Burundi is a
landlocked country between Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, covering
an area of 27,834 square kilometres and with a population of over 6.6 million people,
out of whom only 8% live in the urban area. Burundi, formerly part of the Belgian
trusteeship territory of Ruanda-Urundi, gained its independence on July 1962. However,
rivalry between Hutu and Tutsi has led to political instability until now. Burundi and its
northern neighbour Rwanda are considered as twin states mainly because of the similarities
in size, historical heritage, cultural and demographic features. The population is
composed of a Hutu majority and a substantial Tutsi minority, with a minuscule Twa (Pygmy)
population. The average population density of over 228 persons per square kilometre is
among the highest in Africa, considered the very low level of urbanisation.
Its economic health depends on the
coffee crop, which accounts for 80% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for
imports therefore rests largely on the vagaries of the climate and the international
coffee market. As part of its economic reform agenda, launched in February 1991 with IMF
and World Bank support, Burundi is trying to diversify its agricultural exports, attract
foreign investment in industry, and modernise government budgetary practices. Since
October 1993, the nation has suffered from massive ethnic-based violence which has
resulted in the death of perhaps 100,000 persons and the displacement of a million others.
Foods, medicines, and electricity remain in short supply.
Burundi has a total
number of 19,000 connected lines in 2000 resulting in a telephone density of 0.29 line per
hundred population. The penetration of telephone lines is highly skewed in the capital
city, Bujumbura, accounting for over 84% of the total lines. The liberalisation of the
telecommunications sector is planned for early 1999.
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