The Challenge of Achieving Stable and Shared Growth
Resource information
This Country Economic Memorandum (CEM)
is the first for Burundi since the 1980s. It has been
developed in collaboration with the government of Burundi.
The CEM has been prepared in cooperation with the African
development bank and the U.K. department for international
development. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the
world, and has suffered from many years of civil conflict
and its consequences. In the last years, peace has been
established and a promising recovery of the economy has
started. Economic growth rates, however, are not in line
with what has been projected in the latest poverty reduction
strategy paper (September 2006). Real Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) growth had been projected to average almost 7 percent
between 2006 and 2009 in that strategy paper, but actual
growth will average just above 4 percent for the same
period. The report reviews the economic developments in the
past and tries to identify the most binding constraints to
growth. The CEM then sets out a strategy to address these
constraints to promote increased and participatory growth,
reduce poverty, and improve the livelihood of the
population. The report draws on a number of background
studies conducted on various subjects relevant to the
country's economic development and on existing reports
and studies from the government of Burundi, the World Bank,
other donors, and academics. The CEM provides a synthesis of
various recommendations and attempts to prioritize and
sequence key actions.
