Burundi

Home to about 12 million residents (year 2023 estimate), BURUNDI is a central African country located along the East African Rift zone. There are 3 bordering countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, Rwanda to the north, and Tanzania to the east and south. Burundi is north and east of the long and skinny Lake Tanganyika. The currency is the Burundi Franc, and the ISO 4217 currency code is BIF. Burundi’s climate is equatorial and typically includes two wet and two dry seasons, while temperature ranges are stratified depending on altitude. Major food sources and crops include bananas, cassava (manioc), coffee, cotton, maize (corn), sorghum, sweet potatoes, and tea. Some of the country’s exports for global trade ↗ include blankets and textiles, kaolin, limestone, niobium, platinum, rare earth oxides, and vanadium.

● ● ● ● ●  People and Places  ● ● ● ● ●  According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Burundi’s population in the year 2020 is about 12,499,000 and is ranked 76th among populations of the whole world’s countries, dependencies, and territories. At the northeast edge of Lake Tanganyika, Bujumbura is the economic capital and largest city with a population near 500,000 in 2023. Starting in January 2019, the national capital was switched over to Gitega with all or most government functions planning to transition to the central Burundi city. The population of Gitega in 2012 was almost 23,000 then grew to over 162,000 in 2023. Other major Burundian cities with over 100,000 residents include Bugendana, Busoni, Giteranyi, Muyinga, Ngozi, Nyanza-Lac, and Rumonge.

Notable places and sites of interest all across the country include the Burundi French Institute (Institut Français Burundi) in Bujumbura, Chutes de la Karera waterfalls near Gihofi, Geological Museum in Bujumbura, Jardin Public (Public Garden) in Bujumbura, National Museum of Gitega, and Saga Beach near Bujumbura. Places of cultural and natural importance listed on the Tentative List of UNESCO in the year 2007 include Gasumo, a southern source of the Nile; Karera Falls and the Nyakazu Fault; Rwihinda, lake of birds; the Royal Residence of Burundi (Gishora Drumming Palace); and the sacred natural landscapes of Muramvya, Mpotsa, and Nkiko-Mugamba.

Kirundi (Rundi) and French are official languages used for communication; Swahili is another major language. Partly due to a relatively small geographic size, Burundi has relatively few languages compared to several African countries — including Cameroon, Chad, D.R. Congo, Nigeria, and Tanzania — that have over 100. Religions in Burundi include Christianity (especially the Roman Catholic and Anglican Communion denominations), ethnic religions, Islam, Hinduism, and Bahá’í. People and ethnic groups include the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa (Pygmy).

● ● ● ● ●  Land and Water Features  ● ● ● ● ●  The general landscape consists of grassy highlands with mountains towering almost 9,000 feet. Burundi’s highest point is Mount Heha, standing with an elevation of 8,760 feet and 2,670 meters and situated west of Ruko in western Burundi. Other prominent mountains throughout Burundi include Kikizi, Umusozi Twinyoni, Camabari, Mikiko, Nyaruyaga, Karavyi, Gitwe, Rubaribari, Karama, Shaga, Manga, Mutwe, Taba, Nyakibugwe, Musumba, Mugongo, Nyankware, and Rutemba. The major national parks throughout Burundi are Kibira, Rusizi, and Ruvubu.

Burundi features a vast network of rivers and tributaries throughout the whole country. Borderland rivers include Kagera, Kanyaru, Lugusi, Maragarazi, Ruhwa, Rumpungwe (Rumpungu), Rusizi, and Ruvubu. Inland rivers include Kabulantwa, Mpanda, Mubarazi, Mulembwe, Murarangaro, Muyovozi, Ndurumu, Nyamuswaga, Rukoziri, Ruvubu (borderland and inland), and Ruvyironza. The White Nile river’s southernmost source is found in southern Burundi; the other known southernmost source is located in Rwanda. Straddling the Burundian border from the towns of Gatumba (north) and down to Nyanza-Lac (south), Lake Tanganyika is the world’s second-deepest lake. Northeast of the community of Bugabira, Lac Cohoha and Lac Rweru are the two major lakes along the border with Rwanda in northern Burundi — between the towns of Bururi (west) and Bigugo (east).

This post was updated with more information in March 2024. GeoFact of the Day’s map of Burundi was designed in June 2020.