Burundi Education

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Schooling is free but not compulsory for children aged 7 through 12. Only about one-third of the population is literate, however. In the mid-1980s about 452,400 students annually attended primary schools, and about 17,000 attended secondary schools. The Université du Burundi (1960), located in Bujumbura, is the leading institution of higher education; it had an enrollment of about 2200. Some 13,300 students were enrolled in vocational and teacher-training programs.

Burundi, landlocked republic, eastern Africa, bounded on the north by Rwanda, on the east and south by Tanzania, and on the west by Lake Tanganyika and Zaire. With an area of 27,834 sq km (10,747 sq mi), it is one of the smallest countries on the African continent.

Land and Resources
Burundi is mostly a hilly plateau region, with an average elevation of about 1520 m (about 5000 ft). Elevations decrease gradually to the east and southeast. The narrow western margin of the country, bordering the Rusizi River and Lake Tanganyika, lies in the trough of the Rift Valley. The main rivers are the Rusizi, the Malagarasi, and the Ruvuvu.

Climate
The climate is tropical, moderated in most places by altitude. The average annual temperature is 21.1° C (70° F) on the plateau and 24.4° C (76° F) in the Rift Valley. A dry season lasts from May to August, and the country is subject to droughts.

Plants and Animals
Savanna vegetation, a grassland interspersed with trees, predominates in most of the country. Eucalyptus, acacia, and oil palm are the most common trees. Wildlife is diverse. Elephant, hippopotamus, crocodile, wild boar, leopard, antelope, and flying lemur are common, as are the guinea hen, partridge, duck, goose, quail, and snipe.

Population
The population (1993 estimate) was 5,985,308. The overall density of about 215 persons per sq km (about 556 per sq mi) is one of the highest in Africa. The population is more than 90 percent rural; most of the people live in family groupings dispersed throughout the mountainous regions, and villages are uncommon. The chief ethnic groups are the Hutu, a Bantu-speaking people making up about 85 percent of the population, and the Tutsi, a Nilotic-speaking people forming nearly 15 percent of the total. The Twa, a pygmy group, account for less than 1 percent. The official languages are Kirundi and French. Swahili is also widely spoken. About two-thirds of the population is Christian, chiefly Roman Catholic. The remainder adheres to Islam or traditional religions.

Principal Cities
The country's most important city is Bujumbura, the capital, with a population (1986) of 272,600. The town of Gitega, with a population of 95,300, is the former royal residence.

The Economy
One of the world's poorest nations, Burundi has a predominantly agricultural economy. Export earnings are dominated by a single crop—coffee. National budget figures for the late 1980s showed about $189.4 million in revenue and $222.7 million in expenditures.

Agriculture
Subsistence agriculture is the main means of livelihood in Burundi. Chief food crops are cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, beans, peas, and grain sorghum. The most important cash crop is arabica coffee. Cotton and, increasingly, tea are also grown for export. In the late 1980s livestock numbered about 340,000 cattle, 350,000 sheep, and 750,000 goats. Social and cultural importance is attached to the ownership of large cattle herds. They are, however, economically underutilized and overgrazing has contributed to extensive soil erosion.

Mining and Manufacturing
Mining is based on the exploitation of small amounts of gold, bastnaesite, and cassiterite (a tin ore). Important reserves of uranium, nickel, and peat remain to be exploited. Manufacturing in Burundi is largely limited to the processing of agricultural products. Other manufactures include textiles, cement, and insecticides.

Currency, Commerce, and Trade
The unit of currency is the Burundi franc (266 francs equal U.S.$1; 1993). Coffee accounts for about 75 percent of the value of exports. Cotton, hides, and tea are the only other important exports. Textiles, motor vehicles, flour, and petroleum products are imported, principally from Western Europe. In the late 1980s annual exports were about $93 million and imports exceeded $152 million.

Transportation and Communications
Burundi has no railroads but possesses a road network of about 5900 km (about 3670 mi), of which about 7 percent is paved. Most trade is shipped via Tanzania, Zambia, and Zaire through the port of Bujumbura at the head of Lake Tanganyika. Bujumbura has the only international airport. The government operates a radio and television broadcasting service; the country also has one daily and two weekly newspapers. Some 230,000 radio receivers, 4500 television sets, and 7900 telephones are in use.

