1992 Edition

Climate

temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible

Coastline

none - landlocked

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Maryland

Disputes

none

Environment

deforestation; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; periodic droughts

Land area

24,950 km2

Land boundaries

893 km total; Burundi 290 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km, Zaire 217 km

Land use

arable land 29%; permanent crops 11%; meadows and pastures 18%; forest and woodland 10%; other 32%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Maritime claims

none - landlocked

Natural resources

gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), natural gas, hydropower

Note

landlocked

Terrain

mostly grassy uplands and hills; mountains in west

Total area

26,340 km2

Birth rate

52 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

14 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

Hutu 90%, Tutsi 9%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%

Infant mortality rate

108 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

3,600,000; agriculture 93%, government and services 5%, industry and commerce 2%; 49% of population of working age (1985)

Languages

Kinyarwanda, French (official); Kiswahili used in commercial centers

Life expectancy at birth

51 years male, 55 years female (1992)

Literacy

50% (male 64%, female 37%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality

noun - Rwandan(s); adjective - Rwandan

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

NA

Population

8,206,446 (July 1992), growth rate 3.8% (1992)

Religions

Roman Catholic 65%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 1%, indigenous beliefs and other 25%

Total fertility rate

8.3 children born/woman (1992)

Administrative divisions

10 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture in French; plural - NA, singular - prefegitura in Kinyarwanda); Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Rigali, Ruhengeri

Capital

Kigali

Chief of State

President Maj. Gen. Juvenal HABYARIMANA (since 5 July 1973)

Constitution

18 June 1991

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Aloys UWIMANA; Chancery at 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone (202) 232-2882 US: Ambassador Robert A. FLATEN; Embassy at Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali (mailing address is B. P. 28, Kigali); telephone [250] 75601 through 75603; FAX [250] 72128

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag

three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green with a large black letter R centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Guinea, which has a plain yellow band

Head of Government

Prime Minister Sylvestre NSANZIMANA (since NA October 1991)

Independence

1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)

Judicial branch

Constitutional Court (consists of the Court of Cassation and the Council of State in joint session)

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

Legislative branch

unicameral National Development Council (Conseil National de Developpement)

Long-form name

Republic of Rwanda

Member of

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National Development Council

last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held NA December 1993); results - MRND is the only party; seats - (70 total) MRND 70

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Political parties and leaders

Republican Revolutionary Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND), Maj. Gen. Juvenal HABYARIMANA; formerly a one-party state, Rwanda legalized independent parties in mid-1991; since then, at least 10 new political parties have registered; President HABYARIMANA's political movement - the National Revolutionary Movement for Development (MRND) - reorganized itself as a political party and changed its name to the Republican National Movement for Democracy and Development (but kept the same initials - MRND);

(MDR), leader NA; Liberal Party (PL), leader NA; Democratic and Socialist Party (PSD), leader NA; note - since October 1990, Rwanda has been involved in a low-intensity conflict with the Rwandan Patriotic Front/Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPF/RPA); the RPF/RPA is primarily an ethnically based organization

significant independent parties include

Democratic Republican Movement

President

last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held NA December 1993); results - President Maj. Gen. Juvenal HABYARIMANA reelected

Suffrage

universal adult, exact age NA

Type

republic; presidential system in which military leaders hold key offices; on 31 December 1990, the government announced a National Political Charter to serve as a basis for transition to a presidential/parliamentary political system; the 1978 constitution was replaced in June 1991 via popular referendum by a new constitution creating a multiparty system with a president and prime minister

Agriculture

accounts for almost 50% of GDP and about 90% of the labor force; cash crops - coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums); main food crops - bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; stock raising; self-sufficiency declining; country imports foodstuffs as farm production fails to keep up with a 3.8% annual growth in population

Budget

revenues $391 million; expenditures $491 million, including capital expenditures of $225 million (1989 est.)

Currency

Rwandan franc (plural - francs); 1 Rwandan franc (RF) = 100 centimes

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $128 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.0 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $45 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $58 million; note - in October 1990 Rwanda launched a Structural Adjustment Program with the IMF; since September 1991, the EC has given $46 million and the US $25 million in support of this program

Electricity

30,000 kW capacity; 130 million kWh produced, 15 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

Rwandan francs (RF) per US$1 - 121.40 (January 1992), 125.14 (1991), 82.60 (1990), 79.98 (1989), 76.45 (1988), 79.67 (1987)

Exports

$111.7 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: coffee 85%, tea, tin, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum partners: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US

External debt

$911 million (1990 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $2.1 billion, per capita $300; real growth rate -6.8% (1990 est.)

Imports

$279.2 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: textiles, foodstuffs, machines and equipment, capital goods, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material partners: US, Belgium, Germany, Kenya, Japan

Industrial production

growth rate 1.2% (1988); accounts for 17% of GDP

Industries

mining of cassiterite (tin ore) and wolframite (tungsten ore), tin, cement, agricultural processing, small-scale beverage production, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.2% (1990)

Overview

Almost 50% of GDP comes from the agricultural sector; coffee and tea make up 80-90% of total exports. The amount of fertile land is limited, however, and deforestation and soil erosion have created problems. The industrial sector in Rwanda is small, contributing only 17% to GDP. Manufacturing focuses mainly on the processing of agricultural products. The Rwandan economy remains dependent on coffee exports and foreign aid. Weak international prices since 1986 have caused the economy to contract and per capita GDP to decline. A structural adjustment program with the World Bank began in October 1990. An outbreak of insurgency, also in October, has dampened any prospects for economic improvement.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Airports

8 total, 8 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runway 2,440-3,659 m;2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

2 major transport aircraft

Highways

4,885 km total; 460 km paved, 1,725 km gravel and/or improved earth, 2,700 km unimproved

Inland waterways

Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft

Telecommunications

fair system with low-capacity radio relay system centered on Kigali; broadcast stations - 2 AM, 1 (7 repeaters) FM, no TV; satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 SYMPHONIE

Branches

Army (including Air Wing), Gendarmerie

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $37 million, 1.6% of GDP (1988 est.)

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 1,719,936; 876,659 fit for military service; no conscription