Distillers Country guides / Burundi
Burundi
A one-page guide to Burundi for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Gitega (political); Bujumbura (economic, largest city)
- Official languages
- Kirundi, French, English
- Currency
- Burundian franc (BIF)
- Time zone
- UTC+2 (CAT)
- Area
- 27,834 km²
People
- Population
- 14.4 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 2.4% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 25.7%
- Aged under 15
- 44.0%
- Aged 65 and over
- 2.5%
- Life expectancy
- 63.8 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$3.4 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$234 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 4.24010529884178% (2025)
- Inflation
- 34.1339985744831% (2025)
Climate
Equatorial climate on a plateau with a central elevation averaging 1,707 m. Seasonal figures were not found.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 18 (unless accompanied by a parent or guardian; licensees may not sell to unaccompanied under-18s)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 3.7 litres of pure alcohol (2022)
- What people drink
- Beer 100% (2022)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Wikipedia: Burundi (basics, climate, ports); Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; World Bank Open Data (population, GDP, growth, inflation, area); WHO Global Health Observatory: total alcohol per capita; UN Comtrade (HS 2208 trade); Wikipedia: Brarudi; Iwacu Burundi - Brarudi news tag. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.