Burundi:
Economy

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Other pages in this profile of Burundi:
Geography, People, Government, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Economy - overview	Definition 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. Burundi's GDP grew around 5% annually in 2006-07. 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 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.
GDP (purchasing power parity)	Definition - World rank and map $2.896 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)	Definition $1.001 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	Definition - World rank and map 3.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita	Definition - World rank and map $400 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	Definition agriculture: 33.7% industry: 20.9% services: 45.4% (2007 est.)
Labor force	Definition 2.99 million (2002)
Labor force - by occupation	Definition agriculture: 93.6% industry: 2.3% services: 4.1% (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	Definition - World rank and map NA%
Population below poverty line	Definition 68% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	Definition lowest 10%: 1.7% highest 10%: 32.8% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index	Definition - World rank and map 42.4 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	Definition - World rank and map 8.4% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)	Definition - World rank and map 24.4% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget	Definition revenues: $264.2 million expenditures: $335.4 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	Definition coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides
Industries	Definition light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing
Industrial production growth rate	Definition - World rank and map 6.4% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production	Definition - World rank and map 137 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 161.4 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 18.6 kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	Definition 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	Definition 34 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2005)
Oil - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 2,900 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption per 1,000 people	Definition - World rank and map 0.3 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports	Definition - World rank and map 2,687 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance	Definition - World rank and map -$124 million (2007 est.)
Exports	Definition - World rank and map $44.5 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities	Definition coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides
Exports - partners	Definition Germany 25.3%, Switzerland 20.5%, Pakistan 5.5%, Belgium 4.6% (2006)
Imports	Definition - World rank and map $272 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities	Definition capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Definition Saudi Arabia 15.4%, Kenya 10.4%, Belgium 7.8%, France 5.5%, Uganda 4.9%, Germany 4.9%, India 4.3%, Russia 4.2% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	Definition - World rank and map $176.2 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external	Definition - World rank and map $1.2 billion (2003)
Market value of publicly traded shares	Definition $NA
Economic aid - recipient	Definition $365 million (2005)
Currency (code)	Definition Burundi franc (BIF)
Exchange rates	Definition Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,065 (2007), 1,030 (2006), 1,138 (2005), 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003)
Fiscal year	Definition calendar year

Burundi: Economy

Burundi:
Economy