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Background Note: Rwanda
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Rwanda
Geography
Area: 26,338 sq. km. (10,169 sq. km.); about the size of
Maryland.
Cities: Capital--Kigali (est. pop. 800,000). Other
cities--Gitarama, Butare, Ruhengeri, Gisenyi.
Terrain: Uplands and hills.
Climate: Mild and temperate, with two rainy seasons.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Rwandan(s).
Population (2006 est.): 8,648,248.
Annual growth rate (2006 est.): 2.43%.
Ethnic groups: Hutu 85%, Tutsi 14%, Twa 1%.
Religions: Christian 93.5%, traditional African 0.1%, Muslim
4.6%, 1.7% claim no religious beliefs.
Languages: French, English, Kinyarwanda.
Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--75%
(prewar). Literacy--70.4%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2006 est.)--89.61
deaths/1,000. Life expectancy (2005 est.)--47.3 years.
Work force: Agriculture--90%; industry and
commerce, services, and government--8%.
Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: July 1, 1962.
Constitution: May 26, 2003.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), prime
minister (head of government). Broad-based government of
national unity formed after the 1994 civil war. Elections in
2003 elected a president, 80-seat Chamber of Deputies and
26-member Senate. Legislative--Chamber of Deputies;
Senate. Judicial--Supreme Court; High Courts of the
Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation
committees.
Administrative subdivisions: 4 provinces plus Kigali; 30
districts; 416 sectors; 2,148 cells.
Political parties: There are nine political parties, including
the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which leads a
coalition that includes the Centrist Democratic Party (PDC), the
Rwandan Socialist Party (PSR), the Ideal [formerly Islamic]
Democratic Party (PDI), and the Democratic Popular Union (UPDR).
Other parties include the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the
Liberal Party (PL), the Concord Progressive Party (PPC), and the
Prosperity and Solidarity Party (PSP).
Suffrage: Universal for citizens over 18--except refugees,
prisoners, and certain categories of convicts.
Central government budget (2000 est.): 31.7 billions of Rwandan
francs ($29 million) Revenues--$28 million.
Expenditures--$29 million.
Economy
GDP (2005 est.): $1.817 billion.
Real GDP growth rate (2006 est.): 5.8%.
Per capita income (2004 est.): $206. Purchasing power parity
(2006 est.): $1,600.
Average inflation rate (2006 est.): 6.7%.
Agriculture (2006): 39.4% of GDP. Products--coffee,
tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas,
beans, sorghum, potatoes, livestock.
Industry (2006): 23.3% of GDP. Types--cement,
agricultural products, beer production, soft drinks, soap,
furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes,
pharmaceuticals.
Services (2006): 37.3%
Trade (2006 est.): Exports--$135.4 million: tea,
coffee, coltan, cassiterite, hides, iron ore, and tin. Major
markets--China, Belgium, and Germany. Imports
(2006 est.)--$390.4 million f.o.b.: foodstuffs, machinery and
equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement, and construction
material. Major suppliers--Kenya, Germany, Belgium,
France, Uganda, and Israel.
GEOGRAPHY
Rwanda's countryside is covered by grasslands and small farms
extending over rolling hills, with areas of rugged mountains
that extend southeast from a chain of volcanoes in the
northwest. The divide between the Congo and Nile drainage
systems extends from north to south through western Rwanda at an
average elevation of almost 9,000 feet. On the western slopes of
this ridgeline, the land slopes abruptly toward Lake Kivu and
the Ruzizi River valley, which form the western boundary with
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and
constitute part of the Great Rift valley. The eastern slopes are
more moderate, with rolling hills extending across central
uplands at gradually reducing altitudes, to the plains, swamps,
and lakes of the eastern border region.
Although located only two degrees south of the
Equator, Rwanda's high elevation makes the climate temperate.
The average daily temperature near Lake Kivu, at an altitude of
4,800 feet (1,463 meters) is 73o F (23o
C). During the two rainy seasons (February-May and
September-December), heavy downpours occur almost daily,
alternating with sunny weather. Annual rainfall averages 80
centimeters (31 in.) but is generally heavier in the western and
northwestern mountains than in the eastern savannas.
PEOPLE
Rwanda's population density, even after the 1994 genocide, is
currently the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly every family
in this country with few villages lives in a self-contained
compound on a hillside. The urban concentrations are grouped
around administrative centers. The indigenous population
consists of three ethnic groups. The Hutus, who comprise the
majority of the population (85%), are traditionally farmers of
Bantu origin. The Tutsis (14%) are traditionally a pastoral
people who arrived in the area in the 15th century. Until 1959,
they formed the dominant caste under a feudal system based on
cattle holding. The Twa (1%) are thought to be the remnants of
the earliest settlers of the region. Over 70% of the adult
population is literate, but not more than 5% have received
secondary education. During 1994-95, most primary schools and
more than half of prewar secondary schools reopened. The
national university in Butare reopened in April 1995; enrollment
is over 7,000. Rebuilding the educational system continues to be
a high priority of the Rwandan Government. |
