Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. More than 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005. The new government, led by President Pierre NKURUNZIZA, signed a South African brokered ceasefire with the country's last rebel group in September of 2006 but still faces many challenges.
Burundi is slightly smaller than Maryland with a population 8.4 million with 2.9 million employed with a good wage of $.87 cents a day if you work with a labor union. Burundi is now considered the poorest country in the world.
Rwanda and Burundi were the same country until colonization when they were split so the ethic groups are pretty much the same with Hutu at 85% and Tutsi at 14%.
Religion is: Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%
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