In 1998, Burundi was a Central African nation located between Rwanda and Tanzania. It had a population of around 6.5 million people and its capital was Bujumbura. The official language of Burundi was Kirundi but many other local languages were also spoken. The economy of Burundi was largely based on agriculture, mining, and services. The government was a presidential republic with an elected president as the head of state. In 1998, the President of Burundi was Pierre Buyoya. Although the country still faced many challenges such as poverty, corruption and inadequate infrastructure, there were signs that progress was being made towards a more prosperous future. In particular, Burundi had seen significant economic growth in recent years due to increased foreign investment in the country’s mining sector which had led to increased employment opportunities across the country. See dentistrymyth for Burundi in the year of 2015.
Yearbook 1998
Burundi. After a violent start to the year, when hutumilis carried out a series of attacks near the capital Bujumbura, peace talks could begin in June. According to Countryaah, the capital of Burundi is Gitega. President Pierre Buyoya anticipated the negotiations by partially restoring the civilian constitution he repealed when he took power in a coup in 1996. After formally retiring the presidency, he appointed a new government dominated by Hutus from the opposition. Most parties, including radical hut movements, participated in a conference in Tanzania that ended in a ceasefire agreement and continued negotiations.
However, the hope for an imminent peace faded when armed outbreak groups from the major parties rejected the ceasefire and the government declared that the army would continue its actions against the rebels. The fighting continued during the year, albeit to a lesser extent.
A provisional parliament was set up in July with the parties elected in 1993. Parliament was expanded from 81 to 117 seats to include small parties that had previously been excluded. However, continued peace talks during the autumn did not produce any concrete results. The UN Security Council nevertheless recommended that countries in the region suspend the sanctions against Burundi introduced after the 1996 coup.
- Abbreviationfinder: What does BDI stand for in geography? Here, this 3 letter acronym refers to the country of Burundi.
Economy
| Inflation rate | 16.60% |
| Unemployment rate | |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) | $ 8,007,000,000 |
| GDP growth rate | 0.00% |
| GDP per capita | 700 USD |
| GDP by sector | |
| Agriculture | 39.50% |
| Industry | 16.40% |
| Service | 44.20% |
| State budget | |
| Revenue | 214.1 million |
| Expenditure | 306.8 million |
| Proportion of the population below the national poverty line | 68% |
| Distribution of household income | |
| Top 10% | 28 |
| Lower 10% | 4.1 |
| Industrial production growth rate | 0.80% |
| Investment volume | 19.8% of GDP |
| National debt | 51.70% of GDP |
| Foreign exchange reserves | $ 79,300,000 |
| Tourism | 2010 |
| Visitors | 142,000 |
| Revenue | $ 3,100,000 |
BURUNDI
The Burundi, with a population of 4,782,000 residents (1986 census), is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa (184 residents per km 2). The population is concentrated on the central plateau rich in volcanic soils, between 1500 and 1800 meters, where the average rainfall reaches 1200 mm per year. The lower areas are arid and unsuitable for agriculture. The high demographic pressure on arable land has provoked a strong migratory current towards Tanzania and Zaire and feeds the tribal clashes, which since independence have bloodied the country: the majority of the residents belong to the Hutu ethnic group of the Bantu stock (84%), strongly adverse to the Tutsis of the Nilotic strain (15%). The last serious episode of racial intolerance occurred in August 1988 and resulted in thousands of deaths. The official languages are Kirundi of the Bantu group and French; Swahili is also widely used.
The country is very poor and its economy is essentially based on the primary sector. Family farming prevails, combining food products with commercial crops; the techniques are outdated and, also due to intensive farming, the soils of the highlands are subject to forms of accelerated erosion. The most important commercial product is coffee (39,000 t) which, controlled and marketed by a state body, feeds 90% of exports and represents the country’s main source of income, despite the strong price fluctuations occurring on the international market.. Food agriculture is based on cassava, bananas, corn, some minor cereals and vegetables. Breeding plays an important traditional role and is practiced above all by the Tutsi ethnic group.
The industry is still at a rudimentary level and the capital, Bujumbura, is the only industrial center, with coffee and cotton processing plants, breweries, a cement factory, and other small factories for the processing of immediate consumer goods.
Mineral resources (bastnaesite, cassiterite, gold, tungsten, tantalum, vanadium) are exploited in insignificant quantities.
The overall road network measures 5144 km, but only a small part is asphalted. Lake Tanganyika allows connections between Bujumbura, Kigoma (Tanzania) and Kalemie (Zaire). Exports mainly use the lake port of Kigoma and the railway which, through Tanzania, reaches the port of Dar-es-Salaam on the Indian Ocean. Foreign trade mainly concerns the area of the EEC countries