Burundi

10.4m population - similar to Belgium

27,816 sq km area - similar to Haiti

50 years life expectancy for men

50 years life expectancy for women

$900 GDP per capita - similar to Liberia

Pierre Nkurunziza, a former Hutu rebel leader, became the first president to be chosen in democratic elections since the start of Burundi's civil war in 1994. Burundi, one of the world's poorest nations, is struggling to emerge from a 12-year, ethnic-based civil war.

Since independence in 1962 it has been plagued by tension between the usually-dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority. The ethnic violence sparked off in 1994 made Burundi the scene of one of Africa's most intractable conflicts.

In 2015 Burundi was plunged into its worst crisis since the end of a civil war in 2005, when Mr Nkurunziza's ultimately successful bid for re-election to a third term sparked protests by opposition supporters who said the move was unconstitutional.
An independent radio station was destroyed by supporters of President Nkurunziza

Operating in a turbulent political climate, Burundi's media are subject to self-censorship and occasional government censorship. In June 2013 President Nkurunziza approved a new media law which critics condemned as an attack on press freedom. The law forbids reporting on matters that could "undermine national security, public order or the economy".

information provided by www.bbcnews.co.uk