Bujumbura

Bujumbura

Bujumbura, city, western Burundi. Bujumbura is the nation’s capital and largest urban centre. The city’s industry specializes in textiles, leather, paper, chemicals, and agricultural products. Bujumbura also serves as the country’s main port on Lake Tanganyika; most of Burundi’s foreign trade is shipped between the capital and Kigoma, Tanzania, and, less frequently, to Kalemi, Congo (Kinshasa). The surrounding region yields bananas, cassava (manioc), beans, corn (maize), wheat, and cotton. There is an international airport directly northwest of the city and road connections with Bukavu and Goma in Congo and Kigali in Rwanda. The University of Burundi (founded 1960) and the Centre of Burundi Civilization are two of the city’s most important cultural institutions. The city was the epicentre of an ethnically inspired civil war in the 1990s and early 21st century. Pop. (2004 est.) 374,152.