacques NYENIMIGABO

Min. in the Office of the Pres. in Charge of AIDS: Bonhima BARNABE, Dr.

Min. in the Office of the Pres. in Charge of Good Governance, Privatization, & General Inspection of the State & Local Admin.: Martin NIVYABANDI

Governor, Central Bank: Jean Isaac BIZIMANA

Ambassador to the US: Celestin NIYONGABO

Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Joseph NTAKIRUTIMANA

Burundi maintains an embassy in the United States at Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20007 (tel. 202-342-2574).

ECONOMY

The mainstay of the Burundian economy is agriculture, accounting for 44.9% of GDP in 2006. Agriculture supports more than 90% of the labor force, the majority of whom are subsistence farmers. Although Burundi is potentially self-sufficient in food production, the civil war, overpopulation, and soil erosion have contributed to the contraction of the subsistence economy by 30% in recent years. Large numbers of internally displaced persons have been unable to produce their own food and are dependent on international humanitarian assistance. Burundi is a net food importer, with food accounting for 13% of imports in 2003.

The main cash crop is coffee, which accounted for some 50% of exports in 2003. This dependence on coffee has increased Burundi's vulnerability to fluctuations in seasonal yields and international coffee prices. Coffee processing is the largest state-owned enterprise in terms of income. Although the government has tried to attract private investment to this sector, plans for the privatization of this sector have stalled. Efforts to privatize other publicly held enterprises have likewise stalled. Other principal exports include tea, sugar, and raw cotton. Coffee production, after a severe drop in 2003, returned to normal levels in 2004. Revenues from coffee production and exports are likewise estimated to return to pre-2003 levels.

Little industry exists except the processing of agricultural exports. Although potential wealth in petroleum, nickel, copper, and other natural resources is being explored, the uncertain security situation has prevented meaningful investor interest. Industrial development also is hampered by Burundi's distance from the sea and high transport costs. Lake Tanganyika remains an important trading point.

Burundi is heavily dependent on bilateral and multilateral aid, with external debt totaling $1.4 billion in 2004. IMF structural adjustment programs in Burundi were suspended following the outbreak of violence in 1993; the IMF re-engaged Burundi in 2002 and 2003 with post-conflict credits, and in 2004 approved a $104 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility loan. The World Bank is preparing a Transition Support Strategy, and has identified key areas for potential growth, including the productivity of traditional crops and the introduction of new exports, light manufactures, industrial mining, and services. Both the IMF and the World Bank are assisting the Burundians to prepare a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Serious economic problems include the state's role in the economy, the question of governmental transparency, and debt reduction. Based on Burundi's successful transition from war to peace and the establishment of a democratically elected government in Burundi in September 2005, the United States Government lifted all sanctions on assistance to Burundi on October 18, 2005. Burundi also became eligible for trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act in December 2005.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Burundi's relations with its neighbors have often been affected by security concerns. Hundreds of thousands of Burundian refugees have at various times crossed into Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians fled to neighboring countries during the civil war. Most of them, more than 750,000 since 1993, are in Tanzania. Burundi maintains close relations with all neighbors in the Great Lakes region, including Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Burundi is a member of various international and regional organizations, including the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the African Union, the African Development Bank, COMESA, the free-tariff zone of eastern and southern Africa, and the East Africa Community (EAC).

U.S.-BURUNDI RELATIONS

U.S. Government goals in Burundi are to help the people of Burundi realize a just and lasting peace based upon democratic principles and sustainable economic development. The United States encourages political stability, ongoing democratic reforms, political openness, respect for human rights, and economic development in Burundi. In the long term, the United States seeks to strengthen the process of internal reconciliation and democratization within all the states of the region to promote a stable, democratic community of nations that will work toward mutual social, economic, and security interests on the continent.

The United States supported the Arusha peace process, providing financial support through our assessed contributions to a UN peacekeeping force established in 2004.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Last Updated: 2/19/2008

BUJUMBURA (E) Avenue des Etats-Unis, 257-22-22 34 54, Fax 257-22-22 29 26, INMARSAT Tel iridium: 8816-3148-8141/7138, Workweek: 5 days–Mon–Thu 7:30-5:30–Fri–7:30–12:30, Website: http://bujumbura.usembassy.gov.

