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| Country | Burundi | | | Flag |  | | | Capital | name: Bujumbura geographic coordinates: 3 22 S, 29 21 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) | | | Population | 8,988,091 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.) | | | GMT | +2 | | | Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
see map | | | Area | total: 27,830 sq km land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km | | | Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 | | | Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | | | Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | | | Government type | republic | | | National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | | | Constitution | 28 February 2005; ratified by popular referendum | | | Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | | | Background | 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. | | Internet country code | .bi | |
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