Provinces of Burundi

Burundi is divided into five provinces: Buhumuza, Bujumbura, Burunga, Butanyerera, and Gitega. Prior to 2025, there were 18 provinces.

History

The Belgian colonial administration created provinces in Burundi on September 26, 1960, to replace chiefdoms as part of a series of administrative reforms. There were 18: Bubanza, Bukirasazi, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kitega, Kirundo, Makamba, Muhinga, Muramvya, Mwaro, Mwisale, Ngozi, Ruyigi, Rutana, and Usumbura. The 1962 constitution of the Kingdom of Burundi provided for eight provinces: Bubanza, Bukirasazi, Bururi, Gitega, Muramvya, Muyinga, Ngozi, and Ruyigi.
In 2000, the province encompassing Bujumbura was separated into two provinces, Bujumbura Rural and Bujumbura Mairie. The newest province, Rumonge, was created on 26 March 2015 from portions of Bujumbura Rural and Bururi.
In July 2022, the government of Burundi announced a complete overhaul of the country's territorial subdivisions. The proposed change would reduce the amounts of provinces from 18 to 5, and reduce the amount of communes from 119 to 42. The changes were approved by both the National Assembly and the Senate and took effect in 2025 with the new parliamentary elections.
With the new administrative division, the country is now made up of 5 provinces : Buhumuza, Bujumbura, Burunga, Butanyerera and Gitega. These provinces are furthermore subdivided into 42 communes, 451 zones and 3044 hills

As of July 2025, Burundi has five provinces, each with its own governor.

Province	Capital	Population	Area	Territorial correspondence with former provinces	Governor as of 2025
Buhumuza	Cankuzo	2.052.261	5.931	Cankuzo, Muyinga, Ruyigi	Dénise Ndaruhekeye
Bujumbura	Bujumbura	3.353.555	3.937	Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rural, Cibitoke, and parts of Rumonge and Muramvya	Aloys Ndayikengurukiye
Burunga	Makamba	2.118.551	6.206	Bururi, Makamba, Rutana, three communes in Rumonge, and the zone of Mahwa in Gitega	Parfait Mboninyibuka
Butanyerera	Ngozi	2.530.206	4.480	Kayanza, Kirundo, Ngozi, and parts of Muramvya	Victor Segasago
Gitega	Gitega	2.278.215	4.546	Gitega minus the zone of Mahwa, Karuzi, Mwaro, and parts of Muramvya	Liboire Bigirimana