Country · Africa
Burundi
Republic of Burundi
Burundi is a country in Eastern Africa. About 11.2 million people live there, in an area of 27 834 square kilometres. Its capital city is Gitega.
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Where is Burundi?
Burundi lies in Eastern Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the southern half of the world, roughly 390 km from the equator.
Burundi is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 3 countries: DR Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania.
How big is Burundi?
Burundi covers 27 834 square kilometres.
That is about 11 times the size of Luxembourg.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 142nd largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 401.5 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Burundi?
About 11.2 million people live in Burundi.
That is the 81st biggest population in the world.
People here speak French and Kirundi.
They pay with the Burundian franc (Fr).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 46 years.
The land of Burundi
The land of Burundi sits on average 1 504 metres above sea level — high enough that much of it counts as mountain country.
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 3 neighbours to get here.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Burundi different?
Websites from here often end in .bi.
Burundi and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Burundi.
It takes up about 0.02 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 45th of 54 by size, and 31st by population.
Burundi and its neighbours
DR Congo, its largest neighbour, is about 84.2 times bigger.
DR Congo has more people: 84.1 million against 11.2 million.
Nature and animals
The highest mountain in the country is Mount Heha, at 2 684 metres. The longest river in the country is the Ruvubu. The largest lake in the country is Lake Tanganyika.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Burundi compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 337 times as big as Burundi: 9 372 610 km² against 27 834 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 8.7 times as big as Burundi: 242 900 km² against 27 834 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Burundi?
The capital of Burundi is Gitega. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Burundi?
About 11.2 million people live in Burundi, which makes it the 81st most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Burundi?
How big is Burundi?
Burundi covers 27 834 square kilometres, making it the 142nd largest country in the world. That is about 11 times the size of Luxembourg.
What is the highest mountain in Burundi?
The highest mountain in Burundi is Mount Heha, 2 684 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Burundi?
The longest river in Burundi is the Ruvubu. Of its 416 kilometres, about 285 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Burundi?
The largest lake in Burundi is Lake Tanganyika. The whole lake covers about 32 900 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is Burundi in?
Burundi is in Africa, in the part called Eastern Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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