Burundi (Republic of Burundi)

Burundi Republic of Burundi
Status	Independent State
Capital	Bujumbura
Land Area	25 680km21
Location	Africa
Population	8.7m (2011)2
Life Expectancy	57.12yrs (2017)3
GNI	$0 691 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	BI, BDI, 1085
Internet Domain	.bi6
Currency	Franc (BIF)7
Telephone	+2578

1. Overview
2. Burundi National and Social Development
3. Population and Demographics
4. Human Rights, Equality and Freedom
5. Peace Versus Instability
6. Religion and Beliefs
7. The Internet
8. Public Health Issues
9. Children's Health
10. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries
11. Links

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1. Overview

#rwanda

“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 government of President Pierre NKURUNZIZA, who was reelected in 2010, continues to face many political and economic challenges.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“A pint-sized country with a traumatic past but a forward-looking and welcoming people, Burundi is emerging from the fog of its civil war. Tiny Burundi is an incongruous mix of soaring mountains, languid lakeside communities and a tragic past blighted by ethnic conflict. While similar Hutu-Tutsi conflicts have been soothed in Rwanda by removing historical tribal labels, Burundi has chosen a different path, one of open dialogue and good-hearted debate.

Now the word is out that the war is over, Burundi is receiving a trickle of travellers and the country is safer now than it has been for years. Its steamy capital, Bujumbura, has a lovely location on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, and just outside the city are some of the finest inland beaches on the continent. For those inclined to adventure, its jungle-clad volcanoes offer lung-busting escapades tracking chimpanzees.

Burundians also have an irrepressible joie de vivre, and their smiles are as infectious as a rhythm laid down by any of the Les Tambourinaires drummers for which the country is famous.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

2. Burundi National and Social Development

#human_development

UN HDI (2016)11
Pos.		Lower is better Rank11
1	Norway	1
2	Australia	2
3	Switzerland	2
	...
181	Mozambique	181
182	S. Sudan	181
183	Guinea	183
184	Burundi	184
185	Burkina Faso	185
186	Chad	186
187	Niger	187
188	Central African Rep.	188
	World Avg	94.3
q=188.

Social & Moral Development Index12
Pos.		Higher is better Points12
1	Denmark	83.6
2	Finland	83.1
3	Sweden	82.6
	...
186	Sudan	38.9
187	Mali	38.9
188	Equatorial Guinea	38.6
189	Burundi	37.3
190	Central African Rep.	35.8
191	Syria	35.5
192	Congo, DR	35.3
193	Angola	35.1
	World Avg	55.4
q=198.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life.

3. Population and Demographics

#birth_control #Burundi #demographics #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #overpopulation #population

Old-Age Dependency Ratio (2016)13
Pos.		Lower is better Per 10013
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3	Chad	04.7
	...
21	Niger	05.8
22	Congo, DR	05.8
23	Benin	05.8
24	Burundi	05.9
25	Liberia	05.9
26	Iraq	06.0
27	Guinea	06.1
28	Guinea-Bissau	06.1
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

Emigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Dominica	104.8%
2	Palestine	68.4%
3	Samoa	67.3%
	...
122	S. Korea	4.3%
123	Belgium	4.2%
124	Syria	4.2%
125	Burundi	4.2%
126	Panama	4.0%
127	Norway	3.8%
128	Bahrain	3.7%
129	Gambia	3.7%
	World Avg	11.5%
q=192.

Fertility Rate (2013)15
Pos.		2.0 is best15
1	N. Korea	2.00
2	Brunei	1.99
3	St Vincent & Grenadines	2.01
	...
141	Ethiopia	3.91
142	Ghana	4.03
143	Solomon Islands	4.08
144	Burundi	4.10
145	Ivory Coast	4.27
146	Eritrea	4.28
147	Palestine	4.31
148	Cameroon	4.33
	World Avg	2.81
q=180.

The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

Immigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Qatar	86.5%
2	Monaco	71.6%
3	UAE	70.0%
	...
152	Cameroon	1.0%
153	Tonga	0.8%
154	Bosnia & Herzegovina	0.7%
155	Burundi	0.7%
156	Nigeria	0.7%
157	Nicaragua	0.7%
158	Algeria	0.7%
159	Bangladesh	0.7%
	World Avg	9.2%
q=192.

Life Expectancy (2015)16
Pos.		Higher is better Years16
1	Hong Kong	84.16
2	Japan	83.68
3	Italy	83.34
	...
174	Mali	58.47
175	Equatorial Guinea	57.91
176	S. Africa	57.66
177	Burundi	57.12
178	S. Sudan	56.13
179	Cameroon	55.96
180	Somalia	55.71
181	Guinea-Bissau	55.49
	World Avg	71.27
q=190.

Population (2012)17
Pos.		Population17
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.3b
3	USA	315.8m
	...
89	Sweden	9.5m
90	Azerbaijan	9.4m
91	Benin	9.4m
92	Burundi	8.7m
93	Austria	8.4m
94	UAE	8.1m
95	Honduras	7.9m
96	Switzerland	7.7m
	World Avg	36.0m
q=195.

Burundi's population is predicted to rise to 11.44 million by 2030. These millions of extra people will all need space to live, food to eat, energy to consume, and will increase the burden on the planet's resources. This country has a fertility rate of 4.10. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

• The Population of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception

4. Human Rights, Equality and Freedom

#Burundi #equality #freedom #human_rights #politics #tolerance

Burundi is amongst the worst places in the world at ensuring human rights and freedom, and it has severe cultural issues when it comes to tolerance and equality. Burundi does better than average in its nominal commitment to Human Rights₁₈. But unfortunately Burundi gets most other things wrong. It does worse than average in terms of opposing gender inequality₁₉ (still low for Africa), supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms₂₀, the year from which women could participate in democracy₂₁, supporting press freedom₂₂, its Global Peace Index rating₂₃ and in LGBT equality₂₄. And finally, it sits amongst the bottom 20 for commentary in Human Rights Watch reports₂₅ (amongst the lowest in Africa), fighting corruption₂₆ and in eliminating modern slavery₂₇ (amongst the highest in Africa). In 2017, government forces persecuted political opponents, and they and the Imbonerakure "were responsible for numerous killings, disappearances, ab-ductions, acts of torture, rapes, and arbitrary arrests"₂₈ and a Human Rights Council affiliated body stated that it beliefs crimes against humanity have been committed in Burundi since April 2015₂₈

For tables, charts and commentary, see:

• Human Rights and Freedom in Burundi

5. Peace Versus Instability

#Burundi #extremism #human_development #peace #politics #religious_violence #terrorism

Peacekeeping and Security (2017)29
Pos.		Lower is better Rank29
1	Samoa	1
2	S. Africa	2
3	Tunisia	3
	...
122	Guinea	122
123	Israel	123
124	Malta	124
125	Burundi	125
126	Barbados	126
127	Chad	127
128	Montenegro	128
129	Dominican Rep.	129
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Refugees and UN Treaties (2017)29
Pos.		Lower is better Rank29
1	Austria	1
2	Germany	2
3	Netherlands	3
	...
147	El Salvador	147
148	Bahamas	148
149	Marshall Islands	149
150	Burundi	150
151	Zimbabwe	151
152	Grenada	152
153	Angola	153
154	Guyana	154
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Global Peace Index (2012)23
Pos.		Lower is better23
1	Iceland	1.11
2	New Zealand	1.24
3	Denmark	1.24
	...
134	Mexico	2.45
135	Lebanon	2.46
136	Ethiopia	2.50
137	Burundi	2.52
138	Myanmar (Burma)	2.53
139	Zimbabwe	2.54
140	Georgia	2.54
141	India	2.55
	World Avg	2.02
q=157.

"The 2012 Global Peace Index is the sixth edition of the world's leading study on global levels of peacefulness. The GPI ranks 158 nations using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, which gauge three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society; the extent of domestic or international conflict; and the degree of militarisation. By generating new information on the state of peace at the national and global level, the Institute for Economics and Peace hopes to make a valuable contribution to better understanding how civil society, researchers, policymakers, and government can create a more peaceful society"₂₃. The most peaceable countries in the world are Iceland, New Zealand and Denmark₂₃ and the worst are Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan₂₃.

Impact of Terrorism (2019)30
Pos.		Lower is better Score30
1	Togo	0.00
2	Mongolia	0.00
3	Swaziland	0.00
	...
115	France	5.01
116	Indonesia	5.07
117	Nepal	5.09
118	Burundi	5.10
119	Palestine	5.18
120	Bangladesh	5.21
121	Saudi Arabia	5.24
122	Ethiopia	5.35
	World Avg	2.78
q=150.

6. Religion and Beliefs

#belief #buddhism #christianity #god #hinduism #islam #judaism #religion

Religiosity (2009)31
Pos.		Lower is better %31
1	Estonia	16
2	Sweden	17
3	Denmark	19
	...
105	Mauritania	98
106	Djibouti	98
107	Somaliland	98
108	Burundi	98
109	Sri Lanka	99
110	Malawi	99
111	Yemen	99
112	Indonesia	99
	World Avg	75.1
q=114.

Disbelief In God (2007)32
Pos.		Higher is better %32
1	Vietnam	81
2	Japan	65
3	Sweden	64
	...
86	Panama	1
87	Somalia	0
88	Sri Lanka	0
89	Burundi	0
90	Burkina Faso	0
91	Brunei	0
92	Botswana	0
93	Syria	0
	World Avg	9.9
q=137.

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₃₃:

Christian	91.5%
Muslim	2.8%
Hindu	0.1%
Buddhist	0.1%
Folk Religion	5.7%
Jew	0.1%
Unaffiliated	0.1%

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states: Christian 82.8% (Roman Catholic 61.4%, Protestant 21.4%), Muslim 2.5%, Adventist 2.3%, other 6.5%, unknown 5.9% (2008 census)₃₄.

Links:

• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
• Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?

7. The Internet

#Burundi #internet #the_internet

Internet Users (2016)35
Pos.		Higher is better35
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
	...
194	Myanmar (Burma)	3%
195	Sierra Leone	2%
196	Niger	2%
197	Guinea	2%
198	Somalia	2%
199	Burundi	2%
200	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	1%
201	Eritrea	1%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

Internet access has become an essential research tool. It facilitates an endless list of life improvements, from the ability to network and socialize without constraint, to access to a seemingly infinite repository of technical and procedural information on pretty much any task. The universal availability of data has sped up industrial development and personal learning at the national and personal level. Individuals can read any topic they wish regardless of the locality of expert teachers, and, entire nations can develop their technology and understanding of the world simply because they are now exposed to advanced societies and moral discourses online. Like every communications medium, the Internet has issues and causes a small range of problems, but these are insignificant compared to the advantages of having an online populace.

8. Public Health Issues

#alcohol #Burundi #genetics #health #obesity #public_health #smoking #sociology #UK

Burundi does relatively well in encouraging good health, compared to many other countries. Burundi comes in the best 20 for the prevalence of overweight adults₃₆ and in its smoking rate₃₇. It does better than average when it comes to its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance₂₉, its adolescent birth rate₁₉ and in its immunizations take-up₃₈. Burundi does not succeed in everything, however. It does worse than average when it comes to its alcohol consumption rate₃₉. The prevalence of overweight adults has increased by 14% during the last 40 years.

Alcohol Consumption (2016)39
Pos.		Lower is better Per Capita39
1	Bangladesh	0.0
2	Kuwait	0.0
3	Libya	0.0
	...
108	Paraguay	7.2
109	Mongolia	7.4
110	Albania	7.5
111	Burundi	7.5
112	Italy	7.5
113	Norway	7.5
114	Kazakhstan	7.7
115	Congo, (Brazzaville)	7.8
	World Avg	6.2
q=189.

There is nothing wrong with drinking modest and sensible amounts of alcohol but fitness, physical health, mental health and long-term health all suffer as a result of medium- or heavy- drinking₄₀ and the health risks to the baby when pregnant mothers drink₄₁ are well-known. Aside from the effects on the individual, alcohol misuse impacts on entire economies₄₂ via increased health service costs, policing costs and lost days' work. Worldwide, alcohol misuse is "among the top five risk factors for disease, disability and death" and is a "cause of more than 200 disease and injury conditions in individuals, most notably alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers and injuries"₄₃. "In 2012... 5.9% of all global deaths, were attributable to alcohol consumption"₄₄. Deaths from chronic alcohol misuse have been rising for decades, and so has violence, abuse, vandalism and crime all associated with alcohol over-use. The aggression and crime associated with alcohol in some Western countries infringes on the human rights of those who want nothing to do with such behaviour. Many of the social effects of alcohol are psychological and cultural; i.e., people don't have to behave criminally or destructively whilst drunk - it is a culturally learned behaviour. Experiments have shown that behaviour can be controlled: Those who do not wish to behave badly whilst drunk, will not do so.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017)29
Pos.		Lower is better Rank29
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
	...
71	Liberia	71
72	Kazakhstan	72
73	Egypt	73
74	Burundi	74
75	Cameroon	74
76	Malta	76
77	Guatemala	77
78	Sri Lanka	78
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Overweight Adults (2016)36
Pos.		Lower is better %36
1	Vietnam	18.3
2	India	19.7
3	Bangladesh	20.0
	...
7	Cambodia	21.7
8	Niger	22.0
9	Eritrea	22.0
10	Burundi	22.2
11	Uganda	22.4
12	Afghanistan	23.0
13	Chad	23.1
14	Burkina Faso	23.2
	World Avg	49.0
q=191.

About one third of the global population is overweight or obese₄₅. Most Western countries are facing an obesity epidemic. Our cultures are having to change to compensate for widespread ill-health. It is costing our health systems a massive amount of money, and is having negative effects on national economies. The situation has persisted for a suitable length of time for our very perceptions to change; opinions on "normal weights" for people and "average sizes" for clothes has shot up₄₆. Over 2 in 3 adults in the UK are overweight₄₆ and this costs the NHS £5.1 billion per year₄₇ and "costs Britain's economy £47bn a year; more than war, terrorism or armed violence"₄₈. We are forgetting how to be healthy.

The causes are not genetic. Most people who say obesity "runs in their family" are wrong. The rate of increase in obesity is many, many times too fast to be accounted for by a change in inherited genes₄₉. Our culture and lifestyle choices are to blame. The causes of the modern obesity epidemic are processed foods, low levels of physical exercise, over-indulgence, poor choices in food products, poor knowledge of nutrition. Most of this is made much worse by well-funded advertising campaigns by food manufacturers selling cheaper mass-produced food. Even some so-called "health foods" contain well over recommended limits of fat, salt and sugar₅₀.

Smoking Rates (2014)37
Pos.		Lower is better37
1	Guinea	15
2	Solomon Islands	26
3	Kiribati	28
	...
16	Afghanistan	84
17	Lesotho	88
18	Trinidad & Tobago	97
19	Burundi	98
20	Tanzania	101
21	Liberia	104
22	Niger	105
23	Sao Tome & Principe	111
	World Avg	819
q=182.

9. Children's Health

#Burundi #health #parenting #population #vaccines

Adolescent Birth Rate (2015)19
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100019
1	N. Korea	0.5
2	S. Korea	1.6
3	Switzerland	2.9
	...
77	Iran	26.7
78	Turkey	27.6
79	Kazakhstan	27.9
80	Burundi	28.3
81	Mauritius	28.5
82	Bahamas	29.6
83	UAE	29.7
84	Grenada	30.5
	World Avg	47.9
q=185.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015)38
Pos.		Higher is better Avg %38
1	Hungary	99.0
2	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
90	Serbia	93.5
91	Egypt	93.4
92	Cape Verde	93.4
93	Burundi	93.3
94	Chile	93.3
95	Georgia	93.1
96	New Zealand	92.9
97	Nauru	92.9
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

10. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries