Geography

Burundi covers an area of 10,740 square miles (27,816 square kilometers). It is bordered by Rwanda on the north, Tanzania on the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west. Lake Tanganyika lies to the southwest.

Burundi's geographical center is mountainous. One range of mountains runs from north to south and divides the drainage systems of the Congo and Nile rivers. The mountains reach heights of 8,500 feet (2,600 meters). The country's lowlands, which are found in the west along the Rusizi River and Lake Tanganyika, are part of Africa's Eastern Rift Valley.

Burundi has a tropical climate, but the high altitudes of the mountains keep the temperatures fairly moderate. The average temperatures are 73° F (23° C) on the plain of the Rusizi River and 63° F (17° C) on the crest of the divide. The dry season lasts from June to August and the rainy season from February through May.

Plants and animals

Many of the forested areas of Burundi have disappeared as the trees were cut down for fuel. The higher mountain slopes, however, remain covered with trees. Lower areas are open savanna. The country's animal life includes the elephant, lion, leopard, hippopotamus, crocodile, buffalo, warthog, baboon, and antelope. Some of the animals, particularly elephants, have almost disappeared, however, because of poaching, or illegal hunting.

People and culture

More than 80 percent of the people of Burundi are Hutu. Some 15 percent are Tutsi, and many of the remaining people are from a pygmy group called the Twa, or Batwa. The Tutsi, though they are in the minority, have traditionally controlled the government and the military. The Hutu and Tutsi have long viewed each other with mutual dislike, mistrust, and fear. These feelings have led to a history of violence and bloodshed between the groups.

The official languages of Burundi are Rundi (Kirundi) and French. Swahili is also spoken, and English is taught in some schools. The principal religions are Christianity, primarily Roman Catholicism, and traditional beliefs. More than 90 percent of the people live in small towns or villages. The capital, Bujumbura, is one of the country's few large cities.

Burundi's national culture includes many stories, legends, and fables, as well as poetry and songs. These are often presented in spoken performances.

Economy

The people of Burundi live mainly by farming or by grazing cattle. Coffee, an important item of export, is the chief commercial crop. Tea and cotton are also grown for trade. Farmers grow such crops as beans, cassavas, corn, rice, sweet potatoes, peanuts, peas, and sorghum to feed their own families. Soybeans, oil palms, and sugarcane are also grown. There is very little industry in Burundi. The only factories are small textile and food processing plants.

History

The first inhabitants of what is now Burundi were probably the Twa. The Hutu are thought to have arrived in the area by the 11th century. They were followed some 300 or 400 years later by the Tutsi. After their arrival the Tutsi established control over the Twa and Hutu. The Tutsi developed a political system centered upon a mwami (king). In the 17th century the Tutsi king Ntare Rushatsi expanded the kingdom by bringing several neighboring regions under his rule. A later king, Ntare II Rugaamba, made further conquests and occupied parts of what is now southern Rwanda and western Tanzania.

Germany took control of the region in 1903 as a part of German East Africa. After World War I the region was administered by Belgium as part of a unit called Ruanda-Urundi. In 1946 it became a trust territory of the United Nations. On July 1, 1962, the two parts of the trust territory became separate countries. The northern part became Rwanda and the southern part, the constitutional monarchy of Burundi. In October 1965 a group of Hutu officers tried to overthrow the monarchy. The incident touched off fighting between Tutsi and Hutu that continued in various forms through the remainder of the 20th century. The fighting erupted into full-scale civil war in 1970–71, and thousands more were killed in 1988. The country also suffered many coups and changes of government.

In the early 1990s the government tried to address the problem of ethnic violence. A new constitution was adopted, and a Hutu was elected president for the first time in 1993. He and other Hutu officials were killed in an attempted Tutsi coup later that year, however, and civil war broke out again. In July 1996, the Tutsi-dominated army took control of the government. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people were killed as the violence continued into the 21st century. Population (2000 estimate), 6,055,000.