Burundi: Customs and other import duties (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Burundi's customs and other import duties (current LCU) rose 41% on 2020 (from 95.07 billion to 134.03 billion).

Across the 16 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2020), the average change was +17% and a typical year strayed about 45.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 171.8% in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 17.8% in 1994. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 24% of the movement over 9 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Burundi in the 2021 ranking

• Cameroon — 1st of 7: 359.57 billion
• Bangladesh — 2nd of 7: 315.92 billion
• Congo, Rep. — 4th of 7: 100.46 billion
• Eswatini — 5th of 7: 6.38 billion
• Maldives — 6th of 7: 2.84 billion

What this measures

Taxes and duties on imports are taxes on goods and services that become payable at the moment when goods enter the economic territory or when services are delivered by non-resident producers to residents. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

All 20 values

Customs and other import duties (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Angola — 405.23 billion (2024)
• Botswana — 24.21 billion (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 343.67 billion (2024)
• Cabo Verde — 6.59 billion (2020)
• Cameroon — 359.57 billion (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 1.45 trillion (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 100.46 billion (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 756.49 billion (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea — 22.45 billion (2022)
• Eswatini

More public sector data for Burundi

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 226.62 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 670.49 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 3.24% (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 14.85% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 31,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.59% (2020)
• Battle-related deaths (number of people) — 19 (2024)
• CPIA business regulatory environment rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3 (2025)
• CPIA debt policy rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3.5 (2025)
• CPIA economic management cluster average (1=low to 6=high)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Burundi's customs and other import duties (current LCU)?

134.03 billion in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

It is up 1,572% from 8.02 billion in 1991 (9.84% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 146.88 billion in 2015 and the lowest 5.68 billion in 1994.

Is the latest change in customs and other import duties (current LCU) unusual for Burundi?

In 2021, Burundi's customs and other import duties (current LCU) rose 41% on 2020 (from 95.07 billion to 134.03 billion). Across the 16 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2020), the average change was +17% and a typical year strayed about 45.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.TAX.IMPT.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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