1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
28,490 km2 ; about 37% arable (about 66% cultivated), 23% pasture, 10% scrub and forest, 30% other
Land boundaries
974 km
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
Africans—85% Hutu (Bantu), 14% Tutsi (Hamitic), 1% Twa (Pigmy); other Africans include around 70,000 refugees, mostly Rwandans and Zairians; non-Africans include about 3,000 Europeans and 2,000 South Asians
Labor force
about 2 million (1976 est.); most engaged in subsistence agriculture
Language
Kirundi and French (official); Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
Literacy
about 15% in Kirundi, 3% in French, no serviceable estimate for Kiswahili
Nationality
noun—Burundian(s); adjective—Burundi
Organized labor
sole group is the Union of Burundi Workers (UTB); by charter, membership is extended to all Burundi workers (informally); figures denoting "active membership" have been unobtainable
Population
4,438,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.7%
Religion
about 60% Christian (53% Catholic, 7% Protestant); rest mostly animist plus perhaps 2% Muslim
Government
Branches
executive (President and Cabinet offices); judicial; National Assembly to be convened in 1982
Capital
Bujumbura
Communists
no Communist party; resumed diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in October 1971 following a six-year suspension; USSR, North Korea, and Romania also have diplomatic missions in Burundi
Elections
new constitution approved by national referendum in November 1981; elections to National Assembly planned for 1982 Political parties and leaders: National Party of Unity and Progress (UPRONA), a Tutsi-led party, declared sole legitimate party in 1966; Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza
Government leader
Col. Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA, President and Head of State
Legal system
based on German and French civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Member of
AFDB, EAMA, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 1 July
Official name
Republic of Burundi
Political subdivisions
8 provinces, subdivided into 18 arrondissements and 78 communes
Suffrage
universal
Type
republic; presidential system; military leaders hold key positions; previous military government overthrown in military coup in 1976
Economy
Agriculture
major cash crops—coffee, cotton, tea; main food crops—manioc, yams, corn, sorghum, bananas, haricot beans; marginally self-sufficient
Budget
(1979) revenue $113.3 million, current expenditure $38.0 million, development expenditure $38.0 million
Electric power
17,000 kW capacity (diesel generator 1980); 2 million kWh produced (1980), 35 million kWh imported from Zaire, .05 kWh per capita
Exports
$90 million (f.o.b., 1979); coffee (90%), tea, cotton, hides, skins
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
about $614.0 million (1978), $140 per capita; 2.0% real growth (1970-74); real GDP growth in 1976, 7.8%
Imports
$102 million (c.i.f., 1979); textiles, foodstuffs, transport equipment, petroleum products
Industries
light consumer goods such as beverages, blankets, shoes, soap, assembly of imports
Major trade partners
US, EEC countries
Monetary conversion rate
90 Burundi francs=US$1 (official)
Communications
Airfields
8 total, 7 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m
Civil air
4 major transport aircraft
Highways
7,800 km total; 300 km bituminous, 2,500 km crushed stone, gravel, or laterite, and 3,000 km improved earth,and 2,000 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways
Lake Tanganyika navigable for lake steamers and barges; 1 lake port
Railroads
none
Telecommunications
sparse system of wire and low-capacity radio-relay links; about 6,000 telephones (0.1 per 100 pop].); 2 AM and 2 FM stations; no TV stations; INTELSAT satellite ground station
Military and Security
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 31 December 1980, $35.5 million; about 21.8% of central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 1,003,000; 521,000 fit for military service; 50,000 reach military age (16) annually