The Republic of Burundi , or officially the Republic of Burundi is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Africa from East Africa , bordered by Rwanda in the north, Tanzania from the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. It is also considered part of Central Africa . The Burundian capital of Bujumbura is the southwestern border bordering Lake Tanganyika .

Twas , Hutus and Tutsis have lived in Burundi for at least 500 years. For more than 200 of these years, Burundi was an independent kingdom, until the beginning of the 20th century , when Germany colonized the region. After World War I and the defeat of Germany, they ceded territory to Belgium . Both Germans and Belgians ruled Burundi and Rwanda as a European colony known as Rwanda-Orundi. Despite common misconceptions, Burundi and Rwanda were not under common rule before European colonization. European intervention exacerbated social disparities between Tutsis and Hutus , and contributed to political unrest in the region. Burundi gained independence in 1962 and initially it was a monarchy, but a series of assassinations and coups, and a general climate of instability in the region culminated in the establishment of a republic and a one-party state in 1966 . Bouts of ethnic cleansing and ultimately two civil wars and genocide during the 1970's , and again in 1990 left the country lagging behind and its population as one of the world's poorest countries.  2015 saw the political conflict as widespread as President Pierre Nkurunziza chose to run for a third term, a coup attempt failed and was subject to widespread criticism of the country's parliamentary and presidential elections by members of the international community.In addition to poverty, Burundi often has to deal with corruption , poor infrastructure, poor access to health and education services, and hunger . Burundi was densely populated and had a large migration as young people sought opportunities elsewhere. Global Happiness Report 2016 updated Burundi ranked the least happy nation in the world.