Country Foundations

Burundi

Constitution in force since 2018. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
—
mean across compared rights
Practiced
—
mean across compared rights
Gap
—
Executive respects constitution
42%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared —, practiced 22% (no comparable practice measure)Right to life—22%—Freedom from torture — declared —, practiced 23% (no comparable practice measure)Freedom from torture—23%—Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared —, practiced 76% (no comparable practice measure)Freedom from slavery and forced labour—76%—Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared —, practiced 39% (no comparable practice measure)Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…—39%—Right to a fair and public trial — declared —, practiced 38% (no comparable practice measure)Right to a fair and public trial—38%—Presumption of innocence — declared —, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure———Right to legal counsel — declared —, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure———Protection from self-incrimination — declared —, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure———Protection from double jeopardy — declared —, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure———Due process of law — declared —, practiced 35% (no comparable practice measure)Due process of law—35%—Trial by jury or lay participation — declared —, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure———Freedom of expression — declared —, practiced 23% (no comparable practice measure)Freedom of expression—23%—Freedom of the press — declared —, practiced 31% (no comparable practice measure)Freedom of the press—31%—Freedom of thought and conscience — declared —, practiced 34% (no comparable practice measure)Freedom of thought and conscience—34%—Freedom of religion — declared —, practiced 69% (no comparable practice measure)Freedom of religion—69%—Separation of religion and state — declared —, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure———Academic freedom — declared —, practiced 33% (no comparable practice measure)Academic freedom—33%—Freedom of assembly — declared —, practiced 43% (no comparable practice measure)Freedom of assembly—43%—Freedom of association — declared —, practiced 35% (no comparable practice measure)Freedom of association—35%—Right to petition government — declared —, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure———Right to form and join trade unions — declared —, practiced 11% (no comparable practice measure)Right to form and join trade unions—11%—Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared —, practiced 57% (no comparable practice measure)Right to vote and universal suffrage—57%—Right to privacy — declared —, practiced 47% (no comparable practice measure)Right to privacy—47%—Freedom of movement — declared —, practiced 69% (no comparable practice measure)Freedom of movement—69%—Right to asylum — declared —, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure———Right to own property — declared —, practiced 64% (no comparable practice measure)Right to own property—64%—Equality before the law — declared —, practiced 49% (no comparable practice measure)Equality before the law—49%—Right to education — declared —, practiced 19% (no comparable practice measure)Right to education—19%—Right to health care — declared —, practiced 29% (no comparable practice measure)Right to health care—29%—Right to shelter or housing — declared —, practiced 39% (no comparable practice measure)Right to shelter or housing—39%—Independent judiciary — declared —, practiced 17% (no comparable practice measure)Independent judiciary—17%—Right to bear arms — declared —, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure———decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001981: constitutional text changed (+13 pts declared)1992: constitutional text changed (+13 pts declared)1998: constitutional text changed (−6 pts declared)2004: constitutional text changed (+22 pts declared)19701980199020002010

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1962–2017. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1990
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1990
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1977
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1992
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1993
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1990
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2014
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)signed only
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaiti

Data generated 2026-08-08.