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 (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 a state-orchestrated genocide in which Rwandans killed up to a million of their fellow citizens including approximately three-quarters of the Tutsi population. The genocide ended later that same year when the predominantly Tutsi RPF operating out of Uganda and northern Rwanda defeated the national army and Hutu militias and established an RPF-led government of national unity. Approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi Tanzania Uganda and former 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 did in 1990. Rwanda held its first local elections in 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in 2003. Rwanda in 2009 staged a joint military operation with the Congolese Army in DRC to rout out the Hutu extremist insurgency there and Kigali and Kinshasa restored diplomatic relations. Rwanda also joined the Commonwealth in late 2009 and assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2013-14 term.


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Location: Central Africa east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo north of Burundi

Geographic coordinates: 2 00 S 30 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 26,338 km²
Land: 24,668 km²
Water: 1670 km²
Rank: 149
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries
Total: 930 km
Border countries: (4) Burundi 315 km; Democratic Republic of the Congo 221 km; Tanzania 222 km; Uganda 172 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
Mean elevation: 1598 m
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
Agricultural land: 74.5%
Forest: 18%
Other: 7.5%

Irrigated land: 96 km² (2012)

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
Volcanism: Visoke located on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the country's only historically active volcano

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


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Population
Distribution: one of Africa's most densely populated countries; large concentrations tend to be in the central regions and along the shore of Lake Kivu in the west: 11,901,484
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
Rank: 76
Growth rate: 2.45% (2017 est.)
Growth rate rank: 23
Below poverty line: 39.1% (2015 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Rwandan
Adjective: Rwandan

Ethnic groups: Hutu (Bantu) Tutsi (Hamitic) Twa (Pygmy)

Languages: Kinyarwanda (official universal Bantu vernacular) 93.2% French (official) .1 English (official) .1 Swahili (or Kiswahili used in commercial centers) .1 more than one language other 6.3% unspecified 0.3% (2002 est.)

Religions: Protestant 50.2% (includes Adventist 12% and other Protestant 38.2%) Roman Catholic 44.3% Muslim 2% other 0.9% (includes traditionalist/animist) none 2.5% unspecified .1 (2002 est.)

Demographic profile:

Age structure
0-14 years: 41.38%
15-24 years: 19.34%
25-54 years: 32.77%
55-64 years: 4.09%
65 years and over: 2.43% (2017 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 77.3
Youth dependency ratio: 72.4
Elderly dependency ratio: 5
Potential support ratio: 20.1

Median age
Total: 19 years
Male: 18.3 years
Female: 19.8 years
Rank: 203

Population growth rate: 2.45% (2017 est.)
Rank: 23

Birth rate: 30.7 births/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 35

Death rate: 6.4 deaths/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 149

Net migration rate: 0.2 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 68

Population distribution: one of Africa's most densely populated countries; large concentrations tend to be in the central regions and along the shore of Lake Kivu in the west

Urbanization
Urban population: 30.7% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 5.59% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: KIGALI (capital) 1.257 million (2015)

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 Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes Ozone Layer Protection Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male/female
15-24 years: 1 male/female
25-54 years: 1 male/female
55-64 years: 0.88 male/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male/female
Total population: 1 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth: 23 years
Note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality ratio: 290 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
Rank: 43

Infant mortality rate
Total: 29.7 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 32.7 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 26.7 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 64

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 64.3 years
Male: 62.3 years
Female: 66.3 years
Rank: 187

Total fertility rate: 3.87 children born/woman (2017 est.)
Rank: 38

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 53.2% (2014/15)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 0.06 physicians/1000 population (2010)

Hospital bed density: 1.6 beds/1000 population (2007)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 3.1% (2016 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 18
People living with hivaids: 220,000 (2016 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 27
Deaths: 3,300 (2016 est.)
Deaths rank: 39

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
Animal contact disease: rabies

