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Updates: 

An ISO code for the new Rumonge province, BI-RM, is now official.

Newsletter II-2, an update to the ISO 3166-2 standard, is dated 2010-06-30. It assigns ISO codes to Bujumbura Mairie and Bujumbura Rural, replacing the old code for Bujumbura.

The latest version of the FIPS standard is called "Geopolitical Entities and Codes", published in 2010-04. It shows the split of Bujumbura into an urban and a rural province.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter number I-4, dated 2002-12-10, adds the new Mwaro province to the list.

Change Notice 7 to FIPS PUB 10-4 is dated 2002-01-10. It shows the split of Mwaro province from Muramvya. Source [3] is a press release about the vote in the Burundi parliament to split the province of Mwaro from Muramvya. According to it, the creation of two additional provinces, Bukirasazi and Rumonge, was being considered. Bukirasazi would probably have been split from Gitega, and Rumonge from Bururi, if the project had gone through.

Country overview: 

Short name	BURUNDI
ISO code	BI
FIPS code	BY
Languages	Kirundi (rn), French (fr)
Time zone	+2
Capital	Bujumbura

 

The territory which is now Burundi was part of German East Africa at the beginning of the century. In 1919, Ruanda-Urundi was mandated to Belgium. It consisted of two counties: Ruanda in the north and Urundi in the south. It became administratively part of the Belgian Congo on 1926-03-01. The two counties became résidences (residencies). In 1960, the Belgian Congo became independent; Ruanda-Urundi remained a colony. On 1962-07-01, when Ruanda-Urundi attained independence, the two counties became the countries of Rwanda and Burundi. The capital of Ruanda-Urundi, which had been known as Usumbura, changed its name to Bujumbura and became the capital of Burundi.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Burundi
2. Dutch: Burundi, Republiek Burundi (formal)
3. English: Republic of Burundi (formal), Urundi (obsolete)
4. Finnish: Burundi
5. French: Burundi m
6. German: Burundi n
7. Icelandic: Búrúndí
8. Italian: Burundi m
9. Kirundi: Republika y'Uburundi (formal)
10. Norwegian: Burundi, Republikken Burundi (formal)
11. Portuguese: Burundi, República f do Burundi m (formal)
12. Russian: Республика Бурунди (formal)
13. Spanish: Burundi, República f de Burundi (formal)
14. Swedish: Burundi
15. Turkish: Burundi Cumhuriyeti (formal)

Origin of name: 

Ethnic name Barundi, applied to a country

Primary subdivisions: 

Burundi is divided into eighteen provinces.

Province	HASC	ISO	FIPS	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)
Bubanza	BI.BB	BB	BY09	338,023	1,089	420
Bujumbura Mairie	BI.BM	BM	BY24	497,166	87	33
Bujumbura Rural	BI.BL	BL	BY25	464,818	1,089	420
Bururi	BI.BI	BR	BY10	313,102	2,465	952
Cankuzo	BI.CA	CA	BY11	228,873	1,965	759
Cibitoke	BI.CI	CI	BY12	460,435	1,636	631
Gitega	BI.GI	GI	BY13	725,223	1,979	764
Karuzi	BI.KR	KR	BY14	436,443	1,457	563
Kayanza	BI.KY	KY	BY15	585,412	1,233	476
Kirundo	BI.KI	KI	BY16	628,256	1,703	658
Makamba	BI.MA	MA	BY17	430,899	1,960	757
Muramvya	BI.MV	MU	BY22	292,589	696	269
Muyinga	BI.MY	MY	BY18	632,409	1,836	709
Mwaro	BI.MW	MW	BY23	273,143	840	324
Ngozi	BI.NG	NG	BY19	660,717	1,474	569
Rumonge	BI.RU	RM		352,026
Rutana	BI.RT	RT	BY20	333,510	1,959	757
Ruyigi	BI.RY	RY	BY21	400,530	2,339	903
18 provinces				8,053,574	25,807	9,964
HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Population: 2008-08-16 census (source [1]). Capitals have the same names as their provinces.

