November 2003

Background Note: Burundi

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:

Republic of Burundi

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 economic 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. 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 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

President – Domitien Ndayizeye Vice President – Alphonse Marie Kadege Speaker of the National Assembly – Jean Minani

President of the Senate – Libere Bararunyeretse Minister of Defense – Vincent Niyungeko Minister of External Relations and Cooperation – Terence Sinunguruza Minister of Internal Affairs and Public Security – Salvator Ntihabose Ambassador to the United States – Antoine Ntamobwa Ambassador to the United Nations – Marc Nteturuye

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.

Copyright © 2004