Burundi
Republic of Burundi
République du Burundi; Republika yu Burundi
CAPITAL: Bujumbura
FLAG: The national flag consists of a white circle in the center with arms extending to the four corners. The circle contains three red stars. Upper and lower fields formed by the circle and its arms are red; the fields on the sides are green.
ANTHEM: Burundi Bwacu (Our Burundi), beginning "Burundi bwacu, Burundi buhire" ("Our Burundi, O blessed land").
MONETARY UNIT: The Burundi franc (BFr) is a paper currency. There are coins of 1, 5, and 10 francs, and notes of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 francs. BFR1 = $0.0009487 (or $1 = BFR11054) as of May 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard.
HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Labor Day, 1 May; Independence Day, 1 July; Assumption, 15 August; Victory of UPRONA, 18 September; 13 October; All Saints' Day, 1 November; Christmas, 25 December. Movable religious holidays include Easter Monday, Ascension, and Pentecost Monday.
TIME: 2 PM = noon GMT.
Location, Size, and Extent
Burundi is a landlocked country in east-central Africa with an area of 27,830 sq km (10,745 sq mi), of which about 7% consists of lakes.
