Burundi
Internet penetration in Burundi remains low, with only about 11.3% of the population having access to the internet as of 2022 according to ITU data. The slow growth in internet usage is attributed to a combination of high costs, limited infrastructure, and the government’s reluctance to liberalise the telecommunications sector.
Internet governance
Internet governance in Burundi is heavily influenced by the country’s political landscape, which is marked by restrictive controls and limited freedoms. The regulatory framework and bodies responsible for overseeing the internet and telecommunications sector face significant challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of comprehensive digital policies.
Regulatory Bodies and Their Functions
- Ministry of Communication, Information Technologies and Media: This ministry is the primary governmental body responsible for overseeing the telecommunications sector, including internet governance. It sets policies and regulations for the development and management of telecommunications and information technologies in Burundi.
- Burundi Agency for Regulation and Control of Telecommunications (ARCT): ARCT is the key regulatory authority that implements policies and regulations formulated by the ministry. Its responsibilities include licensing service providers, managing the frequency spectrum, and ensuring compliance with national and international standards. However, ARCT operates under significant political pressure, which often influences its regulatory actions and undermines its independence and effectiveness.
- National Communication Council (CNC): The CNC oversees media regulation, including online content. It has the authority to monitor and control media activities, ensuring they align with government policies. This body often faces criticism for stifling freedom of expression and imposing stringent controls on media outlets, including those operating online​.
Digital strategies
Burundi’s National Information and Communication Technologies Development Policy (PNDTIC) 2010-2025 is a comprehensive framework aimed at promoting digital transformation and enhancing the country’s ICT capabilities. This policy sets out several strategic objectives to advance digital infrastructure, improve digital literacy, and foster economic growth through technology.
Key Objectives and Initiatives of PNDTIC 2010-2025
- Enhancing Digital Infrastructure:
- The policy aims to expand broadband networks and improve internet connectivity across the country, particularly focusing on rural and underserved areas. This involves the deployment of fiber-optic cables and the establishment of public Wi-Fi zones to ensure wider access to digital service.
- Promoting Digital Literacy and Education:
- PNDTIC emphasizes integrating digital skills training into the education system. Schools are being equipped with computers and internet access to enhance learning outcomes and prepare students for the digital economy. Workshops and training sessions for ICT focal points in public institutions have been organized to build capacity and improve digital literacy among government employees​.
- Fostering Digital Governance and E-Government:
- The policy supports the digitalization of public services to increase efficiency, transparency, and accessibility. This includes the development of e-government platforms to facilitate online service delivery and improve the interaction between the government and citizens.
- Economic Intelligence and Data Security:
- Through partnerships with private sector companies like N-Soft, the policy aims to enhance digital sovereignty and economic intelligence. This involves the use of advanced data processing tools to monitor and regulate economic activities, ensuring data security and supporting informed policy decisions​.
- International Collaboration and Support:
- The policy aligns with international best practices and frameworks, benefiting from collaborations with organizations like the World Bank and OECD. These collaborations help Burundi access funding, technical expertise, and policy guidance to support its digital transformation initiatives.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity in Burundi
Cybersecurity in Burundi is an emerging field that is gaining increasing importance as the country continues to integrate digital technologies into its governmental, economic, and social frameworks. The nation’s efforts in cybersecurity are geared towards protecting critical information infrastructure, securing digital services, and ensuring the safety of its citizens online.
1. Infrastructure and Capability Development: Burundi is at a nascent stage in developing its cybersecurity infrastructure. The government is focused on building foundational capabilities, including establishing regulatory frameworks, improving technical infrastructure, and fostering cybersecurity awareness among the population.
2. Legal and Regulatory Framework: The legal framework for cybersecurity in Burundi is evolving. The government has been working on drafting and implementing laws and regulations to address cyber threats and crimes. This includes efforts to align with international standards and best practices, although comprehensive legislation is still under development.
