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BURUNDIAN Facts & Figures

Size: 10,745 square miles

Population: 10,216,190

Currency: Burundi Franc

Weather / Climate:

Burundiin general has a tropical highland climate, with a considerable daily temperature range in many areas. Temperature also varies considerably from one region to another, chiefly as a result of differences in altitude. The central plateau enjoys pleasantly cool weather, with an average temperature of 20 °C (68 °F). The area around Lake Tanganyika is warmer, averaging 23 °C (73.4 °F); the highest mountain areas are cooler, averaging 16 °C (60.8 °F). Bujumbura’s average annual temperature is
23 °C (73.4 °F). Rain is irregular, falling most heavily in the northwest. Dry seasons vary in length, and there are sometimes long periods of drought. However, four seasons can be distinguished: the long dry season (June–August), the short wet season (September–November), the short dry season (December–January), and the long wet season (February–May). Most of Burundi receives between 1,300 and 1,600 mm (51.2 and 63.0 in) of rainfall a year. The Ruzizi Plain and the northeast receive between 750 and 1,000 mm (29.5 and 39.4 in).

www.wikipedia.com

BURUNDIAN languages

The official languages of Burundi are Kirundi and French. Swahili is also spoken. No other languages are spoken natively in any significant numbers.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Burundi

BURUNDIAN culture

Burundi 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. The ethnic groups Hutu and Tutsi have occupied the area now known as Burundi for many centuries.

Burundi, one of the world's poorest nations, is emerging from a 12-year, ethnic-based civil war. In the early 19th century, Burundi became part of German East Africa; after WWI, Burundi and neighbouring Rwanda were administered by the Belgians. Both countries gained independence in 1961. Since independence, it has been plagued by tension between the dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority. The antagonism has occasionally flared up into mass violence and the massacre of tens of thousands; especially in 1972 and 1988 (although it has never reached the scale of neighbouring Rwanda, where the same ethnic split prevails).

The ethnic violence sparked off in 1994 made Burundi the scene of one of Africa's most intractable conflicts. It is now beginning to reap the dividends of a peace process. But it faces the formidable tasks of reviving a shattered economy and of forging national unity.

In 1993 Burundi seemed poised to enter a new era when, in their first democratic elections, Burundians chose their first Hutu head of state, Melchior Ndadaye, and a parliament dominated by the Hutu Front for Democracy in Burundi (Frodebu) party. But within months Ndadaye had been assassinated, setting the scene for years of Hutu-Tutsi violence in which an estimated 300,000 people, most of them civilians, were killed.

In early 1994 parliament elected another Hutu, Cyprien Ntaryamira, as president. But he was killed in April alongside the president of neighbouring Rwanda when the plane they were travelling in was shot down over Kigali. Another Hutu, Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, was appointed president in October 1994. But within months, the mainly Tutsi Union for National Progress (Uprona) party withdrew from the government and parliament, sparking a new wave of ethnic violence.

Following long-running talks, mediated by South Africa, a power-sharing government was set up in 2001 and most of the rebel groups agreed to a ceasefire. Four years later Burundians voted in the first parliamentary elections since the start of the civil war. The main Hutu former rebel group won the vote and nominated its leader Pierre Nkurunziza as president. The government and the United Nations embarked on the lengthy process of disarming thousands of soldiers and former rebels, as well as forming a new national army.

77% of the population are Christian, the majority of which are Roman Catholic; there are Anglican and Pentecostal minorities. 22% adhere to animist beliefs. There is also a small (1%) Muslim community. Normal social courtesies apply. However, outside the cities people may not be used to visitors, and care and tact must be used in respect of local customs. Inhabitants of major towns generally have a more modern way of life. Dress should be reasonably conservative.

