Economy — Burundi
GDP, employment, industries, public finance, and currency.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Economy at a glance
GDP, employment, industries, public finance, and currency. Key figure for Burundi: Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. Agriculture accounts for over 40% of GDP and employs more than 90% of the population. Burundi's primary exports are coffee and tea, which account for more than half of foreign exchange earnings, but these earnings are subjec…
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Economic overview
- Economic Overview
Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector.
Agriculture accounts for over 40% of GDP and employs more than 90% of the population.
Burundi's primary exports are coffee and tea, which account for more than half of foreign exchange earnings, but these earnings are subject to fluctuations in weather and international coffee and tea prices, Burundi is heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors, as well as foreign exchange earnings from participation in the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM).
Foreign aid represented 48% of Burundi's national income in 2015, one of the highest percentages in Sub-Saharan Africa, but this figure decreased to 33.5% in 2016 due to political turmoil surrounding President NKURUNZIZA’s bid for a third term.
Burundi joined the East African Community (EAC) in 2009.
Burundi faces several underlying weaknesses – low governmental capacity, corruption, a high poverty rate, poor educational levels, a weak legal system, a poor transportation network, and overburdened utilities – that have prevented the implementation of planned economic reforms.
The purchasing power of most Burundians has decreased as wage increases have not kept pace with inflation, which reached approximately 18% in 2017.
Real GDP growth dropped precipitously following political events in 2015 and has yet to recover to pre-conflict levels.
Continued resistance by donors and the international community will restrict Burundi’s economic growth as the country deals with a large current account deficit.
- Industries
- Light consumer goods (blankets, shoes, soap, beer)
- assembly of imported components
- public works construction
- food processing
- GDP - per capita (PPP)
$800.00 (USD)
- GDP - real growth rate
-0.5%
GDP & growth
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product (PPP)
$8,690,000,000 (USD)
- GDP Per Capita
$800.00 (USD)
- GDP - real growth rate
-0.5%
- GDP - official exchange rate
$2,742,000,000 (USD)
- GDP - composition, by end use
- Household Consumption: 92.4%
- Government Consumption: 16.5%
- Investment in Fixed Capital: 24.3%
- Investment in Inventories: -8.1%
- Exports of Goods and Services: 7.5%
- Imports of Goods and Services: -32.6%
- GDP by Sector- agriculture
45.8%
- GDP by Sector- Industry
17.1%
- GDP by Sector- services
37.1%
- Industrial Growth Rate
0.8%
Prices & money
- Inflation Rate
6.5%
- Exchange Rate per US Dollar
1665
- Currency Name and Code
Burundi francs (BIF)
- Fiscal Year
Calendar Year
- Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
13.9%
Employment & labor
- Labor Force
5,255,000
- Major Industries
- Light consumer goods (blankets, shoes, soap, beer)
- assembly of imported components
- public works construction
- food processing
- Agriculture Products
Coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, cassava (manioc, tapioca); beef, milk, hides
- Population Below Poverty Line
68%
- Child Labor - # of children ages 5-14
433,187
- Child Labor - % of children ages 5-14
19%
Public finance
- Annual Budget
$525,100,000 (USD)
- Public Debt (% of GDP)
43.4%
- Budget Surplus or Deficit - percent of GDP
-4.8%
- Taxes and other revenues - percent of GDP
19.2%