Demographics of Burundi

Demographic features of the population of Burundi include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.

Demographics of Burundi, Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Demographics of Burundi
Population pyramid of Burundi in 2020
Population	12,696,478 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	3.63% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	35.17 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	5.96 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	67.42 years
• male	65.32 years
• female	69.59 years
Fertility rate	5.03 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	37.84 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	7.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	43.83%
65 and over	3.06%
Sex ratio
Total	0.99 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.02 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.62 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Burundian
Language
Official	Kirundi, French, English, Swahili

At 206.1 persons per km², Burundi has the second-largest population density in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most people live on farms near areas of fertile volcanic soil. The population is made up of three major ethnic groups – Hutu (Bahutu), Tutsi (Batutsi or Watusi), and Twa (Batwa). Kirundi is the common language. Intermarriage takes place frequently between the Hutus and Tutsis. The terms "pastoralist" and "agriculturist", often used as ethnic designations for Watusi and Bahutu, respectively, are only occupational titles which vary among individuals and groups. Although Hutus encompass the majority of the population, historically Tutsis have been politically and economically dominant.^[1]

Population

Estimated population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate by year according to United Nations estimates

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects^[2][3], the total population was 11,891,000 in 2020, compared to only 2 309 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2020 was 45.3%, 52.4% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.4% of the population was 65 years or older. .^[4][5]

	Total population	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	2 309 000	40.9	55.9	3.2
1955	2 537 000	42.4	54.5	3.1
1960	2 798 000	43.8	53.2	2.9
1965	3 094 000	45.3	51.8	3.0
1970	3 479 000	45.5	51.5	3.0
1975	3 701 000	45.4	51.3	3.3
1980	4 157 000	44.7	52.2	3.1
1985	4 751 000	46.2	50.9	3.0
1990	5 439 000	47.9	49.3	2.8
1995	5 987 000	50.3	47.1	2.5
2000	6 379 000	50.1	47.4	2.5
2005	7 365 000	47.0	50.7	2.3
2010	8 676 000	45.1	52.7	2.2
2015	10 160 000	45.5	52.4	2.1
2020	11 891 000	45.3	52.4	2.4

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2015) (Unrevised data.):^[6]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	4 822 838	5 000 990	9 823 828	100
0–4	856 714	855 769	1 712 483	17.43
5–9	679 740	699 260	1 379 000	14.04
10–14	604 457	629 629	1 234 086	12.56
15–19	496 353	525 562	1 021 915	10.40
20–24	467 123	507 522	974 645	9.92
25–29	397 323	446 043	843 366	8.58
30–34	321 348	337 758	659 106	6.71
35–39	236 115	230 446	466 561	4.75
40–44	182 701	183 765	366 466	3.73
45–49	153 796	156 798	310 594	3.16
50–54	134 933	130 247	265 180	2.70
55–59	113 470	111 808	225 278	2.29
60–64	74 556	70 655	145 211	1.48
65–69	44 744	46 041	90 785	0.92
70–74	25 722	28 826	54 548	0.56
75–79	16 056	20 164	36 220	0.37
80+	17 687	20 697	38 384	0.39
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	2 140 911	2 184 658	4 325 569	44.03
15–64	2 577 718	2 700 604	5 278 322	53.73
65+	104 209	115 728	219 937	2.24

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020):^[6]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	6 080 391	6 229 209	12 309 600	100
0–4	874 372	864 599	1 738 971	14.13
5–9	869 861	865 182	1 735 043	14.10
10–14	813 776	816 817	1 630 593	13.25
15–19	635 015	647 234	1 282 249	10.42
20–24	536 485	556 280	1 092 765	8.88
25–29	496 482	527 430	1 023 911	8.32
30–34	443 784	481 580	925 364	7.52
35–39	360 774	378 666	739 439	6.01
40–44	268 219	268 291	536 510	4.36
45–49	190 837	196 746	387 583	3.15
50–54	163 759	171 797	335 555	2.73
55–59	140 489	143 340	283 830	2.31
60–64	118 050	122 024	240 075	1.95
65–69	82 201	86 101	168 302	1.37
70–74	43 526	48 289	91 815	0.75
75–79	24 811	30 186	54 997	0.45
80+	17 951	24 649	42 600	0.35
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	2 558 009	2 546 598	5 104 607	41.47
15–64	3 353 893	3 871 836	7 225 729	58.70
65+	168 489	189 225	357 714	2.91

UN population projections

Numbers are in thousands. UN medium variant projections^[4]

• 2020 11,891
• 2025 13,764
• 2030 15,773
• 2035 17,932
• 2040 20,253
• 2045 22,728
• 2050 25,325

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Burundi not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.

