*Burundi, Economy
Overview:
A landlocked, resource-poor country in an early stage of economic
development, Burundi is predominately agricultural with only a few basic
industries. Its economic health depends on the coffee crop, which accounts
for an average 90% of foreign exchange earnings each year. The ability to
pay for imports therefore continues to rest largely on the vagaries of the
climate and the international coffee market. As part of its economic reform
agenda, launched in February 1991 with IMF and World Bank support, Burundi
is trying to diversify its agricultural exports and attract foreign
investment in industry. Several state-owned coffee companies were privatized
via public auction in September 1991.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.23 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
5% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
$205 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $318 million; expenditures $326 million, including capital
expenditures of $150 million (1991 est.)
Exports:
$91.7 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
coffee 81%, tea, hides, and skins
partners:
EC 83%, US 5%, Asia 2%
Imports:
$246 million (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities:
capital goods 31%, petroleum products 15%, foodstuffs, consumer goods
partners:
EC 57%, Asia 23%, US 3%
External debt:
$1 billion (1990 est.)
Industrial production:
real growth rate 11.0% (1991 est.); accounts for about 5% of GDP
Electricity:
55,000 kW capacity; 105 million kWh produced, 20 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imports;
public works construction; food processing
Agriculture:
accounts for 60% of GDP; 90% of population dependent on subsistence farming;
marginally self-sufficient in food production; cash crops - coffee, cotton,
tea; food crops - corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc; livestock
- meat, milk, hides and skins
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $71 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.2 billion; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $32 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $175
million
Currency:
1 Burundi franc (FBu) = 100 centimes
*Burundi, Economy
Exchange rates:
Burundi francs (FBu) per US$1 - 235.75 (January 1993), 208.30 (1992), 181.51
(1991), 171.26 (1990), 158.67 (1989), 140.40 (1988)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
*Burundi, Communications
Highways:
5,900 km total; 400 km paved, 2,500 km gravel or laterite, 3,000 km improved
or unimproved earth
Inland waterways:
Lake Tanganyika
Ports:
Bujumbura (lake port) connects to transportation systems of Tanzania and
Zaire
Airports:
total:
5
usable:
4
with permanent-surface runways:
1
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
4
Telecommunications:
sparse system of wire, radiocommunications, and low-capacity microwave radio
relay links; 8,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 2 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1
Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station
*Burundi, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 1,283,308; fit for military service 670,381; reach military
age (16) annually 62,700 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $28 million, 3.7% of GDP (1989)
*Cambodia, Geography
Location:
Southeast Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand and Vietnam
Map references: Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
181,040 km2
land area:
176,520 km2
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Oklahoma
Land boundaries:
total 2,572 km, Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km
Coastline:
443 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
24 nm
continental shelf:
200 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
offshore islands and three sections of the boundary with Vietnam are in
dispute; maritime boundary with Vietnam not defined
Climate:
tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to October); dry season (December to
March); little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain:
mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
Natural resources:
timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower
potential
Land use:
arable land:
16%
permanent crops:
1%
meadows and pastures:
3%
forest and woodland:
76%
other:
4%
Irrigated land:
920 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
a land of paddies and forests dominated by Mekong River and Tonle Sap
Note:
buffer between Thailand and Vietnam