State ICASS: George Lawson

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet

July 18, 2007

Country Description: Burundi is a small, inland African nation that entered a period of instability following the assassination of its first democratically elected president in 1993. Relatively peaceful democratic elections were held in 2005. While the potential for future violent incidents remains, Burundi has been in a state of relative calm since July 2006. Facilities for tourism, particularly outside the capital, are limited.

Entry Requirements: A passport, visa, and evidence of immunization against yellow fever are required for entry. Only those travelers resident in countries where there is no Burundian embassy are eligible for a visa upon arrival at the airport. Travelers without a visa are not permitted to leave the country. The latest information about visas may be obtained from the Embassy of the Republic of Burundi, Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007, telephone (202) 342-2574, or from the Permanent Mission of Burundi to the United Nations in New York at tele-phone (212) 499-0001 thru 0006. Visit the Embassy of Burundi's web site at www.burundiembassy-usa.org/ for the most current visa information.

Safety and Security: The Department of State continues to caution U.S. citizens traveling to Burundi. Burundi was plagued by a civil war from 1993-2006 that often involved non-government, non-combatant targets. In April 2006, the Burundian government lifted the curfew within Bujumbura that had been in effect for decades. In September 2006, the government and the last remaining hold-out rebel group from the peace process, the PALIPEHUTU—FNL, signed a cease-fire agreement. While many of the cease-fire provisions have not been implemented and the rebels still retain the capability to conduct indirect fire attacks on the capital, Bujumbura has remained free of attacks since July 2006. Rebels are still present throughout Bujumbura Rural, which surrounds the capital city. Crime, often committed by groups of armed bandits, poses the highest risk for foreign visitors to Bujumbura and Burundi in general. Common crimes include muggings, burglaries, and carjackings. Armed criminals often ambush vehicles, particularly on the roads leading out of Bujumbura. Due to insufficient resources, local authorities in any part of Burundi are often unable to provide timely assistance in case of need.

Crime: Crime poses a high risk for visitors throughout Bujumbura and Burundi in general. Street crimes include mugging, purse-snatching, pick pocketing, burglary, automobile break-ins and carjacking. Many criminal incidents involve armed attackers. U.S. Government personnel are restricted from walking on the streets during the hours of darkness and using local public transportation. Criminals in Bujumbura operate in pairs or in small groups involving six or more individuals. Foreigners, whether in vehicles or at home, are always a potential target of crime. Americans should exercise common sense judgment and take the same precautions as one would in any major city.

Information for Victims of Crime: The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, contact family members or friends and explain how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and provide a list of local attorneys if needed.

Medical Facilities and Health Information: There are no medical facilities with Western standards of care in Burundi. Travelers should carry an ample supply of properly labeled prescription drugs and other medications with them, as certain medications and prescription drugs are in short supply, if not completely unavailable. Sterility of equipment is questionable, and treatment is unreliable. Hospital care should only be utilized in only the most serious cases.

Malaria prophylaxis is recommended for travel to all parts of Burundi. Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747) or via the CDC's internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization's (WHO) website at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation. The embassy does not provide medical evacuation coverage to American citizens.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Burundi is provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

While travel by road is generally safe during the day, travelers must maintain constant vigilance. There have been regular reports of attacks on vehicles throughout the country. U.S. Government personnel are required to travel upcountry via two-vehicle convoy and have their trips pre-approved by the Regional Security Officer. The Embassy recommends that Americans not travel on the national highways from dusk to dawn. Drivers without drivers’ licenses, and the ease with which a driver's license can be acquired without training, make Burundian drivers less than careful, considerate, or predictable.

There are no traffic signals in Bujumbura, and virtually nothing of the kind elsewhere in the country. Roadways are not marked, and the lack of streetlights or shoulders make driving in the countryside at night especially dangerous. Additionally, drivers may encounter cyclists, pedestrians, and livestock in the roadway, including in and around the capital, Bujumbura. Mini-vans used as buses for 18 persons should be given a wide berth as they start and stop abruptly, often without pulling to the side of the road.

Big holes or damaged portions of roadway may be encountered anywhere in the country, including in and around the capital; when driving in the countryside, it is recommended that travelers carry multiple spare tires. Service stations are rare outside of major cities. During the rainy season, many side roads are passable only with four-wheel drive vehicles.

Third-party insurance is required, and it will cover any damages (property, injury, or death). If you are found to have caused an accident, you automatically will be fined 10,000 Burundian francs (approximately $10 U.S.) and your driver's license will be confiscated until the police investigation is completed. Although the law provides for the arrest of drunk drivers, in practice, the police do not consider drunk driving a crime.

