Burundi

Wealth and National Well-Being

According to the World Factbook, "Government corruption is also hindering the development of a healthy private sector as companies seek to navigate an environment with ever-changing rules." The Factbook describes Burundi as "heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors.

Country Comparisons:
2010: see chart (lower-middle)

Factbook: "Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with more than 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices."

Exports in small amounts: coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides.

People

Migration
2010: More arriving than leaving. A net gain of 4.06 persons per 1,000 population.
2007: More arriving than leaving. A net gain of 7.13 persons per 1,000 population, many from Zimbabwe.

Education
In early 2005 only one in two children were going to school. In August 2005 the new chief of state, Pierre Nkurunziza, a born again Christian, abolished fees for schooling. Many Burundians had not been able to afford those fees. Parents were eager to have their children educated, and now schools are overwhelmed by the numbers of children.

Geography

Central Africa, landlocked, smaller than Maryland, hilly, mountainous with some plains.

Government

In November 2003, after ten years of conflict in Burundi, the Force for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) opted for peace and elections, and in early 2005 their candidates won elections to both houses of Parliament: the Senate and National Assembly. In August, 2005, parliament elected the leader of the FDD, Pierre Nkurunziza, a Hutu and born against Christian as chief of state.