1981 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1981 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
25,900 km2; almost all the arable land, about one-third under cultivation, about one-third pastureland
Communists
no Communist party
Elections
national elections including constitutional referendum and presidential plebiscite held December 1978; National Development Council elected in December 1981 Political parties and leaders: National Revolutionary Movement for Development (MRND), General Habyarimana (officially not a party— a "development movement" only)
Land boundaries
877 km
Member of
AFDB, EAMA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
90% Hutu, 9% Tutsi, 1% Twa (Pygmoid)
Labor force
approximately 5% in cash economy
Language
Kinyarwanda and French official; Kiswahili used in commercial centers
Literacy
25% in French and Kinyarwanda
Nationality
noun — Rwandan(s); adjective — Rwandan
Population
5,451,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.2%
Religion
45% Catholic, 9% Protestant, 1% Muslim, rest animist
Government
Branches
executive (President, 16-member Cabinet); legislative (National Development Council); judiciary (4 senior courts, magistrates)
Capital
Kigali
Government leader
Maj. Gen. Juvenal HABYARIMANA, President and Head of State
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
National holiday
Independence Day, 1 July
Official name
Republic of Rwanda
Political subdivisions
10 prefectures, subdivided into 143 communes
Suffrage
universal
Type
republic, presidential system in which military leaders hold key offices; new constitution adopted 17 December 1978
Economy
Agriculture
cash crops — mainly coffee, tea, some pyrethrum; main food crops — bananas, cassava; stock raising; self-sufficiency declining; country imports foodstuffs
Electric power
38,000 kW capacity (1980); 160 million kWh produced (1980), 31 kWh per capita
Exports
$115 million (f.o.b., 1981 est); mainly coffee, tea, cassiterite, wolfram, pyrethrum
GDP
$1,388 million (1981), $270 per capita; real average annual growth rate (1970-77), 5.5%
Imports
$188 million (c.i.f., 1981 est.); textiles, foodstuffs, machines, equipment Major trade partners;! US, j Belgium, West Germany,
Major industries
mining of cassiterite (tin ore), wolfram (tungsten ore), agricultural processing, and light consumer goods
Communications
Freight carried
rail — 273.0 million metric tons, 76.0 billion metric ton/km (1979); highway — 414.7 million metric tons, 11.5 billion metric ton/km (1979); waterway — 9.6 million metric tons, 2.1 billion metric ton/km
Highways
73,361 km total; 28,738 km concrete, asphalt, stone block; 36,790 km asphalt treated, gravel, crushed stone and 7,833 km other (1979)
Inland waterways
1,660 km (1979)
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 31 December 1981, 10.4 billion lei; about 3.3% of total budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 5,378,000; 4,500,000 fit for military service; 141,000 reach military age (20) annually
Pipelines
2,735 km crude oil; 1,429 km refined products; 5,149 km natural gas
Ports
4 major (Constanta, Galati, Braila, Mangalia), 7 minor; principal inland waterway ports are Giurgiu, Turnu Severin, and Orsova (1981) DEFENSE FORCES
Railroads
11,113 km total; 10,509 km standard gauge (1.435 m), 559 km narrow gauge, 45 km broad gauge; 2,202 km electrified, 2,280 km double track; government owned (1979)