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This page was last updated on 19 June 2008
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| Introduction | Rwanda | Top of Page

Background: | In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but several thousand remained in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC; the former Zaire) and formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF tried in 1990. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in August and September 2003 - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output, and ethnic reconciliation is complicated by the real and perceived Tutsi political dominance. Kigali's increasing centralization and intolerance of dissent, the nagging Hutu extremist insurgency across the border, and Rwandan involvement in two wars in recent years in the neighboring DRC continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts to escape its bloody legacy.

| Geography | Rwanda | Top of Page

Location: | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Geographic coordinates: | 2 00 S, 30 00 E
Map references: | Africa
Area: | total: 26,338 sq km land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries: | total: 893 km border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km
Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: | none (landlocked)
Climate: | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible
Terrain: | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m
Natural resources: | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land
Land use: | arable land: 45.56% permanent crops: 10.25% other: 44.19% (2005)
Irrigated land: | 90 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources: | 5.2 cu km (2003)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): | total: 0.15 cu km/yr (24%/8%/68%) per capita: 17 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards: | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo
Environment - current issues: | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note: | landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural

| People | Rwanda | Top of Page

Population: | 10,186,063 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 41.9% (male 2,143,479/female 2,124,588) 15-64 years: 55.7% (male 2,826,557/female 2,842,020) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 99,721/female 149,698) (2008 est.)
Median age: | total: 18.7 years male: 18.5 years female: 18.9 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate: | 2.779% (2008 est.)
Birth rate: | 39.97 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate: | 14.46 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate: | 2.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 83.42 deaths/1,000 live births male: 88.53 deaths/1,000 live births female: 78.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 49.76 years male: 48.56 years female: 51 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 5.31 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 5.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 250,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 22,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases: | degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria (2008)
Nationality: | noun: Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan
Ethnic groups: | Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 15%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%
Religions: | Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001)
Languages: | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 70.4% male: 76.3% female: 64.7% (2003 est.)
People - note: | Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa

| Government | Rwanda | Top of Page

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Rwanda conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda, German East Africa
Government type: | republic; presidential, multiparty system
Capital: | name: Kigali geographic coordinates: 1 57 S, 30 04 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions: | 4 provinces (in French - provinces, singular - province; in Kinyarwanda - intara for singular and plural) and 1 city* (in French - ville; in Kinyarwanda - umujyi); Est (Eastern), Kigali*, Nord (Northern), Ouest (Western), Sud (Southern)
Independence: | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday: | Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
Constitution: | new constitution passed by referendum 26 May 2003
Legal system: | based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: | chief of state: President Paul KAGAME (since 22 April 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: President elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 25 August 2003 (next to be held in 2010) election results: Paul KAGAME elected president in first direct popular vote; Paul KAGAME 95.05%, Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU 3.62%, Jean-Nepomuscene NAYINZIRA 1.33%
Legislative branch: | bicameral Parliament consists of Senate (26 seats; 12 members elected by local councils, 8 appointed by the president, 4 by the Political Organizations Forum, 2 represent institutions of higher learning; to serve eight-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies (80 seats; 53 members elected by popular vote, 24 women elected by local bodies, 3 selected by youth and disability organizations; to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate - members appointed as part of the transitional government (next to be held in 2011); Chamber of Deputies - last held 29 September 2003 (next to be held in 2008) election results: seats by party under the 2003 Constitution - RPF 40, PSD 7, PL 6, additional 27 members indirectly elected
Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees
Political parties and leaders: | Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Alfred MUKEZAMFURA]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [Adrien RANGIRA]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR [Celestin KABANDA] (officially banned); Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Protais MITALI]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned); Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors
International organization participation: | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, EAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador James KOMONYO chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael ARIETTI embassy: 337 Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali telephone: [250] 50 56 01 through 03 FAX: [250] 57 2128
Flag description: | three horizontal bands of sky blue (top, double width), yellow, and green, with a golden sun with 24 rays near the fly end of the blue band

| Economy | Rwanda | Top of Page

Economy - overview: | Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa and is landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded the country's ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels, although poverty levels are higher now. GDP has rebounded and inflation has been curbed. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, requiring food imports. Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid money and obtained IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in 2005-06. Rwanda also received Millennium Challenge Account Threshold status in 2006. The government has embraced an expansionary fiscal policy to reduce poverty by improving education, infrastructure, and foreign and domestic investment and pursuing market-oriented reforms, although energy shortages, instability in neighboring states, and lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries continue to handicap growth.
GDP (purchasing power parity): | $8.44 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $3.32 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $900 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 36.9% industry: 21.7% services: 41.4% (2007 est.)
Labor force: | 4.6 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 90% industry and services: 10% (2000)
Unemployment rate: | NA%
Population below poverty line: | 60% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 38.2% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 46.8 (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 9.4% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 22.1% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $797 million expenditures: $873.1 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products: | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock
Industries: | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes
Industrial production growth rate: | 13.1% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production: | 95 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption: | 198.4 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports: | 10 million kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - imports: | 120 million kWh (2005)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 5,300 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports: | 0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports: | 5,165 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves: | 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 54.32 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance: | -$161 million (2007 est.)
Exports: | $167 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities: | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore
Exports - partners: | China 10.3%, Germany 9.7%, US 4.3% (2006)
Imports: | $585 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities: | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material
Imports - partners: | Kenya 19.6%, Germany 7.8%, Uganda 6.8%, Belgium 5.1% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient: | $576 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $517 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external: | $1.4 billion (2004 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares: | $NA
Currency (code): | Rwandan franc (RWF)
Exchange rates: | Rwandan francs per US dollar - 585 (2007), 560 (2006), 610 (2005), 574.62 (2004), 537.66 (2003)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

| Communications | Rwanda | Top of Page

Telephones - main lines in use: | 22,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 290,000 (2005)
Telephone system: | general assessment: small, inadequate telephone system primarily serves business and government domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the provinces by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone density is only about 4 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 250; international connections employ microwave radio relay to neighboring countries and satellite communications to more distant countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service)
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 0, FM 8 (two main FM programs are broadcast through a system of repeaters, three international FM programs include the BBC, VOA, and Deutchewelle), shortwave 1 (2005)
Television broadcast stations: | 2 (2004)
Internet country code: | .rw
Internet hosts: | 1,592 (2007)
Internet users: | 65,000 (2006)

| Transportation | Rwanda | Top of Page

Airports: | 9 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2007)
Roadways: | total: 14,008 km paved: 2,662 km unpaved: 11,346 km (2004)
Waterways: | Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2006)
Ports and terminals: | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye

| Military | Rwanda | Top of Page

Military branches: | Rwandan Defense Forces: Army, Air Force
Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)
Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 2,430,469 females age 16-49: 2,392,933 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 1,404,066 females age 16-49: 1,403,700 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.9% (2006 est.)

| Transnational Issues | Rwanda | Top of Page

Disputes - international: | fighting among ethnic groups - loosely associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces in Great Lakes region transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda - abated substantially from a decade ago due largely to UN peacekeeping, international mediation, and efforts by local governments to create civil societies; nonetheless, 57,000 Rwandan refugees still reside in 21 African states, including Zambia, Gabon, and 20,000 who fled to Burundi in 2005 and 2006 to escape drought and recriminations from traditional courts investigating the 1994 massacres; the 2005 DROC and Rwanda border verification mechanism to stem rebel actions on both sides of the border remains in place
Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 46,272 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 4,400 (Burundi) (2007)

This page was last updated on 19 June 2008