Note: The menu shows the 36 African countries where Africare has worked, not the other African countries.

 

Burundi (Map courtesy of The World Factbook)

Burundi

REGION: Central Africa
CAPITAL CITY: Bujumbura
POPULATION: 7,282,000
LAND AREA: The size of Massachusetts

Like neighboring Rwanda, Burundi has been decimated by Hutu-Tutsi conflict — in particular, a 12-year ethnic-based civil war that began in October 1993. More than 200,000 Burundians perished during that war; close to a million, in flight from violence in their home communities, became internally displaced or left the country as refugees. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement led, in 2005, to national elections, a new government and a new Burundian constitution. Ethnic tensions remain, as do fundamental challenges of poverty. The economy is predominantly agricultural, with more than 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Only one in two children go to school. Food, medicine and electricity remain in short supply.

 

Country Stats

Life expectancy: 48.5 years (USA: 77.9)

Under-5 child mortality: 190/1,000 live births (USA: 7/1,000)

HIV prevalence, ages 15-49: [2.7 - 3.8]% (USA: [0.4 - 1.0]%)

Physicians per 100,000 people: 3 (USA: 256)

People undernourished: 66% (USA: 0%)

People with access to safe drinking water: 79% (USA: 100%)

Adult literacy: 59.3% (USA: 99%)

Annual income, one way to look at it (GDP per capita, PPP US$): $699 (USA: $41,890)

Annual income, another way to look at it (GDP per capita): $106 (USA: $41,890)

People living on less than $1 a day: 54.6% (USA: 0%)

(HIV prevalence statistics, UNAIDS. All other statistics, 2007/2008 Human Development Report, UNDP)


(Updated, Dec. 18, 2007)