Independence Day in 2024

When is Burundi Independence Day?

Independence Day is a public holiday in Burundi on July 1st.

This is Burundi's National Day and commemorates independence from Belgium on July 1st 1962.

History of Burundi Independence Day

Burundi is a landlocked region in central Africa. It was an independent kingdom until it became part of the colony of German East Africa, which included Burundi, Rwanda, and the mainland part of Tanzania in the 1890s.

After Germany's defeat in the First World War, control of the western part of German East Africa was ceded to Belgium under the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

In October 1924, Ruanda-Urundi, which consisted of modern-day Rwanda and Burundi, became a Belgian League of Nations mandate territory.

Despite the control by the two European powers, the monarchy in Burundi had continued, and In 1959, Burundi's ruler Mwami Mwambutsa IV requested independence from Belgium and dissolution of the Ruanda-Urundi union.

The country declared its independence on July 1st 1962 and changed its name from Ruanda-Urundi to Burundi. Burundi became a constitutional monarchy with Mwami Mwambutsa IV as king. On September 18th 1962 Burundi joined the United Nations.

Following independence, Burundi has had a tumultuous series of decades with coups, civil war and genocide. The country has been peaceful since 2006 and Independence Day is seen as a day to show patriotism for Burundi but also to bring people together after the violent past.