Burundi

In the early 1990s, the Republic of Burundi experienced the assassination of its first democratically elected president after only 100 days in office. The ethnic conflict between the Hutu majority (85 percent) and the Tutsi minority (14 percent) that followed the assassination lasted for almost 12 years and led to the deaths of 200,000 Burundians. Hundreds of thousands more fled to other areas in Burundi and to neighboring countries, chiefly Tanzania. In 2003, international groups engineered a peace agreement; and in 2005, the Hutu elected a new president. However, rebel groups continue to threaten political and economic stability.

With a per capita income of only $600, Burundi is the sixth poorest country in the world. Nearly 70 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty. Income ...