Map of Rwanda | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

Background


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries: 893 km total; Burundi 290 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km

Coastline: none - 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; mountains in west

Elevation

Natural resources: gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), natural gas, hydropower

Land use: 29% arable land; 11% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 10% forest and woodland; 32% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: landlocked


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Population: 7,322,039 (July 1989), growth rate 3.8% (1989)

Nationality: noun - Rwandan(s; adjective - Rwandese

Ethnic groups: 90% Hutu, 9% Tutsi, 1% Twa (Pygmoid)

Languages: Kinyarwanda, French (official; Kiswahili used in commercial centers

Religions: 65% Roman Catholic, 9% Protestant, 9% Muslim, 17% indigenous beliefs and other

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 53 births/1000 population (1989)

Death rate: 16 deaths/1000 population (1989)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1000 population (1989)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; periodic droughts

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 117 deaths/1000 live births (1989)

Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 53 years female (1989)

Total fertility rate: 8.5 children born/woman (1989)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 37%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Rwanda; note - may be changed to Rwandese Republic

Government type: republic; presidential system in which military leaders hold key offices

Capital: Kigali

Administrative divisions: 10 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture in French; plural - NA, singular - prefegitura in Kinyarwanda; Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Rigali, Ruhengeri

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Constitution: 17 December 1978

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal adult

Executive branch: Chief of State and Head of Government President Maj. Gen. Juvenal HABYARIMANA (since 5 July 1973)

Legislative branch: Army, paramilitary, Gendarmerie

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: AfDB, EAMA, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Aloys UWIMANA; Chancery at 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20,009; telephone (202) 232-2,882; US - Ambassador Leonard H. O. SPEARMAN, Sr.; Embassy at Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali (mailing address is B. P. 28, Kigali; telephone Õ205å 75,601 through 75,603 or 72,126 through 72,128

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green with a large black letter R centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Guinea, which has a plain yellow band

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: About 40% of GDP comes from the agricultural sector; coffee and tea make up 80-90% of total exports. The amount of fertile land is limited, however, and deforestation and soil erosion have created problems. The industrial sector in Rwanda is small, contributing less than 20% to GDP. Manufacturing focuses mainly on the processing of agricultural products.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: cash crops - coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums; main food crops - bananas, cassava; stock raising; self-sufficiency declining; country imports foodstuffs

Industries: mining of cassiterite (tin ore) and wolframite (tungsten ore), tin, cement, agricultural processing, small-scale beverage production, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes

Industrial production growth rate: 7.5% (1987)

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $270 million; expenditures $330 million, including capital expenditures of $49 million (1987 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $113 million (f.o.b., 1987)
Commodities: coffee 85%, tea, tin, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum
Partners: FRG, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US

Imports: $352 million (c.i.f., 1987)
Commodities: textiles, foodstuffs, machines and equipment, capital goods, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material
Partners: US, Belgium, FRG, Kenya, Japan

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $537 million (December 1988)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Rwandese francs (RF) per US$1 - 77.49 (January 1989), 76.45 (1988), 79.67 (1987), 87.64 (1986), 101.26 (1985)


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Electricity
Capacity: 26,000 kW capacity; 112 million kWh produced, 15 kWh per capita (1988)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $44 million, 12% of central government budget (1987)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 8 total, 8 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs