Burundi Population, Main Cities and Geography

By | January 27, 2023

Burundi: population and cities

Population

Population

According to Countryaah website, Burundi had around 12 million people in mid-2012.

Ethnic composition

The population of Burundi is made up of around 85% Hutu, 14% Tutsi and around 1% Twa pygmies who live in the forest areas of the mountains.

Religious affiliation

Approximately 80% of the residents of Burundi are Christians (predominantly Catholics) and another 18% are followers of natural religions. The Muslims represent a religious minority with around 2%.

National languages The first official language in Burundi is the Bantu language Kurundi, the second official language is French and a minority speaks English. There are also various Bantu dialects in use.

Capital and other cities

The capital of Burundi is Bujumbura with a population of around 1 million. According to Abbreviation Finder, BDI stands for Burundi in English. Click to see other meanings of this 3-letter acronym.

Other larger cities are:

  • Muyinga with around 71,000 residents
  • Gitega with about 23,000 residents
  • Ngozi with about 22,000 residents

Burundi: geography

General

Burundi is one of the smallest states in Africa. It is located between Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika on a high plateau that gradually merges into a mountain range of the Central African Rift Valley. Check topmbadirectory for politics, flags, famous people, animals and plants of Burundi.

 

Area and boundaries

Burundi covers a total area of 27,834 km². Thereof:

  • ForestAround 3% of the country is forested. Burundi’s forest stands suffer from the world’s largest percentage decline of around 9%.
  • Fields and fieldsAround 52% of the land is used as arable land or fields, especially for growing cotton, peanuts and sesame as well as millet, maize and rice.
  • Meadow and pasture landAbout 36% of the land is used as meadow or pasture land.

Burundi borders on three states. These are the borders with:

Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a length of 233 km,

Rwanda with a length of 290 km and

Tanzania with a length of 451 km.

Longitude and latitude

Burundi extends over the following geographical latitude (abbreviation Δφ) and geographical longitude (abbreviation Δλ):

Δφ = from 2 ° 20 ‘to 4 ° 30’ south latitude Δλ = from 29 ° to 31 ° east longitude

You can find detailed information on this subject under Longitude and Latitude.

Time in Burundi

In Burundi, the opposite of Central European Time (CET) applies, i.e. the time without summer time as in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Δt (CET) = + 1 h

Further and detailed explanations of the time can be found under Time zones, time.

The highest point of the sun in Bujumbura

Bujumbura is located at a southern latitude of about 3.5 ° (see position of the sun). If the declination of the sun has the value 03 ° 30 ‘S and the image point of the sun is above the city, the sun is perpendicular there. This happens twice a year, roughly 14 days before March 21st and 14 days after September 21st. Since Bujumbura is located in the southern hemisphere, the beginning of summer is there on September 21st. Accordingly, the image point is located north of the latitude of Bujumbura – then the sun at noon is not in the south, as in our latitudes, but in the north. So the sun moves from the east over the north to the west, where it sets.

mountains

The highest mountain in the country is the Karonje with a height of 2,685 m. Another high mountain is Mount Kikizi with a height of 2,145 m.

Rivers

The longest river in Burundi is the Luvironza-Ruvubu-Ruvusu-Akagera. It rises in the south of the country and represents one of the headwaters of the Nile; together with this it reaches a length of 6,671 km.

Another river in Burundi is the Ruzizi with a length of 104 km. It is the only outflow from Lake Kiwu and flows into Lake Tanganyika.

Lakes, Lake Tanganijka

Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika is located in the south and southwest of Burundi. With a maximum depth of 1,470 m and an average depth of approx. 570 m, it is the second deepest lake on earth and the deepest in all of Africa. It covers an area of around 32,893 km², making it the second largest lake in Africa. Its water volume is 18,900 km³. Its length is around 650 km and its width varies between around 40 and 75 km. The lake lies in the East African rift system – the tectonic fracture zone in East Africa. In addition to Burundi, the lake belongs to the following countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Tanzania. With 45% and 41%, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania take by far the largest part of the lake.

In addition, there is the small Cohoha Lake and the Rweru Lake in Burundi.

Burundi Population