Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions.

More than 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years.

Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005.

The new government, led by President Pierre Nkurunziza, signed a South African brokered ceasefire with the country's last rebel group in September of 2006 but still faces many challenges.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 8,390,505 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.3% (male 1,951,879/female 1,930,371) 15-64 years: 51.2% (male 2,131,759/female 2,162,093) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 85,522/female 128,881) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 16.7 years male: 16.4 years female: 16.9 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 3.593% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 41.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 13.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 7.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.986 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.664 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 61.93 deaths/1,000 live births male: 68.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 54.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 51.29 years male: 50.48 years female: 52.12 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 6.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 6% (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 250,000 (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 25,000 (2003 est.)

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Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria (2007)

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Nationality: noun: Burundian(s) adjective: Burundian

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Ethnic groups: Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000

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Religions: Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%

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Languages: Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 59.3% male: 67.3% female: 52.2% (2000 est.)

Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with more than 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. An ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced more than 48,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15 adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. Political stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and economic activity has increased, but underlying weaknesses - a high poverty rate, poor education rates, a weak legal system, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms. Burundi grew about 5 percent in 2006. Delayed disbursements of funds from the World Bank may add to budget pressures in 2007. Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $5.854 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $785.5 million (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 5.1% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $700 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 44.9% industry: 20.9% services: 34.1% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 2.99 million (2002)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 93.6% industry: 2.3% services: 4.1% (2002 est.)

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Unemployment rate: NA%

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Population below poverty line: 68% (2002 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.8% highest 10%: 32.9% (1998)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 33.3 (1998)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 11.9% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $239.9 million expenditures: $297 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides

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Industries: light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing

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Industrial production growth rate: 18% (2001)

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Electricity - production: 137 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 157.4 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 30 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2004)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - consumption: 3,100 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$57.84 million (2006 est.)

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Exports: $55.68 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides

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Exports - partners: Germany 17.8%, Switzerland 8.5%, Belgium 5.5%, Rwanda 5.3%, Italy 4.6% (2006)

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Imports: $207.3 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs

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Imports - partners: Kenya 18.9%, Italy 15.1%, Tanzania 11.1%, Belgium 9.7%, Uganda 5.6%, France 4.5%, India 4.3% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $87.69 million (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $1.2 billion (2003)

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Economic aid - recipient: $105.5 million (2003)

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Currency (code): Burundi franc (BIF)

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Exchange rates: Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,030 (2006), 1,138 (2005), 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003), 930.75 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year