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 5.8% (2016)
Rank: 174

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 9.3% (2015)
Rank: 63

Education expenditures: 5% of GDP (2013)
Rank: 73

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 70.5%
Male: 73.2%
Female: 68%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 11 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 11 years

Youth unemployment


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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
Etymology: the name translates as 'domain' in the native Kinyarwanda language

Government type: presidential republic

Capital
Name: Kigali
Geographic coordinates: 1 57 S 30 03 E
Time difference: UTC+2

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)

Dependent areas

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

National holiday: Independence Day 1 July (1962)

Constitution
History: several previous; latest adopted by referendum 26 May 2003 effective 4 June 2003
Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or by two-thirds majority support of both houses of Parliament; passage requires at least three-quarters majority vote in both houses; changes to constitutional articles on national sovereignty the presidential term the form and system of government and political pluralism also require approval in a referendum; amended 2008 2010 2015 (2017)

Legal system: mixed legal system of civil law based on German and Belgian models and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Rwanda; if the father is stateless or unknown the mother must be a citizen
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Paul KAGAME
Head of government: Prime Minister Edouard NGIRENTE
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by simple majority vote for a 7-year term ; note - constitutional amendments approved in December 2016 included one that reduces the presidential term from 7 to 5 years but includes an exception that allowed President KAGAME to serve another 7-year term in 2017 potentially followed by two additional 5-year terms; election last held on 4 August 2017 (next to be held on 4 August 2024); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Paul KAGAME reelected president; Paul KAGAME 98.8% Philippe MPAYIMANA (independent) 0.7% Frank HABINEZA (DGP)0.5%

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate or Senat and the Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (80 seats; 53 members directly elected by proportional representation vote 24 women elected by special interest groups and 3 selected by youth and disability organizations; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections: Senate - NA; Chamber of Deputies - last held on 16-18 September 2013
Election results: Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - Rwandan Patriotic Front Coalition 76.2% PSD 13% PL 9.3% other 1.5%; seats by party - Rwandan Patriotic Front Coalition 41 PSD 7 PL 5 27 indirectly elected members

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court ; High Court (consists of the court president vice president and a minimum of 24 judges and organized into 5 chambers
Note: Supreme Court judges nominated by the president of the republic after consultation with the Cabinet and the Superior Council of the Judiciary or SCJ and approved by the Senate; chief and deputy chief justices appointed for 8-year nonrenewable terms; tenure of judges NA; High Court president and vice president appointed by the president of the republic upon approval by the Senate; judges appointed by the Supreme Court chief justice upon approval of the SCJ; judge tenure NA
Judge selection and term of office: High Court of the Republic; commercial courts including the High Commercial Court; intermediate courts; primary courts; Gacaca and military specialized courts
Subordinate courts: High Court of the Republic; commercial courts including the High Commercial Court; intermediate courts; primary courts; Gacaca and military specialized courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU C CEPGL COMESA EAC EADB FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA MINUSMA NAM OIF OPCW PCA UN UNAMID UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNISFA UNMISS UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Mathilde MUKANTABANA
In the us chancery: 1875 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 418 Washington DC 2000
In the us telephone: [1] 232-2,882
In the us FAX: [1] 232-4,544
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Erica BARKS-RUGGLES
From the us embassy: 2,657 Avenue de la Gendarmerie Kigali
From the us mailing address: B.P. 28 Kigali
From the us telephone: [250] 252 596-400
From the us FAX: [250] 252 580 325

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; blue represents happiness and peace yellow economic development and mineral wealth green hope of prosperity and natural resources; the sun symbolizes unity as well as enlightenment and transparency from ignorance

National symbols: traditional woven basket with peaked lid; national colors: blue yellow green

National anthem
Name: 'Rwanda nziza'
Lyrics and music: Faustin MURIGO/Jean-Bosco HASHAKAIMANA
Note: adopted 2001

National heritage


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Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 141

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 28

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 204

Gross national saving:
Rank: 148

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 76.8%
Government consumption: 15.2%
Investment in fixed capital: 25.6%
Investment in inventories: 0.6%
Exports of goods and services: 15.1%
Imports of goods and services: -33.2%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 31.5%
Industry: 17.6%
Services: 50.8%

