| Burundi | Rwanda | Uganda | Tanzania | Kenya | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (US$ bn) | 3.00 | 11.00 | 40.50 | 70.00 | 110.00 |
| Population (mn) | 12.20 | 13.50 | 45.80 | 63.50 | 55.00 |
| GDP per capita (US$) | ..... | ..... | 884 | 1 102 | 2 000 |
| GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 770 | 2 490 | 2 200 | 2 900 | 4 700 |
| HDI | 0.426 | 0.534 | 0.525 | 0.549 | 0.575 |
| IHDI | no data | 0.402 | 0.390 | 0.410 | 0.426 |
Burundi has made some progress in improving maternal health and reducing infant mortality rates. However, its economic growth and development remain highly constrained compared to its coastal EAC neighbours like Kenya and Tanzania.
Burundi is a landlocked mountainous country in East Africa, heavily reliant on subsistence agriculture. It remains extremely dependent on foreign assistance and is highly vulnerable to climate-related shocks (such as erratic rainfall and soil erosion) and fluctuations in global commodity prices.
The tax base is extremely narrow. Over 90% of the workforce is engaged in informal employment, primarily subsistence farming. Widespread tax concessions to promote investment, combined with weak tax administration, limit tax revenues to only 10% of GDP. This severely restricts government investment in education, health, and transport networks.
Coffee and tea make up over 70% of Burundi's export revenues. This high level of primary-product dependence leaves the economy vulnerable to terms of trade shocks and prevents transition into higher-value manufacturing or services.
| Destination | 2010 | 2015 | 2018 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | 2.5 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 4.8 |
| China | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 3.6 |
| India | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 2.4 |
| Rest of Africa | 1.5 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 4.2 |
| Within EAC | 1.2 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.4 |
The East African Community (EAC) aims to foster regional integration, establish a common market, remove internal tariffs, and set a common external tariff.
While trade within the EAC grew from 1.2billionin2010to 1.2 billion in 2010 to \,1.2billionin2010to3.4 billion in 2021, the gains have been highly uneven. Kenya and Tanzania dominate intra-regional exports, representing over 65% of total intra-bloc trade.
In contrast, Burundi's share of intra-EAC trade has stagnated. This is largely due to massive infrastructure bottlenecks: the absence of a direct railway connection to major coastal ports like Mombasa or Dar es Salaam, poorly maintained road corridors, and high transport and administrative costs at border crossings. These challenges isolate Burundi's domestic producers and significantly inflate the cost of importing essential capital goods.
With reference to Extract A and Extract B, examine two factors that constrain economic growth in Burundi.
