Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Established in the 1600s, the Burundi Kingdom has had borders similar to those of modern Burundi since the 1800s. Burundi’s two major ethnic groups, the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi, share a common language and culture and largely lived in peaceful cohabitation under Tutsi monarchs in pre-colonial Burundi. Regional, class, and clan distinctions contributed to social status in the Burundi Kingdom, yielding a complex class structure. German colonial rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and Belgian rule after World War I preserved Burundi’s monarchy.
- Capital
- Gitega (political capital), Bujumbura (commercial capital)
- Government
- presidential republic
- Population
- 13,590,102
- Area
- 27,830 sq km
- Location
- Central Africa, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, west of Tanzania
- Climate
- equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level);
- Natural resources
- nickel; uranium; rare earth oxides; peat; cobalt; copper…
- Languages
- Kirundi (official); French (official); English (official; least spoken)…
- Religions
- Christian 93.9% (Roman Catholic 58.6%; Protestant 35.3% [includes Adventist 2.7% and other Protestant religions 32.6%]); Muslim 3.4%; other 1.3%…
- Independence
- 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
- Administrative divisions
- 5 provinces: Buhumuza, Bujumbura, Burunga, Butanyerera, Gitega
- Currency
- Burundi francs (BIF)
- Export partners
- UAE 59%; Uganda 8%; China 5%; Germany 5%…
- Import partners
- Tanzania 26%; China 15%; Uganda 10%; Kenya 10%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain