Economy Overview
Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural which accounts for just over 30% of GDP and employs more than 90% of the population. Burundi's primary exports are coffee and tea, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings, though exports are a relatively small share of GDP. Burundi's export earnings - and its ability to pay for imports - rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the coffee trade. 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. Less than 2% of the population has electricity in its homes. Burundi's GDP grew around 4% annually in 2006-10. 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, a poor transportation network, overburdened utilities, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms. The purchasing power of most Burundians has decreased as wage increases have not kept up with inflation. Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors; the delay of funds after a corruption scandal cut off bilateral aid in 2007 reduced government's revenues and its ability to pay salaries. Burundi joined the East African Community, which should boost Burundi's regional trade ties, and received $700 million in debt relief in 2009. Government corruption is also hindering the development of a healthy private sector as companies seek to navigate an environment with ever-changing rules.
Agriculture Products
coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides
Industries
light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing
Industrial Production Growth Rate
7% (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 56
Labor Force
4.245 million (2007)country comparison to the world: 84
Electricity production
208 million kWh (2008 est.)country comparison to the world: 177
Electricity Consumption
273.4 million kWh (2008 est.)country comparison to the world: 172
Electricity Exports
0 kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity Imports
80 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2008 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line
68% (2002 est.)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: 4.1%
Highest 10%: 28% (2006)
Distribution of Family Income Gini Index
42.4 (1998)country comparison to the world: 51
Budget
Revenues: $424.4 million
Expenditures: $525.4 million (2010 est.)
Central Bank Discount Rate
11.25% (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 29 10% (31 December 2009 est.)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Stock of Narrow Money
$309.1 million (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 168 $293.5 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Broad Money
$628.4 million (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 171 $527.4 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Domestic Credit
$437.1 million (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 168 $415.1 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
$NA
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
$332.1 million (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 155 $323.1 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt External
$1.2 billion (2003)country comparison to the world: 148
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
Exchange Rates
Burundi francs (BIF) per US dollar -1,250.75 (2010)1,230.18 (2009)1,198 (2008)1,065 (2007)1,030 (2006)
