Telephone

In 2003 in Burundi

Burundi

Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...

, there were an estimated three mainline telephones for every 1,000 people; about 4,700 people were on a waiting list for telephone service installation. The same year, there were approximately nine mobile phones in use for every 1,000 people.

Radio and Television

In 2001, there were four FM radio stations, two of which were owned by the government, including the Voice of the Revolution, broadcasting in Rundi, Swahili

Swahili language

Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...

, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

. There were eight privately owned radio stations in 2004, including Radio Isanganiro, Bonesha FM, and African Public Radio (RPA); all of these are broadcast in French, Rundi, and Swahili. Some stations receive funding from international donors. Transmissions can be received from British Broadcasting and Radio France Internationale

Radio France Internationale

Radio France Internationale was created in 1975 as part of Radio France by the Government of France, and replaced the Poste Colonial , Paris Mondial , Radio Paris , RTF Radio Paris and ORTF Radio Paris...

.

A television service, Télévision Nationale du Burundi, was established in 1984, and began colour transmission in 1985. In 2004, there was only one television station, which was owned by the government. In 2003, there were an estimated 220 radios and 35 television sets for every 1,000 people.

Internet

The same year, there were 1.8 personal computers for every 1,000 people and two of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet. There were two secure
Internet servers in the country in 2004.

Print

The government issues a French-language daily, Le Renouveau du Burundi, with a circulation of 20,000 in 2002, and several periodicals, including a weekly newspaper, Ubumwe, published in Kirundi

Kirundi

Kirundi, also known as Rundi, is a dialect of the Rwanda-Rundi language spoken by some 8.7 million people in Burundi and adjacent parts of Tanzania and Congo-Kinshasa, as well as in Uganda. It is the official language of Burundi...

, with a 1999 circulation of 20,000, and Burundi Chrétien. There were five private weekly
papers as of 2004 and eight private Internet and fax news sheets.

Freedom of Speech

Though there are no official restrictions upon expression or the press, the regime owns the only daily newspaper and two of the major radio stations, and information is said to be slanted toward pro-government opinions.