 

Note: Bujumbura is the capital of both Bujumbura Mairie and Bujumbura Rural.

Further subdivisions:

See the Communes of Burundi page.

The regions are subdivided into 114 districts, and the districts are subdivided into communes. Before 1979, there were eight provinces, subdivided into 18 arrondissements, which were further divided into 78 communes.

Source [4] (2002) says, "Burundi is currently divided into administrative structures among which the province is the largest. The country counts fifteen of them, namely, Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Ngozi, Rutana, and Ruyigi, to which must be added the urban province of Bujumbura. A governor leads each province. The province is subdivided into communes, each directed by a communal administrator. There are 116 of them. This administrative entity is in turn subdivided into administrative zones, and further into collines (literally, 'hills')" (my translation).

Territorial extent: 

The UN LOCODE page  for Burundi lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Change history: 

1. According to source [11], the German colonial administration set up three stations in Rwanda: Usumbura, Gitega, and Nyakazu, but they were never headquarters of actual administrative divisions. Starting in 1919, the Belgians set up more stations.
2. 1932-03-07: The Belgian administration divided Urundi into seven territoires (territories): Bururi, Hinga, Kitega, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi, and Usumbura (sources [5], [11]). The territories were divided into chefferies (chieftainships), which were further divided into sous-chefferies, a system that predated colonization. At this period, Kitega was the capital of Urundi residency; Bujumbura was the capital of the whole colony of Ruanda-Urundi.
3. 1949-08-14: Bubanza and Muramvya territories created.
4. 1959-12-25: Sous-chefferies and other tertiary divisions replaced by communes.
5. 1960-09-26: Chefferies replaced by 18 provinces: Bubanza, Bukirasazi, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Mwisare, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi, and Usumbura.
6. 1962-03-01: Status of the 18 provinces changed to arrondissements. Status of the 9 territories changed to provinces, while Rutana became part of Ruyigi province.
7. 1962-07-01: Name of Usumbura changed to Bujumbura.
8. ~1969: Mwisare arrondissement transferred from Bubanza province to Bujumbura province. The provinces then were as listed in this table.

Province	FIPS	Population	Area(km.²)	Arrondissements
Bubanza	BY01	293,221	2,670	Bubanza, Cibitoke
Bujumbura	BY02	386,041	1,255	Bujumbura, Mwisare
Bururi	BY03	398,614	4,680	Bururi, Makamba
Gitega	BY04	612,118	3,320	Bukirasazi, Gitega, Karuzi
Muramvya	BY05	342,722	1,510	Muramvya, Mwaro
Muyinga	BY06	494,140	3,535	Kirundo, Muyinga
Ngozi	BY07	714,476	2,595	Kayanza, Ngozi
Ruyigi	BY08	348,102	5,445	Cankuzo, Rutana, Ruyigi
8 provinces		3,589,434	25,010
FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Population: 1978 estimates (source [6]). Capitals have the same names as their provinces.

1. 1982-09-24: Eight provinces were regrouped to form 15, as shown in the table of primary subdivisions above (except for Bujumbura and Mwaro). At first glance, it may appear that the new provinces are the same as the old arrondissements. This is not quite accurate. Bukirasazi has disappeared, almost all of it absorbed into Gitega. Mwaro has merged into Muramvya, and Mwisare has merged into Bujumbura. There were also a number of minor adjustments. The commune of Gihogazi was transferred from Gitega to Karuzi. Almost all of Giteranyi commune was transferred from Kirundo to Muyinga. Gitanga and Bukemba communes were transferred from Makamba to Rutana. Busiga commune was transferred from Kayanza to Ngozi. About half of Bukinanyana commune was transferred from Bubanza to Cibitoke. At the same time, the arrondissements were eliminated.
2. 1991-11-08: Bujumbura province (former FIPS code BY02, ISO BJ) split into Bujumbura Mairie and Bujumbura Rural. (One of the meanings of French mairie is "municipal administration".)
3. 1998-12-10: Mwaro province split from Muramvya (former FIPS code BY05, HASC code BI.MU).
4. 2015-03-26: By Law No. 1/10, Rumonge province formed by taking Burambi, Buyengero, and Rumonge communes from Bururi province (former HASC code BI.BR, 2008 population 574,013) and Bugarama and Muhuta communes from Bujumbura Rural province (BI.BU, 555,933).

