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Gitega

File:Burundi.Gitega_36.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ167551· pop 96· linked from 257 articles

Also known as Kitega

Gitega (), formerly Kitega, is the political capital of Burundi. Located in the centre of the country, in the Burundian central plateau roughly east of Bujumbura, the largest city and former political capital, Gitega is the country's fourth largest city and former royal capital of the Kingdom of Burundi until its abolition in 1966. In December 2018, former President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza announced that he would follow on a 2007 promise to return Gitega its former political capital status, with Bujumbura remaining as economic capital and centre of commerce. A vote in the Parliament of Bu

AI overview

Gitega is the political capital of Burundi, located in the country's central plateau and serving as the seat of government following a 2018 decision to restore it to that role. The city holds historical significance as the former royal capital of the Kingdom of Burundi and is now the country's fourth largest city, while the larger city of Bujumbura remains the economic and commercial center.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

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Place details

Locality
Gitega
Region
Gitega
Country
Burundi
Population
64,904
Timezone
Africa/Bujumbura

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

53US AQIModerate
PM2.5
15.9 µg/m³
PM10
16.8 µg/m³
As of 2026-09-25 02:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.official_name
Gitega
Settlement.settlement_type
Capital city
Settlement.pushpin_map
Burundi#Africa
Settlement.pushpin_label_position
bottom
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption
Location in Burundi
Settlement.pushpin_relief
1
Settlement.subdivision_type
Country
Settlement.subdivision_type1
Province
Settlement.subdivision_name1
Gitega Province
Settlement.area_total_km2
22
Settlement.area_urban_km2
22
Settlement.area_metro_km2
27
Settlement.population_as_of
2020
Settlement.population_total
135,467
Settlement.population_density_km2
auto
Settlement.population_blank1_title
Ethnicities
Settlement.population_blank2_title
Religions
Settlement.timezone
CAT

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
city
Official name
Gitega
Country
Burundi
Located in
Gitega Province
Population
20708
Area
22
Elevation
1504
Capital of
Burundi
Image
Centre ville de Gitega.jpg
Show 8 more facts
Commons category
Gitega
category for people born here
Q9224891
topic's main category
Category:Gitega
native label
Gitega
inception
1912-00-00
different from
Gitega Province
P12749
Ronno
Sources (7)

via Wikidata · CC0

Travel guide

Understand

With 135,000 inhabitants, Gitega is the second most populous city of the country. Until 1966, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Burundi. The city is in the middle of Burundi, and at about above sea level.

Get in

There are roads from all directions, and you can get in by bus, taxi or driving yourself. The distance from Bujumbura, the largest city where Burundi's international airport is located, is .

Gitega has an airport (GID), but as of April 2020 there are no scheduled services.

Go next

Bujumbura Bururi Bururi Forest Natural Reserve Muyinga Ngozi Nyakazu Break and the Karera Falls Ruvubu National Park

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~4 min read

Encyclopedic overview

12 sections
Contents
  • Geography
  • Climate
  • History
  • Education
  • Culture
  • Places of worship
  • Transportation
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

Gitega (), formerly Kitega, is the political capital of Burundi. Located in the centre of the country, in the Burundian central plateau roughly east of Bujumbura, the largest city and former political capital, Gitega is the country's fourth largest city and former royal capital of the Kingdom of Burundi until its abolition in 1966. In December 2018, former President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza announced that he would follow on a 2007 promise to return Gitega its former political capital status, with Bujumbura remaining as economic capital and centre of commerce. A vote in the Parliament of Burundi made the change official on 16 January 2019, with all branches of government expected to move in over three years.

==Geography== Gitega is the capital of Gitega Province, one of the eighteen provinces of Burundi. It is located in the center of the country, at roughly the same distance between the commercial capital, Bujumbura on Lake Tanganyika to the west, the Tanzanian border to the east—both at around —and the Rwandan border, about to the north. It lies on a broad plateau surrounded by hills, a few kilometres southwest of the confluence of the Ruvyironza and Rurubu Rivers. Ruvubu National Park, the country's biggest, lies to the east.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gitega” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (5)

On the map

3 mapped locations