Holidays

· 01 January – New Year's Day

· 05 February – Unity Day

· 01 May – Labour Day

· June – Ascension

· 01 July – Independence Day

· 15 August – Assumption

· 13 October – Anniversary of Rwagasore’s Assassination

· 21 October – Anniversary of President Ndadaye’s Assassination

· 01 November – All Saints’ Day

· 25 December – Christmas Day

Taken from:

www.bbc.co.uk

www.worldtravelguide.net

BURUNDIAN people

As of 2008, Burundi was projected to have an estimated population of 8,691,005 people. This estimate explicitly takes into account the effects of AIDS, which has a significant effect on the demographics of the country.^[1] Over 500,000 have been displaced due to the disease.^[5] Many Burundians have migrated to other countries as a result of the civil war. In 2006, the United States accepted approximately 10,000 Burundian refugees.^[59]

Most Burundians live in rural areas, and about six percent of the population live in urban areas.^[60] The population density of around 315 people per square kilometer (753 per sq mi) is the second highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[6] Roughly 85% of the population are of Hutu ethnic origin, 15% are Tutsi, and fewer than one percent are Twa.^[61]

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burundi#Demographics

BURUNDIAN food

Burundiis situated in Central Africa and has a territory full of mountains, savannas and agricultural fields, with forests in the surrounding of rivers and waters. Agriculture is spread on 80 % of the country’s surface and it especially includes coffee, tea, corn, beans and manioc. Due to these characteristics, the Burundi cuisine is very representative for the African culinary culture, as it includes beans, which are the staple of Burundi cooking, exotic fruits (mainly bananas) plantains, sweet potatoes, cassava, peas, maize and cereals, like corn and Wheat. Not much of meat is consumed in Burundi, due to the fact that animal breeding is a secondary occupation; still, there are some dishes that include goat and sheep meat but cows are very secret.A major aspect when discussing the Burundian cuisine is based on the economical conditions of the country: the Burundian people usually eat homemade food, from homemade vessel, also used for drinking, carrying water and storing grain.

The major difference between the regions of Burundi is the fact that there aren’t many restaurants in the small towns and rural areas (in there, homemade traditional food is consumed on regular basis, including beans, plantains, bananas and corn), while in the urban areas, there can be found numerous cuisines. In the capital Bujumbura (located on the Lake Tanganyika) and in Gitega, there are various traditional restaurants, including the most popular ones, French and Greek. In all urban areas, besides the traditional cuisine of Africa and the European ones, Asian cuisine is present in many restaurants and hotels. The Asian influences are felt in the rice dishes, very spicy foods and the famous chapati. Chapati is a bread that comes from India and the recipe of the dough includes flour, water, salt and oil – these are all made in a tawa, which is a round griddle or in an iron skillet.

Preparation Methods for Burundian Cooking

Burundicuisine uses elements from various cooking traditions borrowed from their neighbors and developed from their own traditional dishes. While there are no specific or unique preparation methods for Burundi cooking, we should point out that attention to detail is important in the Burundi cuisine. Using the right amount of spices for example is essential – either for spicing up the taste or for coloring the dish. The diversity of vegetables and cereals found in Burundi is also noticed in the delicious dishes belonging to their cuisine. The visual attractiveness of the dish is also important, and a balance between colors and proportion differentiates. Each traditional dish has a special cooking method, which is more or less general in all of Burundi’s regions. Meat is one of the main elements of most Burundi dishes and cured and smoked hams are often parts of delicious dishes.

Taken from http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Burundian_Cuisine

Places to go in BURUNDI

Study the arts and crafts of the Burundians: leather, ceramics, ivory and wood-carvings in the Craftwares Village at Giheta, plus sculptures, wickerware and paintings in the town's Art School. Local crafts, particularly basketwork, make excellent buys. Compete in the ancient game of urubugu (also known as mancala). It is played with pebbles or seashells on hollows scooped out on the ground, or with seeds on expensive, elaborately carved wooden boards.

Go to the capital port-city of Bujumbura, a bustling town with a population of some 200,000 inhabitants. The area was colonised by Germany at the end of the 19th century, and there is still architecture dating from that period, including the Postmaster's House. Other attractions include three museums (including the museé vivant, a reconstructed open-air village displaying Burundian culture) and the Islamic Cultural Centre. There is also an excellent market. There are several nightclubs, restaurants and bars in Bujumbura. Around 10km (6 miles) south of Bujumbura is a stone that marks the historic meeting-place of Stanley and Livingstone in 1871.

