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 73^o F (23^o 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.