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Burundi is a landlocked
independent state which borders with Rwanda, Tanzania and Congo, thus
forming part of the Central African Region. The capital city is
Bujumbura. Other major towns are Makamba and Rumonge.
The official languages of Burundi are
Ki-Rundi and French. The local currency is the Burundi franc. The
country is densely populated, Hutus and Tutsis are the two main ethnic
groups.
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HE
Ambassador Angele Niyuhire
with President Obama |
The major agricultural resources are
coffee and tea, yet the country is rich also of natural resources such
as alluvial gold, nickel, phosphates, rare earth, vanadium, and peat.
The oil industry has growing importance,
and it accounts for 15% of its imports. The environment and the
countryside are unspoiled, making Burundi a desirable tourist
destination.
The Government consists of a 20-member
Council of Ministers appointed by the President.
The constitution enshrines
ethnically-based power-sharing, it thus requires that 60% of ministers
come from the ethnic Hutu majority while the 40% are from the ethnic
Tutsi minority. The constitution foresees that at least 30% of
government ministers must be women.
President Pierre Nkurunziza's government
is in power since November 2007. He is also the
current Chairman of the East African Community. The government consists of 12 men (8
Hutus and 4 Tutsis) and 8 women (6 Hutus and 2 Tutsis). The
Minister of Foreign Affairs is HE Antoinette Batumubwira. The armed forces and the police
comprise both Tutsis and Hutus since 2005.
The country is undergoing successfully a
process of reconciliation after the long civil war ended in 2003. |
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Map by US Central Intelligence
Agency
Burundi is divided in 16 provinces, subdivided into
arrondissements and communes. |
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