Burundi Re-Elects Nkurunziza as President



In May 2015, the landlocked central African nation of Burundi experienced a coup.  Godefroid Niyombare led the coup against Burundi’s president Pierre Nkurunziza.  Nkurunziza, 51, was a former rebel leader during the civil war in Burundi.  From 1993 – 2005, Burundi endured a civil war between ethnic Hutus and Tutsis.  The Burundian civil war was part of the same conflict that caused the Rwandan genocide in 1994.  During the 12 year civil war over 300,000 people died.  In October 1993, Hutu President Melchoir Ndadaye – Burundi’s first democratically elected president, was assassinated.  The assassination sparked nationwide violence between Hutus and Tutsis.  


Protesters railed against Nkurunziza in April 2015 after he announced his re-election bid for a third term as president.  Nkurunziza’s forces were able to suppress the coup attempt.  Nkurunziza has been president of Burundi since 2005.


Burundi is listed as the 2nd poorest country in the world.  According to the U.S. State Department, between 2007 – 2014, the United States trained more soldiers in Burundi than any other sub-Saharan African country, with the exception of Nigeria.


The coup attempt and protests against the government last year have left lingering economic and political challenges for President Nkurunziza.


Facts about Burundi:

Independence: 1962

Population: 10,742,276

Area: 27,830 sq. km (slightly smaller than Maryland)

Capital: Bujumbura

GDP per capita: $900

Life expectancy men/women: 50 years/50 years


Sources: www.bbc.com, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/by.html
"With Burundi President Out of Country, General Declares a Coup" by Heidi Vogt, The Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2015.

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