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Bujumbura: Buyumbura (Spanish); Usumbura (obsolete)
2. Gitega: Kitega (obsolete)
3. Karuzi: Karusi (variant)
4. Muyinga: Hinga, Muhinga (obsolete)

Population history:

Province	1979-08-16	1990-08-16	2008-08-16
Bubanza	154,093	222,953	338,023
Bujumbura Mairie	460,945	608,931	497,166
Bujumbura Rural			555,933
Bururi	313,016	385,490	574,013
Cankuzo	107,550	142,797	228,873
Cibitoke	179,853	279,843	460,435
Gitega	471,020	565,174	725,223
Karuzi	210,789	287,905	436,443
Kayanza	383,085	443,116	585,412
Kirundo	289,181	401,103	628,256
Makamba	120,897	223,799	430,899
Muramvya	377,242	441,653	292,589
Muyinga	257,259	373,382	632,409
Mwaro			273,143
Ngozi	394,351	482,246	660,717
Rutana	141,357	195,834	333,510
Ruyigi	167,982	238,567	400,530
Total	4,028,420	5,292,793	8,053,574

 

In the first two censuses, Mwaro is included in Muramvya, and the population for all of Bujumbura is listed under Bujumbura Mairie. The 1979 populations of the provinces add up to 200 more than the total shown, but the same problem occurs in the source.

Sources: 

1. [1] Troisième recensement général de la population et de l'habitat de 2008  (retrieved 2013-04-21).
2. [2] Previously, this page showed 1999 population estimates from Burundi Contacts (http://www.burundi-contacts.com/pays/bujumbura.htm, dead link, retrieved 2002-12-11).
3. [3] A Burundi government press release dated November 12 (no year given, but probably 1998) says that the Burundi parliament voted "this Tuesday" to split the province of Mwaro from Muramvya. (http://www.burundi.gov.bi/burundi.htm, dead link, retrieved 2002-02-08).
4. [4] "Organisation administrative / Répartition de la population / Urbanisme", on the government Web site (http://www.burundi.gov.bi/urbani.htm, dead link, retrieved 2002-02-08).
5. [5] Michiels, A., and N. Laude, "Notre Colonie: Géographie et notice historique." Edition Universelle, Brussels, 1946. (Found at http://www.congopanorama.info/colony.shtml#IV.%20-%20G%C9OGRAPHIE%20POLITIQUE%20ET%20ADMINISTRATIVE, dead link, 2005-12-31.)
6. [6] Cazenave-Piarrot, Françoise, Alain Cazenave-Piarrot, and Albert Lopez. "Géographie du Burundi: Le pays et les hommes." EDICEF, Paris, 1979.
7. [7] Annuaire Statistique du Burundi 1992. Bujumbura, Oct. 1993. This was the source for 1990 census data.
8. [8] Annuaire Statistique du Burundi 1988. Institut de Statistiques et d'Études Économiques du Burundi. April, 1990. This was the source for 1979 census data.
9. [9] Annuaire Statistique 1985. Ministère à la Présidence Chargé du Plan, Service National des Études et Statistiques. Bujumbura, Nov. 1986.
10. [10] Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names. Vol. II. New York: United Nations, 1991.
11. [11] Le Sénat et la politique de décentralisation au Burundi. Sénat du Burundi, Bujumbura, 2010-08.  (retrieved 2013-04-26).
12. [12] Decret N° 100/71  (retrieved 2015-07-09).