Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

is a

unitary state A unitary state is a (Sovereign state, sovereign) State (polity), state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create or abolish administrative divisions (sub-national or ...

which is sub-divided at three levels: provinces, communes, and ''collines'' (hills).

Divisions

Provinces

The largest administrative division in Burundi is the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. There used to be 18 provinces in Burundi, each named after their provincial capital. Each province has a Provincial Governor. The most recent province, Rumonge, was created in 2015. The provincial organisation of Burundi has been reformed on a number of occasions with the newest subdivisions dating in March 2023. With this new administrative subdivision has substantially reduced the number of provinces, communes and hills. The 18 provinces were combined and reduced into 5 provinces. The current provinces are

Bubanza Bubanza is a city located in northwestern Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southe ...

Bujumbura Mairie Bujumbura Mairie Province is one of the eighteen provinces of Burundi. It consists entirely of the city of Bujumbura, Burundi's economic capital. Location Bujumbura Mairie Province is in the west of Burundi. It borders Lake Tanganyika to the wes ...

, Bujumbura Rural,

Bururi Bururi is a city located in southern Burundi. It is the capital city of Bururi Province Bururi Province is one of the eighteen provinces of Burundi, provinces of Burundi. It was formerly Burundi's largest province until the communes of Commune o ...

Cankuzo Cankuzo is a city located in eastern Burundi. It is the capital city of Cankuzo Province Cankuzo Province is one of the 18 provinces of Burundi. Located in the eastern part of the country, the province covers an area of 1,965 km. The provi ...

Cibitoke Cibitoke is a city located in northwestern Burundi, near the border of Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the capital of the Cibitoke Province. The city is the birthplace of Olympic judoka Odette Ntahonvukiye Odette Ntahomvukiye (born 14 Ju ...

Gitega Gitega (), formerly Kitega, is the political capital of Burundi. Located in the centre of the country, in the Burundian central plateau roughly east of Bujumbura, the largest city and former political capital, Gitega is the country's fourth la ...

Karuzi Karuzi, or Karusi, is a city located in eastern Burundi. It is the capital city of Karuzi Province. On 8 June 2020, Burundian president Pierre Nkurunziza died in Karuzi from cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arres ...

Kayanza Kayanza is a city located in northern Burundi, known for its tea and coffee production. It is the capital city of Kayanza Province, subdivided into nine communes from which one is called ''Kayanza''. It is one of the areas with higher population ...

Kirundo Kirundo is a city located in northern Burundi. It is the capital city of Kirundo Province Kirundo Province is one of the eighteen provinces of Burundi, in north of the country bordering Rwanda. The economy is mostly based on agriculture, with a ...

, Makamba,

Muramvya Muramvya is a city located in central Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast A ...

Muyinga Muyinga is a city located in northern Burundi. It is the capital city of Muyinga Province Muyinga Province is one of the 18 provinces of Burundi. Location Muyinga Province is in the northeast of Burundi, bordering Tanzania to the east and Rwan ...

, Mwaro, Ngozi,

Rumonge Rumonge is the capital of Rumonge Province, Burundi, and is located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake ...

Rutana Rutana is a town in southern Burundi. It lies west of Mount Kikizi, one of the highest mountains in the nation. The Kagera Falls lie near the town. It is the capital of Rutana Province, one of the 18 provinces of Burundi Burundi, offic ...

and Ruyigi. These provinces will be replaced by 5 provinces starting with the new legislatives elections scheduled in 2025. These new provinces are: Buhumuza, Bujumbura, Burunga, Butanyerera and Gitega.

Communes

The second-largest administrative division is the ''commune'' (municipality). There are currently 117 ''communes'' in Burundi but they will be reduced to 42 after the 2025 legislative elections

Collines

The smallest subdivision in Burundi is the ''colline'' (literally "hill") of which there are 2,638 in the country. Similarly to the provinces and communes, the number of collines will also be change in 2025 increasing to 3,044.

References

{{Africa topic, Subdivisions of