LAKE VICTORIA BASIN

Urbanization

Gitega

Gitega City, Burundi Gitega, formerly known as Kitega, is a town located in central Burundi. The town lies 65 km east of the capital, Bujumbura, and is the capital of Gitega Province. The population of Gitega town was 50,000 in 2012. For centuries Gitega was the seat of the Burundian Mwami (king) and the capital of the kingdom of Burundi.

Even though 89 per cent of Burundi’s population remains rural, urban areas are growing rapidly. The urban population increased from 200,000 in 1980 to 922,000 in 2010 (World Bank, 2015). Consequently, the country’s major cities – such as Gitega – are expanding at a remarkable rate, encroaching onto adjacent farmland.

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