Country Flag of Burundi Map of Burundi, Courtesy of WorldAtlas.com

Local time in Bujumbura:


Facts and Figures

arrow Official Name Republic of Burundi.

arrow Capital City Bujumbura.

arrow Languages Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area).

arrow Official Currency Burundi franc (BIF).

arrow Ethnic Groups Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000.

arrow Religions Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%.

arrow Population 6,373,002.

arrow Land Area 25,650 sq km (9,903 sq miles).

History

Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only four months 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. Burundian troops, seeking to secure their borders, intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. More recently, many of these troops have been redeployed back to Burundi to deal with periodic upsurges in rebel activity. A new transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001, was to be the first step towards holding national elections in three years. However, the unwillingness of the Hutu rebels to enact a cease fire with Bujumbura continues to obstruct prospects for a sustainable peace.

UNAIDS Epidemiological
Fact Sheets

[English] [French]

Global Surveillance of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is a joint effort of WHO and UNAIDS. The UNAIDS/WHO Working Group on Global HIV/AIDS and STI Surveillance, initiated in November 1996, guides respective activities. The primary objective of the working group is to strengthen national, regional and global structures and networks for improved monitoring and surveillance of HIV/AIDS and STIs. For this purpose, the working group collaborates closely with national AIDS programmes and a number of national and international experts and institutions. The goal of this collaboration is to compile the best information available and to improve the quality of data needed for informed decision-making and planning at national, regional and global levels. The Epidemiological Fact Sheets are one of the products of this close and fruitful collaboration across the globe.

Web sites

World Fact Book
The Factbook was created as an annual summary and update to the encyclopedic NIS studies. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made available to the public with sales through the US Government Printing Office (GPO).
US Department of State - Travel Advisory
Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department decides, based on all relevant information, to recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Countries where avoidance of travel is recommended will have Travel Warnings as well as Consular Information Sheets.
BURUNDI: IRIN interview with HIV/AIDS Minister Sindabizera
The Burundi government says although the HIV infection prevalence in urban areas has stabilised at 18.6 percent, it is concerned by a significant increase in the level of infection in rural areas. At 1 percent in 1989, HIV prevalence in rural areas was 7.5 percent by 2001, the Burundi minister for HIV/AIDS issues, Genevieve Sindabizera, told IRIN on Wednesday. She attributed the stabilisation in urban areas to a higher literacy rate, better means of communication, and increased acceptance and availability of condoms.
Burundi
Health status continues to deteriorate. The incidence of malaria and tuberculosis is increasing, life expectancy is decreasing, maternal mortality is rising, and infant mortality has increased to 136 per 100,000. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is estimated to be 11.3% (20% in towns and cities, 7.5% in rural areas). HIV/AIDS has orphaned 230,000 children.

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Burundi

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