Burundi

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.

Economical characteristics

 * Currency: Burundi franc (ISO code: BIF)
 * Central bank discount rate: 10.08% (31 December 2008)
 * Commercial banks lending rate: 16.52% (31 December 2008)
 * Stock of money (M1): $261.6 million (31 December 2008)
 * Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $189.9 million (31 December 2008)

Links

 * Burundi on Wikipedia
 * Central bank of Burundi
 * Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
 * BBC country profile