Burundi
Why we work in Burundi
One of Africa's most densely populated countries, Burundi hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees and repatriates escaping violent conflict. It also has a very high domestic population growth rate, with almost two-thirds of its population under the age of 25 and a birth rate of about 5 children per woman as of 2022. The estimated average age in Burundi is 18 years old.
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Life is not easy in Burundi for its young population. Food shortages, poverty, and a lack of clean water contribute to a 60% chronic malnutrition rate among Burundian children. Burundi also has amongst the highest rates of maternal death in the world.
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90% of Burundi's population live off agriculture near areas of fertile volcanic soil. The day-to-day lifestyle of rural subsistence farming is both very hard and doesn't pay well. This combined with poor infrastructure, ongoing conflict, high levels of disease particularly polio and malaria, and regular environmental disruption make life very hard for Burundians.
Burundi:
0-14 years: 42.3%
15-64 years: 54.4%
65+ years: 3.4%
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Compared to the UK:
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0-14 years: 17.37%
15-64 years: 64.9%
65+ years: 17.73%
Sadly, in terms of income, Burundi is the poorest country in the world by nominal GDP per capita, and the 2018 World Happiness Report ranked the country as the world's least happy with a rank of 156.
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All this means that Burundi is a priority for charitable endeavours seeking to alleviate poverty. Burundi has a comparatively high literacy rate to other countries in the region, and establishing an education and forms of training for young people is crucial for our mission.