3. Institutional Setup: The country is in the process of setting up dedicated institutions to oversee and manage cybersecurity. ANATIC is responsible for the development and implementation of ICT policies, including those related to cybersecurity. It coordinates efforts across various sectors to enhance digital security.This agency conducts awareness programs, offers technical support, and collaborates with international partners to strengthen Burundi’s cybersecurity capabilities.
4. Public Awareness and Capacity Building: Raising public awareness about cybersecurity risks and best practices is a priority for Burundi. Initiatives aimed at educating citizens, businesses, and government employees about the importance of cybersecurity are underway. Capacity-building programs are also being implemented to train professionals in the field of cybersecurity.
AI strategies and policies
The artificial intelligence (AI) landscape in Burundi is in its early stages, characterized by growing interest and incremental developments across various sectors. The country is beginning to explore AI’s potential to drive economic growth, improve public services, and address social challenges.
- Researchers in Burundi are embracing AI to tackle challenges in agriculture. A project aimed to develop an AI-based banana disease and pest detection system using deep learning to support farmers.
- EON Reality is expanding its rollout in Burundi, targeting a national rollout with 10,000 tailored AI-driven learning courses and launching a Spatial AI Center and EON AI Autonomous Agents.
General profile
Official name: Republic of Burundi
National internet domain: BI
Area: 27,834 km2
Capital: Gitega
Population: 12.89 million
Population growth: 2.7
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.Life expectancy at birth: 61.66
Total years (2020year)Rule of law estimate: -1.29
Rule of Law captures perceptions of the extent to which agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society, and in particular the quality of contract enforcement, property rights, the police, and the courts, as well as the likelihood of crime and violence. Estimate gives the country's score ranging from approximately -2.5 to 2.5 (Estimate 2021)
Regulatory quality estimate: -1.02
Political stability: -1.36
Economic info
Currency: Burundian franc
Unemployment: 1.0
Unemployment, total (% of total labor force)GDP (current US$): 2,3.3 billion
GDP growth (annual %): 1.8
GDP per capita (current US$): 259
Inflation, consumer prices (annual %): 18.8
GNI (current US$): 3.1 billion
The Gross National Income, GNI, formerly referred to as gross national product (GNP), measures the total domestic and foreign value added claimed by residents, at a given period in time, usually a year, expressed in current US dollars using the World Bank Atlas method. GNI comprises GDP plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from non-resident sources.Ease of doing business score: 46.77
The ease of doing business score benchmarked economies concerning their proximity to the best performance in each area measured by Doing Business for the year 2019. Estimate gives the country's score ranging from0 = lowest performance to 100 = best performance
Digital profile
Internet and social media penetration:
Individuals using the internet: 11.3 (2022)
Social media statistics: 940.4 thousand
Estimate for 2024Male internet users: 3.9 (2017)
Male internet users as a % of total male populationFacebook users: 940.4 thousand
Estimate for 2024Female internet users: 1.5 (2017)
Female Internet users as a % of total female populationInstagram users: 103.2 thousand
Estimate for 2024Households with internet access at home: 18.3 (2021)
Linkedin users: 85.0 thousand
Estimate for 2024Fixed broadband subscriptions: 0.03 (2022)
Total fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 people) refers to fixed subscriptions to high-speed access to the public internet (a TCP/IP connection), at downstream speeds equal to, or greater than, 256 kbit/s.Twitter users: 43.6 thousand
Estimate for 2024Mobile infrastructure and access:
Mobile ownership: 33.18
Mobile phone ownership as a % of total population (Estimate for 2022)Mobile Infrastructure: 32.67
Mobile Infrastructure index: High-performance mobile internet coverage availability. It includes parameters such as network coverage, performance, quality of supporting infrastructure and amount of spectrum assigned to mobile network operators (Estimate for 2022)Male mobile ownership: 25.3 (2017)
