Burundi summary | Britannica

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For the full article, see <a href="/place/Burundi">Burundi</a>. </div> <div class="collection-content topic-paragraph"> <article class="content"><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="62292" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/7177-050-246CAF00/Flag-Burundi.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/85931/62292"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/7177-050-246CAF00/Flag-Burundi.jpg?w=740&h=416&c=crop"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/7177-050-246CAF00/Flag-Burundi.jpg?w=740&h=416&c=crop" alt="Burundi" data-width="1600" data-height="960" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/7177-050-246CAF00/Flag-Burundi.jpg" data-href="/media/1/85931/62292">Burundi</a><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="65149" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/60/69760-004-E5F587AA/Burundi-map.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/85931/65149"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/60/69760-004-E5F587AA/Burundi-map.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/60/69760-004-E5F587AA/Burundi-map.jpg?w=740&h=416&c=crop" alt="Burundi" data-width="1000" data-height="1000" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/60/69760-004-E5F587AA/Burundi-map.jpg" data-href="/media/1/85931/65149">Burundi</a><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong>Burundi</strong>, officially <strong>Republic of Burundi</strong>, Country, east-central Africa. Area: 10,747 sq mi (27,834 sq km). Population: (2024 est.) 13,439,000. Capitals: Gitega (political), Bujumbura (economic). The population is divided primarily between the approximately four-fifths who are Hutu and the approximately one-fifth who are Tutsi. The first inhabitants, the Twa Pygmies, make up about 1% of the population. Languages: Rundi (Kirundi), French (both official), Swahili. Religions: Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic; also Protestant, other Christians); also traditional beliefs. Currency: Burundi franc. Burundi occupies a high plateau straddling the divide of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/summary/Nile-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nile</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/summary/Congo-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Congo</a> watersheds. The divide runs north to south, rising to about 8,500 ft (2,600 m). The plateau contains the Ruvubu River basin, the southernmost extension of the Nile basin. In the west the Rusizi River connects Lake Kivu in the north with Lake Tanganyika to the south. Burundi has a developing economy based primarily on agriculture. It is a republic with two legislative houses, and its head of state and government is the president, assisted by vice presidents. Original settlement by the Twa was followed by Hutu settlement, which began about 1000 <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span>. The Tutsi arrived sometime later; though a minority, they established the kingdom of Burundi in the 16th century. In the 19th century the area came within the German sphere of influence, but the Tutsi remained in power. Following World War I, the Belgians were awarded control of the area. Colonial conditions had intensified Hutu-Tutsi ethnic animosities, and, as independence neared, hostilities flared. Independence was granted in 1962 in the form of a kingdom ruled by the Tutsi. In 1965 the Hutu rebelled but were brutally repressed. The two groups clashed violently throughout the rest of the 20th century, although the death toll did not approach the more than 800,000 civilians killed during the 1994 genocide in neighboring <a href="https://www.britannica.com/summary/Rwanda" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rwanda</a>. In 2001 a power-sharing transitional government was established in Burundi and paved the way to the promulgation of a new constitution and the installation of a new government in 2005. An attempted coup in 2015 marked a period of increased unrest and violence, and significant changes to the constitution were approved by voters in 2018.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> </article></div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal mb-20" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/summary/Africa"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/63/5363-050-90082F00/Africa-political-boundaries-continent.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="A map of the continent of Africa, including its countries, boundaries, and capital cities. It also shows parts of Europe and Asia and surrounding bodies of water, including the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean." width="100" height="75" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/summary/Africa" >Africa Summary</a> <div class="font-weight-light font-serif font-14 line-clamp clamp-2 ilf-description">Africa, the second largest continent (after Asia), covering about one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth. The continent is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and on the south by the mingling waters</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"TopicCollectionPage","templateName":"CONCISE","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":null,"pageLength":null,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-collection-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"TopicCollectionPage","pageSubtype":"CONCISE","articleTemplateType":null,"gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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