11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union)
Religions
Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%
Roman Catholic 79%, Russian Orthodox 4.1%, Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian Baptist) 1.9%, other or unspecified 5.5%, none 9.5% (2001 census)
Languages
Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
Exports
mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001)
External Debt
$31,030,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
litai (LTL) per US dollar - 2.3251 (2008 est.), 2.5362 (2007), 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
5
Location
Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Area
27,830 km sq
65,300 km sq
Coastline
0 km
90 km
Climate
equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January)
transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
