no permanent national government; transitional, parliamentary federal government
Independence date
Religions
Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001)
Sunni Muslim
Languages
Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers
Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English
Exports
External Debt
Exchange Rate
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia
Area
26,338 km sq
637,657 km sq
Coastline
0 km
3,025 km
Climate
temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible
principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons
