1987 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1987 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Climate
temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible
Comparative area
about the size of Maryland
Environment
deforestation; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; periodic droughts
Land boundaries
877 km total
Land use
29% arable land; 11% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 10% forest and woodland; 32% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Special notes
landlocked
Terrain
mostly grassy uplands and hills; mountains in west
Total area
- Byumba, 2 Gebire
- 26,340 km?; land area: 24,950 km?
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
85% Hutu, 14% Tutsi, 1% Twa (Pygmoid)
Infant mortality rate
102/1,000 (1985)
Labor force
3.6 million (1985); 91% agriculture, 2% industry and commerce, 7% government and services
Language
Kinyarwanda, French (official); Kiswahili used in commercial centers
Life expectancy
48
Literacy
37%
Nationality
noun—Rwandan(s); adjective—Rwandan
Population
6,811,336 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 3.53%
Religion
65% Catholic, 9% Protestant, 1% Muslim; indigenous beliefs
Government
Administrative divisions
10 prefectures, subdivided into 143 communes
Branches
executive (President, 16-member Cabinet); unicameral legislative (National Development Council); judiciary (4 senior courts, magistrates)
Capital
Kigali
Communists
no Communist party
Elections
national elections, including constitutional referendum and presidential plebiscite, held December 1978; National Development Council elected and President reelected in December 1983 Political parties and leaders: National Revolutionary Movement for Development (MRND), General Habyarimana (officially a development movement, not a party)
Government leader
Maj. Gen. Juvénal HABYARIMANA, President and Head of State (since 1973)
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
Member of
AfDB, EAMA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
National Day, 1 July
Official name
Republic of Rwanda
Suffrage
universal adult
Type
republic; presidential system in which military leaders hold key offices
Economy
Agriculture
cash crops—mainly coffee, tea, some pyrethrum; main food crops— bananas, cassava; stock raising; selfsufficiency declining; country imports foodstuffs
Electric power
42,000 kW capacity; 110 million kWh produced, 16 kWh per capita (1986)
Exports
$130.6 million (f.0.b., 1985 est.); mainly coffee, tea, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum
GDP
$1.6 billion, $270 per capita; real growth rate, 5.5% (1984 est.)
Imports
$298.7 million (c.i.f., 1985 est.); textiles, foodstuffs, machines, equipment, capital goods, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material
Major industries
mining of cassiterite (tin ore) and wolframite (tungsten ore), tin factory, cement factory, agricultural processing, and production of beer, soft drinks, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes
Major trade partners
US, Belgium, FRG,
Natural resources
gold, cassiterite, wolframite