Burundi (BI)

1. Language information / Données sur les langues

1.1 Languages spoken / Langues parlées

a) Official / Officielle(s) :

Kirundi and French. According to L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, the former is de jure, being stipulated in the constitutionm and the latter continues as a de facto official language used in many contexts)

b) National, indigenous / Nationale(s), indigène(s) :

The vast majority of the population speaks Kirundi.

Ethnologue lists 3 languages at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=BI

c) Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report / Pages appropriées dans la section de ce rapport sur les Langues principales :

Rwanda/Rundi

1.2 Language policy / Politique de langue

a) Laws/legislation / Lois/législation :

The site L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde has a page on Burundi at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/burundi.htm

b) Agencies / Agences :

Three institutions "involved in or responsible for African Language research" in Burundi (UNESCO 1985). Updated information is needed:

• Académie de langue et de littérature rundi, Bujumbura
• Centre de linguistique appliquée du Burundi (CLAB) - Faculté des Lettres, Université de Bujumbura, B.P. 1550 -BUJUMBURA
• Bureau d'éducation rurale (BER), B.P. 2066 - BUJUMBURA

c) Languages in education/literacy / Langues dans l'éducation/l'alphabétisation :

UNDP (2006) gives a literacy figure (without reference to which language[s]) of: 59.3%

1.3 Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes

a) Orthographies / Orthographes :

Languages in Burundi use the Latin Script.

b) Print publications / Editions imprimées :

UNESCO (1985) reported the following periodical (name, frequency of publication, circulation, language). Updated information is needed:

• Ubumwe, weekly, 10,000, Kirundi

1.4 Other comments / Autre commentaire

Burundi is one of the few countries in Africa where virtually all the population has the same mother tongue - Kirundi. Kirundi and Kinyarwanda (language of neighboring Rwanda) are very similar.

---

2. ICT situation / Situation des TIC

2.1 Infrastructure / Infrastructure

a) Telephones / Téléphones :

• Fixed lines:
  • Telephone mainlines: 3 per 1000 people (APC)
  • 30,000 (WikiEducator, citing a 2007 report)
• Mobile subscriptions:
  • 200,000 (WikiEducator, citing a 2007 report)
  • GSM companies & coverage : http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_bi.shtml

b) Radio stations / Stations de radio :

• AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) (CIA)
• 12 (WikiEducator, citing a 2007 report)

c) Connectivity / Connectivité :

• International internet bandwidth / Bande passante internationale d'internet :
• ISPs / FSI :
• Internet hosts :
  • 160 (2006) (CIA)
  • 1088 (2006) (WikiEducator, citing a 2007 report)
• Geographic coverage / Couverture géographique :

2.2 Computer & internet access / Accès aux ordinateurs et à l'internet

a) Computers & points of access / Ordinateurs et lieux d'accès :

• Number of computers / Nombre d'ordinateurs:
• Cybercafés / Cybercafés:
• Project telecentres / Télécentres de projets:
  • As of early 2005 a "Comité de pilotage" of the ADEN project was considering proposals for several telecentres in Burundi http://www.africaden.net/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=8 [need update]

b) Internet / Internet :

• Dial-up subscribers / Abonnés par ligne téléphonique :
• Internet users / Utilisateurs de l'internet :
  • 25,000 Internet users as of Sept/05, 0.3% of the population, per ITU (Internet World Stats)
  • 2000 (Est 2006) (WikiEducator, citing a 2007 report)

c) Other / Autre :

• Digital Opportunity Index (DOI): 0.09 (ITU 2006)

2.3 ICT policy / Politique de TIC

The APC page, "ICT Policy in Burundi" has some information and links:

• In English: http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21837e_1
• En français: http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21837e_1

2.4 ICT4D/E & ICT training / TIC pour le développement/éducation, et formation en TIC

• WikiEducator has a table on enabling and constraining factors for ICTs in education
• Project info from WikiEducator:
  • Reflect and ICT Project (a "DFID-funded project ... exploring potential applications of ICTs for poor and marginalised people") http://www.reflect-action.org/Initiatives/ict/home.htm
  • Collaborations between ITIS Alessandro Rossi (Italy) http://www.witar.org/ and Lycée Technique Alessandro Rossi (LTAR):
    • ITIS-LTAR e-Collaborative Learning Management System http://www.ltarngozi.org/moodle/
    • LTAR School Connectivity Project
  • Computer Trailer project pilot of the Burundi Youth Training Centre (B.Y.T.C) http://www.bytc.bi/

2.5 Resources / Ressources

Association ISOC - Burundi (ISOC chapter) http://www.isoc.bi/

---

3. Localisation situation / Situation de localisation

3.1 Country web content / Contenu web du pays

Some sites:

• République du Burundi http://www.burundi-gov.bi/
• Chambre de Commerce, d'Industrie, d'Agriculture et d'Artisanat du Burundi (CCIB) http://www.ccib.bi/
• Burundi Youth Training Centre (B.Y.T.C) http://www.bytc.bi/
• Mouvement des Jeunes Leaders en Réveil spirituel, culturel et socio-économique http://www.newgeneration-bdi.org/

3.2 Web content in indigenous languages / Contenu web en langues indigènes

(see also specific language pages)

3.3 Software localisation / Localisation de logiciel

Not aware of any.

3.4 Projects & organisations / Projets et organisations

3.5 Localisation policy / Politique de localisation

---

4. References / Références

APC, "ICT Policy in Burundi" Africa ICT Policy Monitor, http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21837e_1 ("Politiques de TIC en/au Burundi," Observatoire des politiques des TIC en Afrique, http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21837e_1 )

International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 2006. World Information Society Report 2006. Geneva: ITU. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2006/wisr-web.pdf

______. 2004. African Telecommunication Indicators 2004. Geneva: ITU.

Internet World Stats: Africa. 2006. http://internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "Burundi," http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/burundi.htm

SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Languages of Burundi," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=BI

UNDP. 2006. ''Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006.'' New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). [Human development index Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) (HDI) http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/3.html ]

UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa. 1985. African Community Languages and Their Use in Literacy and Education: A Regional Survey. Dakar: UNESCO.

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), "The World Factbook: Burundi," https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/by.html

Vodafone. 2005. "Africa: The Impact of Mobile Phones." The Vodafone Policy Paper Series, Number 3, March 2005. http://www.vodafone.com/assets/files/en/GPP%20SIM%20paper.pdf

WikiEducator, "ICT4Africa/Country Report Burundi," http://www.wikieducator.org/ICT4Africa/Country_Report_Burundi

Wikipedia, "Burundi," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burundi

______, "Burundi," http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burundi

______, "Communications in Burundi," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_Burundi

---

< Burkina Faso | Countries | Cameroon >