Stare at a beautiful vista of central plains and the expanse of the former royal city, Gitega, from the mountaintops of the Congo Nile range. Gitega has an exquisite charm of its own, from the Chutes de la Kagera waterfall to its National Museum. Gaze upon the monument near Rutovu, in Bururi Province, which marks Burundi's claim to the source of the Nile. Admire the country's diverse flora and fauna, from savannah to steppers, mountain forests to blooming fields.

In Kirundo, in the far north of Burundi and with its three lakes of Cohoha, Rweruand Rwihinda, settle down for some bird-watching: the third lake, Rwihinda, is even nicknamed 'Birds Lake' because of the sheer quantity of birds (around 20 different species) that settle there. A large amount of birds can also be viewed in KibiraNatonal Park.

Be seduced by the scenic and fun pleasures of Lake Tanganyika, where (in normal circumstances) cafes and restaurants line the lake. Here, there are some opportunities for water sports, including sailing, waterskiing and fishing.

Taken from www.worldtravelguide.net

Doing business in BURUNDI

Burundiis a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The mainstay of the Burundian economy is agriculture, accounting for 54%of GDP in 1997. Agriculture supports more than 70% of the labour force, the majority of whom are subsistence farmers. Although Burundi is potentially self-sufficient in food production, the ongoing civil war, overpopulation, and soil erosion have contributed to the contraction of the subsistence economy by 25% in recent years. Large numbers of internally displaced persons have been unable to produce their own food and are largely dependent on international humanitarian assistance. Burundi is a net food importer, with food accounting for 17% of imports in 1997.

Agriculture

The main cash crop of Burundi is coffee, which accounted for 78.5% of exports in 1997. This dependence on coffee has increased Burundi's vulnerability to seasonal yields and international coffee prices.It generates about 90 percent of export revenues, making the country particularly vulnerable to terms of trade shocks: the current account deficit in 2007 ran at 15 percent of GDP. Coffee is the largest state-owned enterprise. In recent years, the government has tried to attract private investment to this sector, with some success. Efforts to privatize other publicly held enterprises have stalled. Other principal exports include tea and raw cotton.Burundiis the largest banana market in Africa.

Industry

Little industry exists except the processing of agricultural exports. Although potential wealth in petroleum, nickel, copper, and other natural resources is being explored, the uncertain security situation has prevented meaningful investor interest. Industrial development also is hampered by Burundi's distance from the sea and high transport costs. Lake Tanganyika remains an important trading point. The trade embargo, lifted in 1999, negatively impacted trade and industry. Since October 1993 the nation has suffered from massive ethnic-based violence which has resulted in the death of perhaps 250,000 people and the displacement of about 800,000 others. Foods, medicines, and electricity remain in short supply.

Burundiis heavily dependent on bilateral and multilateral aid, with external debt totalling $1.247 billion (1.247 G$) in 1997. A series of largely unsuccessful 5-year plans initiated in July 1986 in partnership with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund attempted to reform the foreign exchange system, liberalize imports, reduce restrictions on international transactions, diversify exports, and reform the coffee industry.

Goat rearing has been promoted as a source of income for rural-dwelling Burundians.

IMF structural adjustment programs in Burundi were suspended following the outbreak of the crisis in 1993. The World Bank has identified key areas for potential growth, including the productivity of traditional crops and the introduction of new exports, light manufactures, industrial mining, and services. Other serious problems include the state's role in the economy, the question of governmental transparency, and debt reduction.

To protest the 1996 coup by President Pierre Buyoya, neighbouring countries imposed an economic embargo on Burundi. Although the embargo was never officially ratified by the United Nations Security Council, most countries refrained from official trade with Burundi. Following the coup, the United States also suspended all but humanitarian aid to Burundi. The regional embargo was lifted on January 23, 1999, based on progress by the government in advancing national reconciliation through the Burundi peace process.

Taken from wikipedia