Let's Talk Numbers

Economically speaking, my country is practically in the toilet. Burundi had the second-lowest GDP per capita income in the world in 2011 (the lowest was the Democratic Republic of the Congo), totaling a whopping $279 US. This number tells us that the standard of living in Burundi is among the poorest in the world. Most of the average population gets by day to day by subsistence farming, which means that they only farm enough to support themselves and their families. There's very little left over to export and trade with. Even if there was, though, getting goods out of Burundi is enough of a trial that it would probably discourage further plans to export. Viable transportation networks in Burundi are practically nonexistent, making successful trade an anomaly. Burundi is completely landlocked and, aside from a few road networks (only some of which are paved and most of which are in disrepair), there isn't an economical option for shipping goods out of the country. There are only 8 airports (and only one of them is paved), very few shipment opportunities through waterways like rivers and Lake Tanganyika, and there are no railways (although plans are underway to construct a railroad system into Rwanda). Access to sea ports is virtually nonexistent.

Looking at these numbers really got my mind going. Poor transportation seems to be at the root of these economic problems (although political unrest and government corruption certainly play a part as well). How could we possibly improve transportation networks so that goods can start flowing in and out of Burundi? One thought I had was that Burundi could ship goods to Tanzania through water transportation. If they could strike an economical deal with Tanzania that would allow Burundian goods through to sea ports - where they can then be shipped out to anywhere in the world - than it might boost the economy. Of course, the opportunity costs of this proposal probably outweigh the benefits because, really, is Tanzania going to let Burundi have access to their ports without charging an abominable fee? Probably not. It's times like these when I wish our world were more... well, celestial. If people could care less about profit and more about their neighbors, less countries might be below the poverty line. But I guess that goes against the rationality of self-interest, huh?

Well, I've got one Developing Dollar to spend. Let's see what I can do with it.