	Population (thousands)	Live births (thousands)	Deaths (thousands)	Natural change (thousands)	CBR[i]	CDR[i]	NC[i]	TFR[i]	IMR[i]	Life expectancy (years)
1950	2 254	116	53	63	51.3	23.5	27.8	6.92	166.9	40.6
1951	2 303	117	55	62	50.7	23.9	26.8	6.91	166.0	40.8
1952	2 352	118	56	62	49.9	23.8	26.1	6.90	164.0	41.0
1953	2 399	119	57	62	49.4	23.6	25.8	6.92	162.0	41.3
1954	2 447	120	57	63	48.9	23.3	25.5	6.92	160.1	41.6
1955	2 495	121	58	63	48.4	23.0	25.4	6.93	158.2	41.9
1956	2 544	122	58	64	47.9	22.8	25.1	6.93	156.4	42.1
1957	2 594	123	58	65	47.4	22.5	24.9	6.93	154.6	42.3
1958	2 643	125	59	66	47.0	22.2	24.8	6.95	152.8	42.6
1959	2 694	126	59	67	46.7	21.9	24.8	6.98	150.9	42.8
1960	2 747	128	60	68	46.5	21.7	24.8	7.00	149.0	43.0
1961	2 816	130	60	70	46.3	21.4	24.9	7.02	147.2	43.3
1962	2 887	135	61	73	46.5	21.2	25.3	7.04	145.3	43.4
1963	2 948	137	62	75	46.4	21.0	25.4	7.07	143.5	43.7
1964	3 033	140	63	77	46.3	20.7	25.5	7.09	141.7	44.0
1965	3 118	147	69	77	46.9	22.2	24.7	7.11	146.0	42.0
1966	3 193	150	67	82	46.9	21.1	25.7	7.14	144.3	43.5
1967	3 274	155	70	85	47.1	21.3	25.8	7.16	145.5	43.3
1968	3 352	158	72	87	47.2	21.3	25.9	7.18	146.3	43.4
1969	3 424	163	75	88	47.5	21.7	25.7	7.22	147.4	42.9
1970	3 498	166	76	90	47.3	21.6	25.7	7.21	147.9	43.0
1971	3 582	170	78	92	47.5	21.7	25.8	7.21	148.2	43.0
1972	3 579	173	145	28	47.6	39.9	7.7	7.21	161.2	25.6
1973	3 571	165	93	72	46.3	26.1	20.2	7.22	151.5	37.3
1974	3 660	171	79	92	46.7	21.5	25.2	7.22	148.4	43.0
1975	3 749	178	81	97	47.4	21.6	25.8	7.24	148.2	43.0
1976	3 831	182	82	100	47.5	21.5	26.0	7.25	147.4	43.1
1977	3 927	187	83	104	47.7	21.2	26.5	7.25	145.4	43.5
1978	4 039	194	85	110	48.2	21.0	27.2	7.26	142.3	43.8
1979	4 137	203	85	118	48.9	20.4	28.5	7.31	137.9	44.6
1980	4 313	207	84	123	48.9	19.8	29.1	7.35	132.5	45.4
1981	4 491	228	86	142	50.5	19.1	31.4	7.33	126.5	46.4
1982	4 602	229	85	144	49.7	18.5	31.2	7.31	120.5	47.3
1983	4 727	235	85	150	49.5	17.8	31.7	7.30	115.0	48.1
1984	4 842	237	84	152	48.8	17.4	31.4	7.30	110.0	48.5
1985	4 948	241	86	155	48.3	17.2	31.2	7.29	106.2	48.5
1986	5 042	242	88	155	47.8	17.3	30.5	7.32	103.7	48.2
1987	5 158	245	91	155	47.5	17.6	29.9	7.38	102.3	47.5
1988	5 272	250	109	141	47.2	20.6	26.7	7.38	105.5	43.0
1989	5 374	253	101	153	46.9	18.6	28.3	7.39	102.4	45.6
1990	5 484	256	105	151	46.5	19.1	27.5	7.37	103.0	44.9
1991	5 595	259	109	150	46.1	19.4	26.7	7.34	103.7	44.2
1992	5 743	262	112	150	45.7	19.5	26.2	7.30	104.2	43.9
1993	5 555	272	147	125	46.0	24.9	21.1	7.27	108.6	37.1
1994	5 586	208	101	107	39.1	18.9	20.2	7.23	104.4	44.1
1995	5 933	266	113	154	44.5	18.8	25.7	7.18	104.6	44.1
1996	5 931	265	112	153	43.9	18.6	25.3	7.12	104.2	44.4
1997	5 924	250	105	145	41.9	17.6	24.2	7.04	102.1	45.4
1998	6 035	249	100	149	41.3	16.6	24.7	6.96	99.8	46.6
1999	6 180	260	99	161	42.0	16.0	26.0	6.90	97.4	47.5
2000	6 308	269	101	168	42.5	15.9	26.6	6.87	95.3	47.5
2001	6 466	277	99	178	42.9	15.3	27.6	6.85	92.4	48.4
2002	6 649	292	97	195	43.8	14.5	29.3	6.82	89.1	49.9
2003	6 861	305	96	209	44.5	14.0	30.5	6.79	86.0	50.9
2004	7 120	322	95	227	45.3	13.4	31.9	6.75	82.4	52.0
2005	7 389	340	95	245	46.0	12.8	33.2	6.71	78.6	53.0
2006	7 658	355	95	260	46.4	12.4	34.0	6.66	74.4	53.9
2007	7 945	369	94	275	46.5	11.9	34.7	6.59	70.3	54.7
2008	8 278	384	93	291	46.6	11.3	35.2	6.52	66.4	55.7
2009	8 709	402	94	308	46.7	10.9	35.8	6.41	62.8	56.4
2010	9 127	426	96	330	46.7	10.5	36.2	6.26	59.4	57.1
2011	9 456	432	96	336	45.6	10.1	35.5	6.11	56.2	57.8
2012	9 795	435	94	340	44.4	9.6	34.8	5.99	53.3	58.5
2013	10 150	441	93	347	43.4	9.2	34.2	5.89	50.6	59.2
2014	10 495	445	92	352	42.4	8.8	33.6	5.79	48.2	59.9
2015	10 727	448	93	355	41.3	8.6	32.8	5.70	46.3	60.2
2016	10 903	432	90	343	39.5	8.2	31.3	5.59	44.4	60.8
2017	11 156	427	87	340	38.1	7.8	30.4	5.48	42.8	61.6
2018	11 493	424	88	336	37.0	7.6	29.4	5.38	41.3	61.7
2019	11 875	431	87	344	36.3	7.4	29.0	5.27	39.9	62.6
2020	12 441	452	91	362	35.9	7.2	28.7	5.18	38.8	62.6
2021	12 793	455	95	360	35.1	7.3	27.8	5.08	37.6	62.1
2022	13 138	457	93	364	34.3	7.0	27.3	4.98	36.5	62.9
2023	13 504	461	92	369	33.7	6.7	26.9	4.88	35.4	63.7
CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Source: UN DESA, World Population Prospects, 2022^[7]

