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

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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 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. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output and to foster reconciliation. A series of massive population displacements a nagging Hutu extremist insurgency and Rwandan involvement in two wars over the past four years in the neighboring DROC continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts.


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Location: Central Africa east of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Geographic coordinates: 2 00 S 30 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 26,338 km²
Water: 1,390 km²
Land: 24,948 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries
Total: 893 km
Border countries: (4) 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
Extremes highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m

Natural resources: gold cassiterite (tin ore) wolframite (tungsten ore) methane hydropower arable land

Land use
Arable land: 32.43%
Permanent crops: 10.13%
Other: 57.44% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 40 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo

Geography
Note: landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural


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Population
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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.)
Growth rate: 1.84% (2003 est.)
Below poverty line: 60% (2001 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Rwandan
Adjective: Rwandan

Ethnic groups: Hutu 84% Tutsi 15% Twa (Pygmoid) 1%

Languages: Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular French (official) English (official) Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers

Religions: Roman Catholic 56.5% Protestant 26% Adventist 11.1% Muslim 4.6% indigenous beliefs 0.1% none 1.7% (2001)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 42.5% (male 1,667,128; female 1,651,422)
15-64 years: 54.8% (male 2,128,495; female 2,148,694)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 85,576; female 128,741) (2003 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 18.1 years
Male: 17.8 years
Female: 18.3 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 1.84% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 40.1 births/1000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 21.72 deaths/1000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2003 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male/female
Total population: 0.99 male/female (2003 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 102.61 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 97.41 deaths/1000 live births (2003 est.)
Male: 107.66 deaths/1000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 39.33 years
Male: 38.51 years
Female: 40.18 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.6 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 8.9% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 500,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 49,000 (2001 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Female: 64.7% (2003 est.)
Male: 76.3%
Total population: 70.4%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Rwandese Republic
Conventional short form: Rwanda
Local short form: Rwanda
Former: Ruanda
Local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda

Government type: republic; presidential multiparty system

Capital: Kigali

Administrative divisions: 12 prefectures (in French - prefectures singular - prefecture; in Kinyarwanda - plural - NA singular - prefegitura); Butare Byumba Cyangugu Gikongoro Gisenyi Gitarama Kibungo Kibuye Kigali Rurale Kigali-ville Umutara Ruhengeri

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)

National holiday: Independence Day 1 July (1962)

Constitution: on 5 May 1995 the Transitional National Assembly adopted as Fundamental Law the constitution of 18 June 1991 provisions of the 1993 Arusha peace accord the July 1994 Declaration by the Rwanda Patriotic Front and the November 1994 multiparty protocol of understanding

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: 18 years of age; universal adult

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME (FPR) (since 22 April 2000)
Head of government: Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March 2000)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections: last held 25 August 2003 (next to be held NA 2008)
Election results: Paul KAGAME elected president in first direct popular vote; Paul KAGAME (RPF) 95.05%, Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU 3.62%, Jean-Nepomuscene NAYINZIRA 1.33%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 29 September 2003 (next to be held NA)
Election results: seats by party under the Arusha peace accord - FPR 40, PSD 7, PL 6

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts

Political parties and leaders: Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Jean-Nipomuscene NAYINZIRA]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [J. Damascene NTAWUKURIRYAYO]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [leader NA]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR [Celestin KABANDA]; Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Pie MUGABO]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned) [Pasteur BIZIMUNGU and Charles NTAKARUTINKA]; Rwanda Patriotic Front or FPR [Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME]; Rwandan Socialist Party or PSR [leader NA]

International organization participation: ACCT ACP AfDB CEEAC CEPGL ECA FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICFTU ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF Interpol IOC IOM ISO (correspondent) ITU NAM OAU OPCW (signatory) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCL WCO WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Zac NSENGA
In the us fax: [1] (202) 232-4,544
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 232-2,882
In the us chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20,009
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Margaret K. McMILLION
From the us embassy: #337 Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali
From the us mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali
From the us telephone: [250] 50 56 01 through 03
From the us fax: [250] 57 2,128

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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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; 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. Export earnings however have been hindered by low beverage prices depriving the country of much needed hard currency. Attempts to diversify into non-traditional agriculture exports such as flowers and vegetables have been stymied by a lack of adequate transportation infrastructure. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem food production often does not keep pace with population growth requiring food to be imported. Rwanda continues to receive substantial amounts of aid money and was approved for IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in late 2000. But Kigali's high defense expenditures cause tension between the government and international donors and lending agencies.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 9.7% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $1200 (2002 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 45%
Industry: 20%
Services: 35% (2002 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: 7% (2001 est.)

Labor force: 4.6 million (2000)
By occupation: agriculture 90%