In the city of Bujumbura, the number for police assistance is 22-22-37-77; there is no comparable number outside the capital. If you are involved in an accident causing death, it is advised that you leave the scene of the accident and proceed to the nearest police station. In most cases, other drivers will assist you. Ambulance assistance is non-existent.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service between the United States and Burundi, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed Burundi's Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards. For more information, travelers may visit the FAA's Internet web site at http://www.faa.gov.

Special Circumstances: There are no ATMs located in the country and most Burundian hotels and businesses do not accept credit cards. Many hotels in Bujumbura accept payment in U.S. dollars or Euros only from non-Burundians. Travelers should be aware that Burundian banking practices prohibit acceptance of U. S. currency printed before the year 2003.

The Embassy recommends that visitors do not photograph airports, military installations, or other government buildings, and obtain permission from an individual before taking his/her photograph.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country's laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating Burundian laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Burundi are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime, prosecutable in the United States.

Children's Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, see the Office of Children's Issues website at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Registration and Embassy Locations: Americans who travel to, or remain in, Burundi are urged to contact the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura for information on the Embassy's current security policies, including areas that are off-limits to U.S. Government personnel for security reasons, and to register at the State Department's travel registration web site. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy to contact them in case of emergency. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura at Avenue des Etats-Unis, telephone (257) 22-22-34-54, fax (257) 22-22-29-26. Updated information on travel and security in Burundi is available at 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada, and for callers from other countries, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. For further information, consult the Country Specific Information for Burundi and the current Worldwide Caution Travel Alert, available on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov. The Embassy's Internet web site is http://bujumbura.usembassy.gov

Travel Warning

December 10, 2007

This Travel Warning is being reissued to provide updated security information on the situation in Burundi and to remind Americans of precautions to take while traveling in Burundi. Adult dependents of U.S. Embassy personnel in Burundi were authorized to return to Burundi in June 2006. In December 2007, all dependents were authorized to return. This supersedes the Travel Warning of August 9, 2007.

The Department of State continues to caution U.S. citizens traveling to Burundi. Burundi was plagued by a civil war from 1993 to 2006 that often involved non-government, non-combatant targets. In September 2006, the government and the last remaining hold-out rebel group from the peace process, the PALIPEHUTU-FNL, signed a cease-fire agreement. While many of the cease-fire provisions have not been implemented and the rebels still retain the capability to conduct indirect fire attacks on the capital, Bujumbura has remained free of attacks since July 2006. Rebels are still present throughout Bujumbura Rural, which surrounds the capital city.

Crime, often committed by groups of armed bandits or street children, poses the highest risk for foreign visitors to Bujumbura and Burundi in general. Common crimes include muggings, burglaries, robberies, and carjackings. Visitors should be careful when stopped in heavy traffic due to the threat of robbery by roving bands of criminals. The U.S. Embassy has received reports of armed criminals ambushing vehicles, particularly on the roads leading out of Bujumbura. U.S. Government personnel are restricted from walking on the streets during hours of darkness, and prohibited from using local public transportation. Due to insufficient resources, local authorities in any part of Burundi are often unable to provide timely assistance in case of need.

Adult dependents of U.S. Embassy personnel in Burundi were authorized to return to Burundi in June 2006, and all dependents, including minors, were authorized to return in December 2007. Nonetheless, Embassy employees are still subject to certain travel restrictions. Certain areas of the capital of Bujumbura are off-limits to Embassy personnel. In addition, the Embassy's Regional Security Officer must pre-approve all travel outside the capital by U.S. Embassy personnel, and employees must travel in two-vehicle convoys. The Embassy recommends that Americans not travel on national highways from dusk to dawn.

Americans who travel to, or remain in, Burundi despite this travel warning are urged to contact the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura for information on the latest Embassy security guidelines, and to register at the State Department's travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy to contact them in case of emergency. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura at Avenue des Etats-Unis, telephone (257) 22-22-34-54, fax (257) 22-22-29-26. For further information, consult the Country Specific Information for Burundi and the current Worldwide Caution Travel Alert, available on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet website at http://travel.state.gov. Updated information on travel and security in Burundi is available at 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. and Canada, and for callers in other countries, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.