Male mobile phone ownership as a % of total male populationMobile Affordability: 11.19
Mobile Affordability index : The availability of mobile services and devices at price points that reflect the level of income across a national population. It includes parameters such as mobile tariffs, headset prices, taxation and inequality (Estimate for 2022)Female mobile ownership: 70.8 (2019)
Female mobile phone ownership as a % of total female populationCybersecurity Index: 1.73
Cybersecurity Index (Estimate for 2021): ITU cybersecurity valueNetwork performance: 29.02
Network performance index: Quality of mobile services measured by download speed, upload speed and latencies (Estimate for 2022)Mobile download speeds: 3.90
Mobile download speeds: Average download speed for mobile users (originally in Mbit/s) (Estimate for 2022)Mobile uploads speeds: 6.24
Mobile uploads speeds: average uploads speed for mobile users (originally in Mbit/s) (Estimate for 2022)Mobile Latencies: 76.92
Mobile Latencies: Average latency for mobile users (originally in milliseconds) (Estimate for 2022)Speedtest-Broadband: 5.68
Speedtest-Broadband: The value is expressed in Mbps (Estimate for 2021)Network coverage: 42.79
Network coverage (% of total population) (Estimate for 2022)2G Coverage: 96.8
Coverage % of population3G Coverage: 50.6
Coverage % of population4G Coverage: 32.18
Coverage % of population5G Coverage: 0.0
Coverage % of populationOperating system and browser market share estimate:
Operating system market share (%):
Desktop, Tablet & Console Operating System Market Share: Estimate for 2024Browser market share (%):
Browser Market Share Worldwide: Estimate for 2024Android: 71.25
Chrome: 81.38
Windows: 14.77
Safari: 3.37
iOS: 3.45
Edge: 2.6
OS X: 0.79
Firefox: 1.65
Linux: 0.44
Samsung Internet: 0.93
The UN E-Government Survey 2022:
The UN E-Government Survey is the assessment of the digital government landscape across all UN member states. The E-Government Survey is informed by over two decades of longitudinal research, with a ranking of countries based on the UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI), a combination of primary data (collected and owned by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs) and secondary data from other UN agencies.E-Government Rank: 171
Nations E-Government Development Index (EGDI), a combination of primary data (collected and owned by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs) and secondary data from other UN agencies. Estimate gives the country's rank.E-Government Index: 0.32
The EGDI is a composite measure of three important dimensions of e-government, namely: provision of online services, telecommunication connectivity and human capacity. Estimate gives the country's score ranging from approximately 0 to 1.E-Participation Index: 0.34
The E-Participation Index (EPI) is derived as a supplementary index to the United Nations E-Government Survey. Estimate gives the country's score ranging from approximately 0 to 1.Online Service Index: 0.34
The online services index was developed by the UN to evaluate the scope and quality of government online services. Estimate gives the country's score ranging from approximately 0 to 1.Human Capital Index: 0.48
The Human Capital Index (HCI) quantiï¬_x0081_es the contribution of health and education to the productivity of the next generation of workers. Estimate gives the country's score ranging from approximately 0 to 1.Telecommunication Infrastructure Index: 0.14
Telecommunication Infrastructure Index- Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII) Composite Indicator that measures the countries' Telecommunication infrastructure readiness to adopt the opportunities offered by Information and Communication Technology as to enhance their competitiveness. Estimate gives the country's score ranging from approximately 0 to 1.ICT information:
ICT skills
Information economy indicators
Individuals with basic ICT skills (%): 1.9 (2017)
Share of ICT goods, % of total exports (value) 0.03 (2020)
Individuals with standard ICT skills (%): No data
Share of ICT goods, % of total import (value): 3.01 (2020)
Individuals with advanced ICT skills (%): No data
Most visited website: amazon.com
The survey conducted in 2022 excluded global dominant sites (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, and Google) and search engines (e.g., Yahoo, Baidu, DuckDuckGo, Naver, and Yandex) to level the playing field and discount middle-man visits. Likewise, it did not include adult, betting, illegal streaming/downloading services, and malicious websites.
