Burundi ( Urundi) is a country in Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo. Burundi geographic coordinates 3 30 S, 30 00 E; area 25,650 sq km; area comparative slightly smaller than Maryland; land boundaries Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km; coastline 0 km (landlocked); maritime claims none (landlocked); climate equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); av; terrain hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains; elevation extremes Heha 2,670 m; natural resources nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone; land use 50.93% (2001); irrigated land 740 sq km (1998 est.); natural hazards flooding, landslides, drought; environment current issues soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations; environment international agreements Law of the Sea; geography note landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile;

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Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only one hundred days in office. Since then, some 200,000 Burundians have perished in widespread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. Hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced or have become refugees in neighboring countries. Burundi troops, seeking to secure their borders, briefly intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. A new transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001, signed a power-sharing agreement with the largest rebel faction in December 2003 and set in place a provisional constitution in October 2004. Implementation of the agreement has been problematic, however, as one remaining rebel group refuses to sign on and elections have been repeatedly delayed, clouding prospects for a sustainable peace. government type republic; capital Bujumbura; administrative divisions 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi; independence 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration); national holiday Independence Day, 1 July (1962); constitution 13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political system; supplanted on 20 October 2004 by a provisional constitution approved by the pa; legal system based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; suffrage NA years of age; universal adult;

people

Burundi population 6,370,609 estimates for this country explicit; age structure 2.6% (male 66,199/female 102,466) (2005 est.); median age 16.95 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 2.22% (2005 est.); birth rate 39.66 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 17.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.); sex ratio 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 75.87 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 44.12 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 5.81 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate 6% (2003 est.); hiv people with aids 250,000 (2003 est.); hiv deaths 25,000 (2003 est.); major infectious diseases malaria (2004); nationality Burundian; ethnic groups Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000; religions 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); literacy 45.2% (2003 est.);

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