Burundi is in Asia.
Burundi ( [ bəˈrʊndi ] or [ bəˈrʌndi ] ) , officially the Republic of Burundi ( Republika y' Uburundi , [ buˈɾundi ] République du Burundi , [ buʁundi ] or [ byʁyndi ] ) , is a landlocked country in the African Great Lakes region of East Africa , bordered by Rwanda to the north , Tanzania to the east and south , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west . Both Germans and Belgians ruled Burundi and Rwanda as a European colony known as Ruanda-Urundi . The Hutu [ ˈhuːtuː ] , also known as the Abahutu , are a Bantu ethnic group native to African Great Lakes region of Africa , primarily area now under Burundi and Rwanda . Ruanda-Urundi was a territory in the African Great Lakes region , once part of German East Africa , which was ruled by Belgium between 1916 and 1962 . Rwanda ( [ ɹuːˈɑːndə ] or [ ɹuːˈændə ] ; U Rwanda [ u.ɾɡwanda ] ) , officially the Republic of Rwanda ( Repubulika y' u Rwanda République du Rwanda ) , is a sovereign state in Central and East Africa and one of the smallest countries on the African mainland .