Bujumbura (French pronunciation:[buʒumbuʁa]; Kinyarwanda pronunciation:[buʒuᵐbuɾa]), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's political capital. In late December 2018, Burundian president Pierre Nkurunziza announced that he would follow through on a 2007 promise to return Gitega its former political capital status, with Bujumbura remaining as economical capital and center of commerce. A vote in the Parliament of Burundi made the change official on 16 January 2019, with all branches of government expected to move to Gitega within three years.[3][needs update]
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Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became a military post in German East Africa in 1889. After World War I it was made the administrative center of the BelgianLeague of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. The name was changed from Usumbura to Bujumbura when Burundi became independent in 1962.[4] Since independence, Bujumbura has been the scene of frequent fighting between the country's two main ethnic groups, with Hutu militias opposing the Tutsi-dominated Burundi army.
Bujumbura has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw)[5] bordering on hot semi-arid (BSh). There are distinct wet and dry seasons; the wet season being from October to April. Being close to the equator, average temperatures in the city vary little over the year, though they are affected by its altitude. The high temperature is around 29 °C (84 °F) and the low around 19 °C (66 °F).
Climate data for Bujumbura (1961–1990, extremes 1950–1990)
Source 2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (mean temperatures 1950–1990, humidity 1953–1990, and sun 1951–1990)[7]
Bujumbura panorama
Administration
Downtown BujumburaA beach in Bujumbura on the north side of Lake Tanganyika
Bujumbura is governed by a community council and community administrator. It is further divided into three communes, or neighborhoods, each with its own council and council leader.[8]
Each of the three current communes were created from the 13 former communes (currently sub-communes), due to a 2014 reorganization, which in turn are further sub-divided into villages or zones:[9]
The Port of Bujumbura is the largest port on Lake Tanganyika.[10]
Burundi depends on neighboring countries for access to the ocean.
Goods may be carried by road via Rwanda, or by the lake and then by road or rail via Tanzania, Congo or Zambia.
80% of Burundi's external trade is carried via the last three routes, using the Port of Bujumbura.[11]
The port manages receipt and delivery of exports and imports, whether carried by ship or by truck.
As of 2011 more than 90% of cargo handled was imports, of which about 60% entered by ship and 40% by truck.[12]
Bujumbura Central Market was in the city centre, along Rwagasore Avenue. During the 1993 ethnic violence in Burundi, citizens became less likely to travel far from the city centre, and markets in neighbouring communities lost their business to the central market.[citation needed]
At dawn on 27 January 2013 a serious fire ravaged the central market.[13] Due to the poor emergency response, the fire lasted for hours, resulting in a serious blow to local exchanges. Hundreds of vendors, local and foreign, lost their goods to the fire and the reported looting.[14]
Bujumbura is the location for the city's multisport Intwari stadium. Mainly used for football matches, it is the country's largest stadium with 22,000 seats.
The city is also home to many basketball and tennis courts, as well as a multitude of indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
Education
View of the university's buildings in Bujumbura
The University of Burundi is in Bujumbura, as are Hope Africa University, Université Paix et Réconciliation, Université des Grands Lacs, Université du Lac Tanganyika, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Lumière de Bujumbura, Bujumbura International University (BIU), International University of Equator, International Leadership University of Bujumbura, Université Ntare Rugamba of Bujumbura, Université Sagesse d'Afrique de Bujumbura, Université Martin Luther King, Institut Supérieur de Développement de Bujumbura (ISD), Ecole Nationale d'Administration "ENA", Institut National de Santé Publique "INSP", Institut Supérieur de Gestion des Entreprises "ISGE", Institut Supérieur d'Ingénieurs et Cadres Techniciens en Génie Informatique, Télécommunications et Technologies Avancées "INITELEMATIQUE".
Public transport in Bujumbura mainly consists of taxis and mini-buses, locally known as the Hiace. Public transport vehicles are generally white and blue.
The Bujumbura bus station
Bujumbura's taxis are abundant all over the city, and are considered the safest form of transportation. There are taxi-motos (motorcycle taxis) and taxis-vélos (bicycle taxis), although they are only available in certain parts of the city.
For long-distance travel, locals prefer to take the many Hiace full-size vans, which travel regularly across Burundi. Bujumbura's main bus terminal is located by the Central Market.
Bujumbura was also home of the independent weekly radio programme Imagine Burundi, the country's first locally produced English-language programme that focused on stories about life in the region. The show was broadcast from September 2010 to August 2013, and recordings are archived on the show's website at imagineburundi.com.[19]
Demographics
Bujumbura is projected to be the fourth fastest growing African continent city between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.75% growth.[20]
^https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f792e34.html Refworld | Burundi: List of all the neighbourhoods of Bujumbura, including the ethnicity and socio-economic status of the inhabitants of those neighbourhoods (2014-September 2016)
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