Burundi — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Burundi: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Burundi is in Central Africa, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, west of Tanzania. It covers 27,830 sq km. Terrain: hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains. Climate: equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees Celsius but is generally moderate; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm with two wet seasons (February to May and September to November) an…
| Capital | Gitega (political capital), Bujumbura (commercial capital) |
|---|---|
| Population | 13,590,102 (2024 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $11.739 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $800 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 3.5% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 20.2% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 1% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 48.4% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $378.229 million (2023 est.) |
| Imports | $1.433 billion (2023 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 68.1 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 17.6 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 14.8% of total population (2023) |
| Government | presidential republic |
| Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
| Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), English (official, least spoken), Swahili (2008 est.) |
Burundi’s GDP is $11.739 billion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $2.162 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 3.5% (2024 est.). See where Burundi ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
An uneventful quarter, recorded without embellishment: no breakthrough to celebrate, no setback to mourn.
The longer forces — demographics, trade routes, regional balances — kept doing what they do, and the country rode them steadily.
- What our model rewards: unemployment near 1.0% — work for whoever wants it; public debt under 48% of GDP — room to maneuver
- What drags it down: a current-account deficit of $1 billion (28.9% of GDP) — living beyond its means; a median age of 18 — a nation of children, its workforce still in the classroom
Nickel, Uranium, Rare earths, Cobalt, Copper, Platinum, Vanadium, Hydropower, Niobium, Tantalum, Gold, Tin, Tungsten.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 10.3% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 31.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 0.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 66.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 946,000 Btu/person (2023 est.) |
| Primary energy consumption (OWID) | 3.8 TWh (2023) |
| Electricity generation (OWID) | 0.4 TWh (2023) |
| Energy per capita (OWID) | 277 kWh per person (2023) |
| Electricity generation mix (OWID) | Hydro 66.7%, Oil 30.8% (2023) |
| Low-carbon share of electricity (OWID) | 69.2% (2023) |
| Carbon intensity of electricity (OWID) | 230.8 gCO2/kWh (2023) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2023.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $378.229 million (2023 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $1.433 billion (2023 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Deficit of $1.1 billion (2023), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | light consumer goods (sugar, shoes, soap, beer); cement, assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing (fruits) |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Évariste Ndayishimiye — President. President Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE (since 18 June 2020)
Burundi maintains 25 embassies and 3 consulates abroad, hosts 19 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, AU Addis Ababa. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 25 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 3 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 19 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, AU Addis Ababa |
Source: Consular Affairs Center, Diplomatic and Consular Networks Database and Rankings, January 2026 (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0). https://zenodo.org/records/18109976
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Landlocked — no seacoast; exports move through transit corridors across neighbouring countries. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 6 (registration prefix 9U) |
Major airports
Bujumbura Melchior Ndadaye International Airport (BJM) — Bujumbura; Gitega Airport (GID) — Gitega.
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | presidential republic |
|---|---|
| Next election | No election currently scheduled. |
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Burundi.
Historical timeline of Burundi
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Burundi — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Burundi's power score?
Burundi has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.