Portal:Burundi

Burundi (/bəˈrʊndi/ ^ⓘ, /-ˈrʌn-/), officially the Republic of Burundi (Kirundi: Repubulika y’Uburundi,^[1] [u.βu.ɾǔː.ndi]; Swahili: Jamuhuri ya Burundi; French: République du Burundi, [buʁundi] or [byʁyndi]), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley where the African Great Lakes region and East Africa converge. It is bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and southeast, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; Lake Tanganyika lies along its southwestern border. The capital cities are Gitega and Bujumbura, which is also the largest city.^[2]

One of the smallest countries in Africa, Burundi's land is used mostly for subsistence agriculture and grazing, which has led to deforestation, soil erosion and habitat loss.^[3] As of 2005 the country was almost completely deforested, with less than 6% of its land covered by trees and over half of that being commercial plantations.^[4] In addition to poverty, Burundi often suffers from corruption, weak infrastructure, poor access to health and education services, and hunger.^[5] Burundi is densely populated and many young people emigrate in search of opportunities elsewhere. The World Happiness Report 2018 ranked the nation as the world's least happy with a rank of 156.^[6] Burundi is a member of the African Union, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.