Economy

Burundi is one of the poorest nations in the world. Roughly 90 per cent of the people live by farming small plots, which provide only a bare subsistence. Nearly all the land suitable for farming, about 50 per cent of Burundi's total, is used for growing food crops, yet barely enough food is produced for the rapidly increasing population. Virtually no machinery or fertilizer is used. Soil erosion and depletion are fairly widespread. Famines occur periodically.

The main food crops are cassava, sweet potatoes, beans, bananas and plantains, sorghum, and corn. Coffee, tea, and cotton are grown as cash crops by some farmers. Coffee is by far the leading export. Many cattle, goats, and sheep are raised, cattle primarily as a sign of wealth rather than for food.

Forests cover only about 3 per cent of Burundi and yield firewood and small amounts of timber. There is some commercial fishing in Burundi's part of Lake Tanganyika. A number of mineral deposits are known, including nickel and vanadium, but few are exploited.

Manufacturing in Burundi consists mainly of processing agricultural products and making simple consumer goods. Products include beverages, cigarettes, sugar, cotton textiles, and shoes. Virtually all the manufacturing is in Bujumbura.

Roads are generally poor; railways are nonexistent. An international airport, which also provides limited domestic and regional service, and a lake port are at Bujumbura.

Burundi's basic currency unit is the Burundi franc.