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52 %
52% of children under 5 are chronically under-nourished
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18 years old
1 in 5 girls marry before their 18th birthday
Burundi: Key facts
- Population: 13.6 million
- Area: 25,680 KM2
- Literacy rate: 75.5%
- Life expectancy: 62 years
Burundi, a small and densely populated country in East Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. Political tensions and violence have characterised the country for years.
The consequences of the climate crisis are exacerbating the situation. In spring 2024, the El Niño weather phenomenon led to torrential rain and storms, landslides and the overflowing of Lake Tanganyika. Overall, extreme weather affected 298,000 people, half of them women. Around 48,000 people were forced to flee. This increased the number of displaced people in the country to over 100,000.
Chronically malnourished children
Josée Ntabahungu, CARE Country Director in Burundi, describes the situation:
The region was already poor before the floods. Now many people have been plunged even deeper into poverty. What little they had was simply washed away."
90% of the population make a living from agriculture. Hunger is on the rise due to extreme weather conditions: 2.2 million people in Burundi suffer from acute food insecurity, 229,000 of them from extreme hunger.
The country has one of the highest rates of chronic malnutrition among children in the world - 52% of children under the age of five are affected.
More violence against women in crises
There are repeated conflicts over resources such as water and land. There are also a large number of internally displaced persons and around 88,400 refugees from other countries in the country. Many have no access to vital resources and need humanitarian aid.
Women and girls are particularly affected. Displacement and disasters increase the risk of violence. Gender inequalities such as early marriage and lack of access to education and health are firmly entrenched. Around one in five girls marries before the age of 18. Women have limited access to land ownership and decision-making processes.
CARE in Burundi
CARE has been active in Burundi since 1994 and supports women and young people in particular. CARE creates sustainable structures to improve opportunities for women and young people in the long term. Community savings initiatives support women to become more financially independent, improve unequal power relations and meaningfully transform their role in society.
CARE and our partner's work shares knowledge with communities about sustainable agriculture, health-care and family planning. We work closely with women-led organisations whose expertise contributes to making a difference for the most vulnerable in the communities.
Ten forgotten crises
The CARE Crisis Report is published annually and highlights the ten crises that receive the least media attention. In 2024 Burundi ranked as the fifth least reported crisis in the world.