East Africa

Burundi

Burundi is a eastern African country of roughly 13.7M people, covering 27,834 km² with its capital at Gitega. Its economy is worth about $3.0B in nominal terms, anchored by coffee, tea, agriculture.

Population: 13.7M; Projected population, 2026
Source: UN World Population Prospects
Capital: Gitega
GDP: $3.0B
Area: 27,834 km²
Currency: Burundian franc

Map

Interactive map of Burundi — East Africa

Overview

Burundi is a eastern African country of roughly 13.7M people, covering 27,834 km² with its capital at Gitega. Its economy is worth about $3.0B in nominal terms, anchored by coffee, tea, agriculture.

Government

Burundi operates as a presidential republic. Independence: 1962. Executive, legislative and judicial functions are exercised from Gitega.

Economy

Nominal GDP is approximately $3.0B, or around $218 per capita. The currency in circulation is the Burundian franc. Leading sectors are coffee, tea, agriculture.

Population

Burundi has a projected population, 2026 of 13,738,212 people (United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024 Revision, Online Edition — medium variant), a density of roughly 494 people per km². Values from 2024 onwards are medium-variant projections rather than live counts.

Cities

The largest urban centres are Bujumbura, Gitega, Ngozi. Gitega serves as the seat of government.

History

Modern Burundi took shape through pre-colonial states, the colonial partition of the late nineteenth century, and independence in 1962. Our History section covers each period in depth.

Languages

Widely used languages include Kirundi, French, English. Official-language policy shapes schooling, courts and broadcasting.

Culture

Music, cuisine, film, textiles and sport in Burundi form part of a fast-growing creative economy with an expanding export footprint.

Education

Primary enrolment is near-universal in most of the region; the constraints sit at secondary completion, technical training and higher-education funding.

Healthcare

Health spending across Africa averages about 5.7% of GDP. Burundi's system combines public facilities, private providers and donor-funded programmes.

Business

Company registration, tax administration and access to finance are the practical determinants of doing business in Burundi. See our Business section for sector reporting.

Investment

Investors typically look at coffee, infrastructure and consumer services. Regulatory clarity and FX access are the recurring diligence questions.

Tourism

Visitors come for landscape, heritage and city life. Entry requirements, seasonality and internal transport are covered in our Travel guides.

Transportation

Road remains dominant; rail, ports and aviation capacity vary sharply and are the focus of most current infrastructure investment.

Infrastructure

Electricity access, broadband coverage and logistics quality are the three infrastructure metrics most closely tied to Burundi's growth outlook.

Statistics

Full time series for population, GDP, trade, inflation, internet usage, education, health, tourism, agriculture and climate are published in The360Africa Data Center.