Republic of Burundi
National name: Republika y'u Burundi
President: Pierre Nkurunziza (2005)
Land area: 9,903 sq mi (25,649 sq km); total area: 10,745 sq mi (27,830 sq km)
Population (2007 est.): 8,390,505 (growth rate: 3.6%); birth rate: 42.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 61.9/1000; life expectancy: 50.8; density per sq mi: 847
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Bujumbura, 331,700
Other large city: Gitega, 45,700
Monetary unit: Burundi franc
Languages: Kirundi and French (official), Swahili
Ethnicity/race: Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 62%, indigenous 23%, Islam 10%, Protestant 5%
Literacy rate: 52% (2003 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2006 est.): $5,744 billion; per capita $700. Real growth rate: 5%. Inflation: 11%. Unemployment: n.a. Arable land: 35%. Agriculture: coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides. Labor force: 2.99 million (2002); agriculture 93.6%, industry 2.3%, services 4.1% (2002 est.). Industries: light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing.
Natural resources: nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone.
Exports: $55.68 million f.o.b. (2006 est.): coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides.
Imports: $207.3 million f.o.b. (2006 est.): capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs.
Major trading partners: Germany, Belgium, Pakistan, U.S., Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, France, Italy, Uganda, Japan (2004).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 27,700 (2004); mobile cellular: 153,000 (2005). Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001). Television broadcast stations: 1 (2001). Internet hosts: 160 (2006). Internet users: 25,000 (2005).
Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 12,322 km; paved: 1,286 km; unpaved: 11,036 km (2004 est.). Waterways: mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2004). Ports and harbors: Bujumbura. Airports: 8 (2004 est.).
International disputes: Tutsi, Hutu, other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda in an effort to gain control over populated and natural resource areas; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite the presence of about 6,000 peacekeepers from the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) since 2004; although some 150,000 Burundian refugees have been repatriated, as of February 2005, Burundian refugees still reside in camps in western Tanzania as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Geography
Wedged between Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda in east-central Africa, Burundi occupies a high plateau divided by several deep valleys. It is equal in size to Maryland.

Government
Republic.

History
The original inhabitants of Burundi were the Twa, a Pygmy people who now make up only 1% of the population. Today the population is divided between the Hutu (approximately 85%) and the Tutsi, approximately 14%. While the Hutu and Tutsi are considered to be two separate ethnic groups, scholars point out that they speak the same language, have a history of intermarriage, and share many cultural characteristics. Traditionally, the differences between the two groups were occupational rather than ethnic. Agricultural people were considered Hutu, while the cattle-owning elite were identified as Tutsi. Supposedly Tutsi were tall and thin, while Hutu were short and square, but in fact it is often impossible to tell one from the other. The 1933 requirement by the Belgians that everyone carry an identity card indicating tribal ethnicity as Tutsi or Hutu increased the distinction. Since independence, the landowning Tutsi aristocracy has dominated Burundi.
Burundi was once part of German East Africa. Belgium won a League of Nations mandate in 1923, and subsequently Burundi, with Rwanda, was transferred to the status of a United Nations trust territory. In 1962, Burundi gained independence and became a kingdom under Mwami Mwambutsa IV, a Tutsi. A Hutu rebellion took place in 1965, leading to brutal Tutsi retaliations. Mwambutsa was deposed by his son, Ntaré V, in 1966. Ntaré in turn was overthrown the same year in a military coup by Premier Michel Micombero, also a Tutsi. In 1970–1971, a civil war erupted, leaving more than 100,000 Hutu dead.
On Nov. 1, 1976, Lt. Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza led a coup and assumed the presidency. He suspended the constitution and announced that a 30-member Supreme Revolutionary Council would be the governing body. In Sept. 1987 Bagaza was overthrown by Maj. Pierre Buyoya, who became president. Ethnic hatred again flared in Aug. 1988, and about 20,000 Hutu were slaughtered. Buyoya, however, began reforms to heal the country's ethnic rift. The Burundi Democracy Front's candidate, Melchior Ndadaye, won the country's first democratic presidential elections, held on June 2, 1993. Ndadaye, the first Hutu to assume power in Burundi, was killed within months during a coup. The second Hutu president, Cyprien Ntaryamira, was killed on April 6, 1994, when a plane carrying him and the Rwandan president was shot down. As a result, Hutu youth gangs began massacring Tutsi; the Tutsi-controlled army retaliated by killing Hutus.

The frequency of ethnic clashes increased, developing into a low-intensity civil war. A six-nation regional proposal to send troops into Burundi to maintain peace and order was devised in July 1996. Distrustful of the scheme, the Tutsi-dominated army led a coup deposing the Hutu president and installed Maj. Pierre Buyoya that month. More than 300,000 people have been killed in the civil war since 1993, with the Tutsi-dominated army and the Hutu rebel forces responsible for the slaughter. After several aborted cease-fires, a 2001 peace plan included a power-sharing agreement that has been relatively successful: Buyoya, a Tutsi, governed the new transitional government for the first 18 months; then, in April 2003, a Hutu president, Domitien Ndayizeye, assumed power. In Aug. 2005, former Hutu rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza was elected president by parliament. The peaceful transfer of power to a democratically elected leader seemed to indicate that Burundi's 12-year civil war was truly at an end. Peace talks between the government and Burundi's only remaining rebel group continued in 2006.

Burundi Travel Guide
Burundi is geographically at the heart of Africa but, sadly, has also been at the heart of African horrors in recent years. Here is a country of wonderful landscapes, from mountaintops to forests, huge lakes to tropical plateau. Yet this topographical patchwork mirrors Burundi's cultural patchwork, one which has interwoven both Hutu and Tutsi tribal strands, often with violent consequences.
Burundi's situation is improving. President Nkurunziza, democratically elected in 2005, is engaged in peace talks and has announced applauded measures, such as that of introducing free education. However, there is still a danger of indiscriminate attacks from rebel groups in Burundi. Until these incidents are fully quashed, many will miss out on seeing the beauty of Burundi for themselves.  

When to Go
If you want to avoid getting wet, the rainy season in Burundi lasts from around October to May, with a brief dry spell in December and January. If you like getting sweaty, head to the hot and steamy lowlands around Lake Tanganyika, where temperatures average 30°C (86°F), or stay cool in the more mountainous north, where the usual temperature is a much milder 20°C (68°F). Weather The climate in Burundi varies widely depending on whether you are in the lowlands around Lake Tanganyika, where temperatures average 30°C (86F), or the more mountainous north, where the usual temperature is a much milder 20°C (68°F). The rainy season in Burundi lasts from around October to May, with a brief dry spell in December and January. Burundi's high altitudes subdue the tropical climate, which makes for consistently hot days and refreshingly cool nights. The driest (and hottest) part of the year is between June and September when temperatures often rise above 30°C (86°F).

Sights
La Pierre de Livingstone et Stanley.
This large rock allegedly marks the spot where the infamous 'Dr Livingstone, I presume?' encounter between Livingstone and Stanley took place on 25 November 1871 (Ujiji in Tanzania has more claim to being the location of this event, though). Wherever it was, this is as good a place as any to do your own re-enactment, though it'll probably be a solo performance as it's not too likely that you'll meet another tourist here.

Rusizi National Park
Probably the most accessible of Burundi's national parks - and the one most likely to be open - is the Rusizi National Park or Parc National de la Rusizi. It's a wetland environment and provides a habitat for hippos, sitatungas (aquatic antelopes) and a wide variety of birds.

Saga Beach.
Although it's got nothing on nearby Kenya and Tanzania, Burundi's beaches along the coast of Lake Tanganyika are surprisingly attractive. The sand is white and powdery, and the waves should keep the Bilharzia at bay. Saga Beach, which is the most developed stretch of sand along the lake, lies about 5km (3mi) northwest of the capital. Although it used to be known as Plage des Cocotiers (Coconut Beach), most locals now refer to the area as Saga Beach (pronounced Sagga) in honour of the Saga Beach Resort. This popular complex has several large restaurants and a brilliant beachfront bar that turns out cold Primus beers at bargain prices. It draws in huge crowds on the weekends, and the whole complex rocks on as a club by night.  

Getting There
There are very few international airlines serving Burundi due to the ongoing conflict. Kenya Airways flies to Nairobi. Air Burundi and Ethiopian Airlines take on the short hop to Kigali. A minibus operated by Yahoo Express is probably the safest way to travel in and out of Burundi overland. The bus operates daily between Kayanza, Burundi and Butare, Rwanda. The MV Mwongozo ferry sails along Lake Tanganyika between Bujumbura and Kigoma, Tanzania.  

Getting Around
Air Burundi, the national airline, does not have regular internal flights. Most major roads in Burundi are sealed and public transport is mostly minibuses. Destinations are displayed in the front window and buses depart when full. They depart throughout the day from the gare routière (bus station) in any town. However, travelling around the countryside is potentially life-threatening owing to frequent rebel ambushes, so ask around before heading out of Bujumbura, if you're only travelling to the second city of Gitega.