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| Introduction | Rwanda |
| 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, and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in August and September 2003, respectively - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output and to foster reconciliation. A series of massive population displacements, a nagging Hutu extremist insurgency, and Rwandan involvement in two wars over the past four years in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts. |
| People | Rwanda |
| Population: | 7,954,013 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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 42.3% (male 1,690,122; female 1,674,147) 15-64 years: 55% (male 2,178,956; female 2,194,526) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 85,472; female 130,790) (2004 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 18.2 years male: 18 years female: 18.4 years (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 1.82% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 40.01 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate: | 21.86 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 101.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 96.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 106.68 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 39.18 years male: 38.43 years female: 39.96 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 5.55 children born/woman (2004 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: | typhoid fever, malaria overall degree of risk: very high (2004) |
| Nationality: | noun: Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan |
| Ethnic groups: | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 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 female: 64.7% (2003 est.) male: 76.3% total population: 70.4% |
| People - note: | Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa |
| Government | Rwanda |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Rwandese Republic conventional short form: Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda |
| Government type: | republic; presidential, multiparty system |
| Capital: | Kigali |
| Administrative divisions: | 12 prefectures (in French - prefectures, singular - prefecture; in Kinyarwanda - plural - NA, singular - prefegitura); Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Kigali Rurale, Kigali-ville, Umutara, Ruhengeri |
| Independence: | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
| National holiday: | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
| Constitution: | a new constitution was adopted 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 adult |
| 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: last held 25 August 2003 (next to be held NA 2008) 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: | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (53 seats; members elected by direct vote) elections: last held 29 September 2003 (next to be held NA) election results: seats by party under the Arusha peace accord - RPF 40, PSD 7, PL 6 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts |
| Political parties and leaders: | Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Alfred MUKEZAMFURA]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [Adrien RANGIRA ]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR (officially banned) [Celestin KABANDA]; Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Prosper HIGIRO]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned) [Pasteur BIZIMUNGU and Charles NTAKARUTINKA]; Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors |
| International organization participation: | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Zac NSENGA FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544 telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882 chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Margaret K. McMILLION embassy: #337 Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali telephone: [250] 50 56 01 through 03 FAX: [250] 57 2128 |
| 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 |
| Communications | Rwanda |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 23,200 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 134,000 note: Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2003) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: telephone system primarily serves business and government domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the prefectures by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone 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 (Indian Ocean) in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 0, FM 3 (two main FM programs are broadcast through a system of repeaters and the third FM program is a 24 hour BBC program), shortwave 1 (2002) |
| Radios: | 601,000 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: | NA |
| Televisions: | NA; probably less than 1,000 (1997) |
| Internet country code: | .rw |
| Internet hosts: | 1,495 (2003) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 2 (2002) |
| Internet users: | 25,000 (2002) |
| Transportation | Rwanda |
| Highways: | total: 12,000 km paved: 996 km unpaved: 11,004 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: | Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye |
| Airports: | 9 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Military | Rwanda |
| Military branches: | Rwandan Defense Forces (Army, Air Forces) |
| Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 1,973,713 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 1,004,296 (2004 est.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $47.7 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.9% (2003) |
| Transnational Issues | Rwanda |
| Disputes - international: | Tutsi, Hutu, Hema, Lendu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas and natural resources - government heads pledge to end conflicts, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts |
| Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 37,691 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) IDPs: 4,158 (incursions by Hutu rebels from Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1997-1999; most IDPs in northwest) (2004) |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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