Bujumbura, estimated population 300,000 (1994), is the capital of Burundi. The city is located on Lake Tanganyika, and is Burundi's largest city and its administrative, communications, and economic center. Manufactures include cement, textiles, and soap. Bujumbura is Burundi's main port and ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton, skins, and tin ore.
Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became a military post in German East Africa in 1889. After World War I it was made the administrative center of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. The city's name was changed from Usumbura to Bujumbura when Burundi became independent in 1962. Since independence, Bujumbura has been the scene of frequent fighting between the country's two main ethnic groups, with Hutu militias opposing the Tutsi-dominated Burundi army.
Tourist information about another destination in Burundi