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.).