Demographics of Burundi
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At 206.1 persons per sq. km., Burundi has the second-largest population density in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most people live on farms near areas of fertile volcanic soil. The population is made up of three major ethnic groups -- Bahutu (Hutu), Batutsi or Watusi (Tutsi), and Batwa (Twa). Kirundi is the common language. Intermarriage takes place frequently between the Hutus and Tutsis. The terms "pastoralist" and "agriculturist," often used as ethnic designations for Watutsi and Bahutu, respectively, are only occupational titles which vary among individuals and groups. Although Hutus encompass the majority of the population, historically Tutsis have been politically and economically dominant.
Demographic data from the CIA World Factbook
Population
- 6,370,609
- 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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)
Age structure
- 0-14 years: 46% (male 1,479,941/female 1,450,808)
- 15-64 years: 51.3% (male 1,617,864/female 1,653,331)
- 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 66,199/female 102,466) (2005 est.)
Median age
- Total: 16.6 years
- Male: 16.27 years
- Female: 16.95 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate
- 2.22% (2005 est.)
Birth rate
- 39.66 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate
- 17.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate
- 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio
- At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
- Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
- Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate
- Total: 69.29 deaths/1,000 live births
- Male: 75.87 deaths/1,000 live births
- Female: 62.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
- Total population: 43.5 years
- Male: 42.91 years
- Female: 44.12 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate
- 5.81 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS
- Adult prevalence rate: 6% (2003 est.)
- People living with HIV/AIDS: 250,000 (2003 est.)
- Deaths: 25,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases
- Degree of risk: very high
- Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
- Vectorborne disease: malaria (2004)
Nationality
- Noun: Burundian(s)
- Adjective: Burundian
Ethnic groups
1. There are no ethnic groups in Burundi. However, frequently, the following information is given by otherwise authoritative sources: "The ethnic groups of Burundi are: Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000".
2. There are no ethnic groups in Burundi other than the Barundi, that is, the one people of Burundi, encompassing all the African peoples of the country, who share the same language, culture, and history, and who used to share the same traditional religion and traditional beliefs. The Twa are a forest people and up until recently had a more distinct way of life. They now live intermingled with other Burundis in urban and rural areas. [The same is true of Rwanda.]
3. There are social groups, also known as socio-identity groups, called Hutu, Tutsi and Twa.
4. There is no known 'Hamitic' group in Burundi - this label is an error of the colonial observers of Burundi in the 1920s and 1930s, superceded by modern national and international research findings since the 1960s.
5. There has never been a count or census of Twa, Tutsi or Hutu, ever - the percentages above are only guesses that date from the 1920s/1930s. There is a high degree of intermarriage between Tutsi and Hutu.
6.. It was possible up to the first half of the twentieth century for a Hutu to become a Tutsi [there is even a word for this process in the language of Burundi, in Kirundi: 'kwihutura'], for a Tutsi to become a Hutu, for a Ganwa to become a Tutsi, etc., etc. The Ganwa are a fourth socio-identity group in Burundi, who, up to the first half of the twentieth century, formed a princely class, constituting the aristocracy at the court of the king, and ruling princedoms by delegation, for the king. [See historians Mworoha and Gahama for details] The Twa remained Twa.
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)
Literacy
- Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
- Total population: 51.6%
- Male: 58.5%
- Female: 45.2% (2003 est.)