Everything about Burundi totally explained
Burundi, officially the
Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the
Great Lakes region of
Africa. It is bordered by
Rwanda on the north,
Tanzania on the south and east, and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west. Although the country is
landlocked, much of its western border is adjacent to
Lake Tanganyika. The country's modern name is derived from its
Bantu language,
Kirundi.
Geographically isolated, facing population pressures and having sparse resources, Burundi has the lowest GDP per capita in the world, arguably making it the poorest country on the planet. One scientific study of 178 nations rated Burundi's population as having the lowest
satisfaction with life of all.
History
The earliest inhabitants of the area were the pygmoid
Twa. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu (Hutu) tribes during
Bantu migrations.
Burundi existed as an independent
kingdom from the
sixteenth century. In 1903, it became a
German colony and passed to
Belgium in
World War I. It was part of the Belgian
League of Nations mandate of
Ruanda-Urundi in 1923, later a
United Nations Trust Territory under Belgian administrative authority following
World War II.
The origins of Burundi monarchy are veiled in myth. According to some legends, Ntare Rushatsi, founder of the original dynasty, came to Burundi from Rwanda in seventeenth century; other, more reliable sources, suggest that Ntare came from Buha, in the south-east, and laid the foundation for his kingdom in the Nkoma region.
Until the downfall of the monarchy in 1966, kingship remained one of the last links that bound Burundi with its past.
From independence in 1962, until the elections of 1993, Burundi was controlled by a series of military dictators. These years saw extensive ethnic violence. In 1965 Hutu extremists attempted to wipe out ethnic Tutsi at Busangana in the central province of Muramvya. In 1972, 1988, and 1993, the Tutsi minority was victim of a genocide at the hands of Hutu extremist organisations such as UBU (Umugambwe w'Abakozi b'Uburundi or Burundi Workers Party), PALIPEHUTU, FRODEBU, and more recently the now ruling CNDD-FDD. In 1993 Burundi held democratic presidential elections which were won by the Hutu-dominated
Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU). FRODEBU leader
Melchior Ndadaye became Burundi's first Hutu President, but a few months later he was assassinated by a group of Tutsi army officers. The killing was a pretense for the ruling party FRODEBU to start a new genocide against the Tutsi minority.
Hutu extremists massacred thousands of Tutsi civilians. Years of instability followed until 1996, when former president
Pierre Buyoya took power in a coup. In August 2000, a peace deal was agreed by most of Burundi's political groups. Unfortunately, it made no distinction between political parties and genocidal forces, as both were allowed to play a role in the national institutions. The deal laid out a timetable for the restoration of democracy. After several more years of genocide against the Tutsi minority, a cease-fire was signed in 2003 between the government and the largest
Hutu rebel group, CNDD-FDD. In April of that year, FRODEBU leader
Domitien Ndayizeye had replaced Buyoya as President. Yet the most extreme Hutu group, PALIPEHUTU-FNL (commonly known as "FNL"), continued to refuse negotiations. In August 2004, the group massacred 152 Congolese Tutsi refugees at the
Gatumba refugee camp in western Burundi. In response to the attack, the Burundian government issued arrest warrants for the FNL leaders Agathon Rwasa and Pasteur Habimana, and declared the group a terrorist organisation. However, the arrest warrants were never effected. On the contrary, a few months later, the UN representative to Burundi went to meet the two men in Nairobi, Kenya.
In May 2005, a cease-fire was finally agreed between the FNL and the Burundian government, but fighting continued. Renewed negotiations are now under way, amid fears that the FNL will demand a blanket amnesty in exchange for laying down their arms. A series of
elections, held in mid-2005 were won by the former
Hutu rebel
National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD). On
September 7,
2006, a second ceasefire agreement was signed but as of November 2007 the British government were still advising against travel to Burundi due to "increased tension" as the "implementation of the agreement" has stalled.
Politics
The politics of Burundi take place in a framework of a transitional
presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the
President of Burundi is both
head of state and
head of government, and of a
multi-party system.
Executive power is exercised by the government.
Legislative power is vested in both the
government and the two chambers of parliament, the
Senate and the
National Assembly.
The President has officially called a cease-fire between the two warring parties in the civil war.
Decades of ethnic violence makes the achievement of political and social harmony difficult, as is evident in the
reports of seminars of ministers of religion and teachers on the prospects for a 'nonkilling society'
conducted in 2005-2006 by
Fondation chirezi.
Provinces, communes, and collines
Burundi is divided into 17
provinces, 117
communes, and 2,638
collines.