Government
The 1981 constitution established Burundi as a republic with an elected president who also headed the nation's sole legal political party, Unity for National Progress (Union pour le Progrès National, or UPRONA). Following a coup in 1987, the 65-member National Assembly was dissolved and other constitutional provisions were suspended, as the 31-member Military Committee for National Salvation assumed executive and legislative authority. A new constitution adopted in March 1992 introduced a multiparty system, with a president elected by direct universal suffrage to a 5-year term.
A local government reorganization in 1982 divided Burundi into 15 provinces, each subdivided into arrondissements and communes.

History
The Twa are believed to be the original inhabitants of Burundi; they were there when the Hutu arrived in the early 14th century, imposing their language and customs. The development of an organized kingdom began in the 15th century, when migrating Tutsi established themselves as feudal rulers over the Hutu here as they did over the Hutu in neighboring Rwanda. Burundi had a caste system and was ruled by a monarch, the mwami; however, the political and social structures were not as rigid as in Rwanda. The power of the mwami was not absolute, and various royal clans, known as ganwa, often vied for the throne. Unlike in Rwanda, marriages between Hutu and Tutsi were common in Burundi, where the Hutu also enjoyed greater economic independence.
Burundi (then called Urundi) was occupied by Germany in the 1880s and subsequently was incorporated, along with Rwanda (then called Ruanda), into German East Africa. Following World War I, the League of Nations gave Belgium a mandate over the area that became known as the Territory of Ruanda-Urundi. After World War II ended in 1945, it was made a United Nations trust territory, still administered by Belgium.
Burundi became an independent constitutional monarchy on July 1, 1962, and was admitted to the United Nations in September. Political rivalry between the Hutu and the Tutsi, however, threatened the stability of the country. The power structure was still in Tutsi hands, even though, after elections in 1965, the Hutu held a majority in the legislature. Accusing Mwami Mwambutsa IV of intriguing to strengthen his position, a group of Hutu police attempted a coup in October 1965. Loyal police led by Captain Michel Micombero thwarted the rebels, but the mwami fled the country. In July 1966 he was declared deposed by his son, Mwami Ntare V. Four months later Micombero led a successful coup, declared Burundi a republic, appointed himself president, and established a National Revolutionary Committee to help stabilize his regime and develop the economy. In April 1972 a Hutu uprising led to widespread massacres, in which Ntare, who was under house arrest, was killed. The uprising was quelled, but unrest continued; thousands of Hutu refugees found haven in nearby countries.
President Micombero was ousted in a bloodless coup in November 1976. A Supreme Revolutionary Council subsequently named Jean Baptiste Bagaza to the presidency but peace between the ruling Tutsi and the majority Hutu remained precarious. A new constitution in 1981 confirmed Burundi as a one-party state. Reelected without opposition in 1984, Bagaza was ousted by a military coup in September 1987. Major Pierre Buyoya became president, ruling as head of the Military Committee for National Salvation. A resurgence of ethnic violence in August 1988 left at least 5000 dead. A new constitution providing for a multiparty system was ratified by popular referendum in March 1992. In June 1993 the country held its first democratic presidential elections since independence. Melchior Ndadaye, a representative of the Hutu tribe and member of the Burundi Democracy Front, won the elections with 60 percent of the vote, but was killed in a coup attempt less than a month after the elections. Ndadaye's death provoked a wave of ethnic violence that sent thousands of refugees fleeing into neighboring Rwanda. Cyprien Ntaryamira, who replaced Ndadaye, attempted to restore order by reining in the Tutsi-dominated security forces implicated in the violence. Ntaryamira was killed in a suspicious plane crash on April 6, 1994, along with Juvenal Habyarimana, president of Rwanda. The post of Burundi's president was filled by Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, former head of the National Assembly, amid fears of renewed ethnic unrest. Meanwhile, the country has attempted to cope with an influx of refugees from Rwanda, which has been torn by murderous ethnic strife since the death of Habyarimana.

 

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