Burundi (BI)
< Burkina Faso | Countries | Cameroon >
On this page... (hide)
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 :
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); 0.09, ranked 173 (ITU 2007)
- ICT Opportunity Index (ICT-OI?):
- ICT Development Index (IDI):
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). 2004. African Telecommunication Indicators 2004. Geneva: ITU.
______. 2006. World Information Society Report 2006. Geneva: ITU. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2006/wisr-web.pdf
______. 2007. World Information Society Report 2007. Geneva: ITU. https://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2007/WISR07_full-free.pdf
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 >