The provinces are:
Geography
Burundi is a
landlocked country with an equatorial climate. Called "
The heart of Africa" it lies on a rolling
plateau, with
Lake Tanganyika in its south west corner. The average elevation of the central plateau is, with lower elevations at the borders. The highest peak,
Mount Karonje, at , lies to the southeast of the capital, Bujumbura. The southeastern and southern borders are at roughly 4,500 feet (1,370 m). A strip of land along the
Ruzizi River, north of Lake Tanganyika, is the only area below 3,000 feet (915 m): this area forms part of the
Albertine Rift, the western extension of the
Great Rift Valley.
The land is mostly
agricultural or
pasture, the creation of which has led to
deforestation,
soil erosion and
habitat loss. Deforestation of the entire country is almost complete due to
overpopulation, with a mere remaining and an ongoing loss of about nine percent per annum. There are two
national parks,
Kibira National Park to the northwest (a small region of
montane rainforest, adjacent to
Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda),
Rurubu National Park to the north east (along the
Rurubu River, also known as Ruvubu or Ruvuvu).
The farthest headstream of the
Nile is in Burundi. Although
Lake Victoria is commonly considered to be the source of the Nile, the
Kagera River flows for 429
miles (690 km) before reaching Lake Victoria. The source of the
Ruvyironza River, an upper branch of the Kagera River, is at
Mount Kikizi in Burundi.
Economy
Burundi's largest industry is
agriculture, which accounted for 58% of GDP in 1997.
Coffee is the nation's biggest revenue earner with 78% of all exported goods. Other agriculture products include
cotton,
tea,
maize,
sorghum,
sweet potatoes,
bananas (of which Burundi is one of the world's ten largest producers),
manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, and hides. Besides agriculture, other industries include light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing. The currency is the
Burundian franc (BIF).
Burundi is the poorest country in the world, in terms of GDP per capita:
US$90 as of 2007. The economy is supported by foreign aid from Western Europe and other parts of the world. In 2000 this amount reached
US$92.7 million. 68% of the population lived below the poverty line in 2002. The country's estimated gross domestic product (GDP) was US$700 million in 2001. According to the
World Food Programme, the majority of children aged under 5 (56.8%) suffer from chronic
malnutrition.
(External Link)
Demographics
As of July 2006, Burundi was projected to have an estimated population of 8,090,068, approximately half of whom are aged 14 or less. This estimate explicitly takes into account the effects of
AIDS, which has a significant effect on the demographics of the country. Roughly 85% of the
population are of
Hutu ethnic origin; most of the remaining population are
Tutsi, with a minority of
Twa (
Pygmy), and a few thousand Europeans and South Asians. The population density of around 315 people per square kilometre (753/sq mi) is the second highest in
Sub-Saharan Africa, behind only Rwanda. The Twa are thought to be the original inhabitants of the area, with Hutu and then Tutsi settlers arriving in the 1300s and 1400s respectively.
The largest religion is
Roman Catholicism (62%), followed by indigenous beliefs (23%) and a minority of
Protestants (5%) and
Muslims (10%). However, The Anglican Church of Burundi
(External Link) claims over 10% of the population as members and recent reports indicate the Christian population may be as high as 90% with most of the remainder being Muslim.
(External Link). Care should therefore be taken with these statistics.
The official languages are
Kirundi and
French, although
Swahili is spoken along the eastern border.
Culture
The culture of Burundi is based on local tradition and the influence of its neighbors, though its prominence has been hindered by the
civil unrest. Most Burundians live in rural areas as extended families in hilltop compounds called
rugos.
Arranged marriages are not uncommon, with the groom’s family sometimes paying a
bride price. City residents often take a
siesta, and most businesses will be closed in the early afternoon.
Traditional drumming is an important part of Burundian cultural heritage, as indicated by the world-famous
Royal Drummers of Burundi. Traditional dance often accompanies the drumming, which is frequently seen in celebrations and family gatherings. Burundians also adhere to a strong
oral tradition which relays history and life lessons through storytelling, poetry, and song. Cattle herders engage in
kivivuga amazina, an improvisational poetry contest in which they boast their abilities or accomplishments.
Football is a popular pastime throughout the country, as are
mancala games.
Cricket is becoming increasingly popular at grassroots level and is the most popular youth sport. Many Burundians celebrate Christian holidays and Burundian Independence Day, though the largest celebration occurs on
New Year’s Day with feasting and traditional drumming and dancing.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Burundi'.
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