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: 6.8% (2016 est.)
Rank: 25

Labor force: 6.011 million (2016 est.)
Rank: 74
By occupation agriculture: 75.3%
By occupation industry: 6.7%
By occupation services: 18%

Unemployment rate: 2.7% (2014 est.)
Rank: 25

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 39.1% (2015 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.1%
Highest 10: 43.2%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 29

Budget
Revenues: $1.958 billion
Expenditures: $2.268 billion
Surplus or deficit: -3.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 133

Taxes and other revenues: 23.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
Rank: 128

Public debt:
Rank: 120

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 179

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 41

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 25

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 155

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 155

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 146

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance:
Rank: 133

Exports:
Rank: 165
Commodities: coffee tea hides tin ore
Partners: Democratic Republic of the Congo 31.3% Kenya 15.7% UAE 13.8% Switzerland 8.7% Burundi 5.7% (2016)

Imports:
Rank: 157
Commodities: foodstuffs machinery and equipment steel petroleum products cement and construction material
Partners: China 21.2% Uganda 11.2% Kenya 7.8% India 7.4% UAE 5.8% Tanzania 5.3% (2016)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 123

Debt external:
Rank: 145

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 114

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 108

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 9,300,000
Access electrification total population: 21%
Access electrification urban areas: 67%
Access electrification rural areas: 5%
Production: 600 million kWh (2015 est.)
Production rank: 165
Consumption: 644 million kWh (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 164
Exports: 4 million kWh (2015 est.)
Exports rank: 92
Imports: 90 million kWh (2015 est.)
Imports rank: 99
Installed generating capacity: 152,000 kW (2015 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 169
Generation sources fossil fuels: 27.6% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 187
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 174
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 65.8% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 22
Generation sources other renewable sources: 6.6% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 86

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 187
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 182
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 182
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 185

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products production rank: 191
Products consumption: 6,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption rank: 171
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products exports rank: 192
Products imports: 5,979 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products imports rank: 159

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 188
Consumption: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 125
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 173
Imports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 180
Proven reserves: 56.63 billion m³ (1 January 2017 es)
Proven reserves rank: 63

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 800,000 Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 172

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 13,403
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1
Fixed lines rank: 163
Mobile cellular total: 8,921,533
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 69
Mobile cellular rank: 98

Telephone system
General assessment: small inadequate telephone system primarily serves business education and government
Domestic: the capital Kigali is connected to provincial centers 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 has increased and now exceeds 65 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 in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service) (2015)

Broadcast media: government owns and operates the only TV station; government-owned and operated Radio Rwanda has a national reach; 9 private radio stations; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2007)

Internet
Country code: .rw
Users total: 2,597,685
Users percent of population: 20.0%
Users rank: 120

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 91

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; Rwandan citizenship is required as is a 9th-grade education for enlisted recruits and an A-level certificate for officer candidates; enlistment is either as contract (5-years renewable twice) or career; retirement (for officers and senior NCOs) after 20 years of service or at 40-60 years of age (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 9
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 645,815
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 21,382,897 mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 9XR (2016)

Airports: 7 (2013)
Rank: 167
With paved runways total: 4
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With paved runways under 914 m: 1
With unpaved runways total: 3
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 4,700 km
Paved: 1207 km
Unpaved: 3,493 km
Rank: 152

Waterways: (Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft) (2011)

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals
Lake port: Cyangugu Gisenyi Kibuye


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Disputes international: Burundi and Rwanda dispute two km² (0.8 sq mi) of Sabanerwa a farmed area in the Rukurazi Valley where the Akanyaru/Kanyaru River shifted its course southward after heavy rains in 1965; 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 (DROC) 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: 89,575 (Burundi); 74,933 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2017)

Illicit drugs
Rank: li>a href='../rankorder/rankorderguide.html'>Guide to Country Comparisons