Demographic and Health Surveys

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^{[8][9] [10]}

Year	Total		Urban		Rural
	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR
1987		6.6 (5.3)		5.2 (4.2)		6.6 (5.4)
2010	44.5	6.4 (4.2)	37.3	4.8 (3.4)	45.3	6.6 (4.3)
2016–17	37.9	5.5 (3.6)	33.0	4.1 (3.0)	38.5	5.7 (3.7)

Fertility data as of 2010 (DHS Program):^[9] The fertility rate in the Bujumbura Mairie Province fell to 3.7 by 2016–2017; the other regions were not aggregated in the report, for easy reference and comparison to the below chart.^[10] Per the 2016-2017 report, the average number of desired children in Burundi, nationwide, by both men and women of 15 to 49 years of age who are either paired up or married, is 4 children or less, and slightly less for men than for women. Per the report, this suggests an excess fecundity (more children than desired) of 1.8 children per couple nationwide; 1.1 in urban areas (where 3.0 children are desired, and the fertility rate is 4.1) and 2.0 in rural areas (where 3.7 children are desired and the fertility rate is 5.7). However, the number of desired children appears to be based on the lowest-desired rate - that of paired but unmarried men (3.7 children) rather than the highest (4.0, desired by married women) or even an overall average.^[10]

Region	Total fertility rate	Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49
Bujumbura Mairie	4.2	7.9%	5.3
Nord	6.7	10.1%	6.4
Centre-Est	6.3	10.5%	6.6
Ouest	7.1	11.7%	7.2
Sud	6.2	10.8%	6.8

Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic groups in Burundi

Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1% Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 ^[11]

Languages

Further information: Languages of Burundi

Kirundi (official) only: 29.7%, French (official) only: 0.3%, Kirundi and French: 8.4%, Kurundi, French and English: 2.4%, Swahili only: 0.2%, other language combinations: 2%, unspecified: 56.9% (2008 est.)

NOTE: Data represents only languages read and written by people 10 years of age or older; spoken Kirundi is nearly universal.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Burundi

Roman Catholic 62.1%, Protestant 23.9% (includes Adventist 2.3% and other Protestant 21.6%), Islam 2.5%, Other 3.6%, Unspecified 7.9% (2008 est.)