Burundi is subdivided into provinces, communes and collines, in contrast to the United States, which is divided into states and counties. Provinces were first set up by the Belgian Colonial Administration in 1960, to replace traditional chieftains.
Burundi’s Territorial Subdivisions
Burundi most recently has had 18 provinces, 117 communes, and 2,638 collines. Colline means "hill" in French, a legacy of colonial rule. Provincial governments are structured upon these boundaries.
In 2022, Burundi voted to reorder its administrative boundaries by consolidating provinces to 5 and communes to 42, and expanding the number of collines to 3,037 according to RegionWeek. The new order is to be formalized after 2025 elections. So these maps will shift again.
Where We Operate
The Gazelle Foundation primarily has operated in Bururi Province, across several communes and multiple collines.
Most of the schematics for the water systems we receive are drafted in French. Kirundi and French are the dominant languages followed by English, which was added in 2014. Kirundi, French, and English are the three official languages of the country, though others are spoken.
Maps of Burundi
These maps show different views of Burundi, an East African country located south of Rwanda, west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and east of Tanzania. Much of the country is located at elevation with lush, tropical hills. It is located in the African Great Lakes are region and part of the Nile River Basin.
It is especially hilly in the southern provinces where we operate, which makes gravity-fed water systems a good match for the geography of the area. The water systems we construct in partnership with local villages are low-tech and high-impact, providing clean water for life. Because we hire locally and turn over the ownership of each system to the community upon completion, each village has the expertise to maintain their water system over time. Since our inception, all of our water systems have had a 100% success rate. Read more about our impact.
This map shows the current sub divisions between provinces, communes, and collines. This map is set to change later in 2025.
See a growing list of Collines
This map shows the existing Burundi provinces. Most are named for the capital of each province. Source: Wikipedia
A Short History Of Burundi
Bujumbura, formerly Usumbura, is the capital of Burundi, largest city, and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country’s chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. It is on the northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest lake in the world after Lake Baikal.
The Twa, Hutu and Tutsi peoples have lived in Burundi for at least 500 years. For more than 200 of those years, Burundi was an independent kingdom, until the beginning of the 20th century, when Germany colonized the region. After the World War I, Germany ceded the territory to Belgium.
Both Germans and Belgians ruled Burundi and Rwanda as a European colony known as Ruanda-Urundi. Despite common misconceptions, Burundi and Rwanda had never been under common rule until the time of European colonization. Read more history.
Children cheer at a local water stand which is part of the Murenge-Shanga Water System #73. The water system is located in Bururi Province, Matana Commune, and spans across Kinyinya and Mugano Collines. Water is free to anyone regardless of where they live and their background.
Help Us Bring More Clean Water to Burundi
Award-winning runner, coach, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and clean water advocate Gilbert Tuhabonye grew up in Burundi. After escaping a horrific genocide, he immigrated to the United States and rebuilt his life, reclaiming his joy of running and inspiring those around him with his positive attitude, his choice to embrace forgiveness, and to share hope by bringing clean water to the country of his birth.
Join our cause to bring good health, joy, and hope to an area of the world where waterborne illness is all too common. Access to clean water disrupts the cycle of poverty and conflict, giving more children access to education and improving economic opportunities for everyone. See what local residents have to say about clean water.
Donate and get involved in our cause today.
Note: This article was originally published March 14, 2021. It was updated with new content and republished April 18, 2025.