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

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: 1 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.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 9 years male: 8 years female: 9 years (2005)

Education expenditures:

3.8% of GDP (2005)

People - note:

Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa

Government
Rwanda

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 15 September 2008 (next to be held September 2013) election results: percent of vote by party - RPF 78.8%, PSD 13.1%, PL 7.5%; seats by party - RPF 42, PSD 7, PL 4, 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:

ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO
(correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, NAM, OIF, OPCW,
UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO,
WFTU, 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: (202) 232-2882 FAX: (202) 232-4544

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador W. Stuart SYMINGTON embassy: 2657 Avenue de la Gendarmerie, Kigali mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali telephone: 596-400 FAX: 596-591

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

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):

$8.057 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$3.32 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

6% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$800 (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: