1993 Edition

Area

total area: 26,340 km2 land area: 24,950 km2 comparative area: slightly smaller than Maryland

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Environment

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

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

40 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 893 km, 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%

Location

Central Africa, between Tanzania and Zaire

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

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

Birth rate

49.92 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

20.87 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

119.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force

3.6 million by occupation: agriculture 93%, government and services 5%, industry and commerce 2% note: 49% of population of working age (1985)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 41.23 years male: 40.2 years female: 42.28 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 50% male: 64% female: 37%

Nationality

noun: Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

8,139,272 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

2.9% (1993 est.)

Religions

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

Total fertility rate

8.27 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Kigali

Chief of State

President Juvenal HABYARIMANA (since 5 July 1973)

Constitution

18 June 1991

Digraph

RW

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Aloys UWIMANA chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (202) 232-2882

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

FAX

[250] 72128

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 Dismas NSENGIYAREMYE (since NA April 1992)

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)

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

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Rwanda conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda

National Development Council

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Other political or pressure groups

since October 1990, Rwanda has been involved in a low-intensity conflict with the Rwandan Patriotic Front/Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPF/RPA)

Political parties and leaders

Republican National Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND), President HABYARIMANA's political movement, remains the dominant party; significant

TWAGIRAMUNGU; Liberal Party (PL), Justin MUGENZI; Democratic and Socialist Party (PSD), Frederic NZAMURAMBAHO; Coalition for the Defense of the Republic (CDR), Martin BUCYANA; Party for Democracy in Rwanda (PADER), Jean NTAGUNGIRA; Christian Democratic Party (PDL), Nayinzira NEPOMUSCENE note: formerly a one-party state, Rwanda legalized independent parties in mid-1991; since then, at least 10 new political parties have registered

independent parties include

Democratic Republican Movement (MDR), Faustin

President

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

Suffrage

universal adult at age NA

Type

republic; presidential system note: a new, all-party transitional government is to assume office later this year, replacing the current MRND-dominated coalition

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Robert A. FLATEN embassy: Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali telephone: [250] 75601 through 75603

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 $350 million; expenditures $453.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1992 est.)

Currency

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 - 146.34 (January 1993), 133.35 (1992), 125.14 (1991), 82.60 (1990), 79.98 (1989), 76.45 (1988)

Exports

$66.6 million (f.o.b., 1992 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

Imports

$259.5 million (f.o.b., 1992 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)

6% (1992 est.)

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $2.35 billion (1992 est.)

National product per capita

$290 (1992 est.)

National product real growth rate

1.3% (1992 est.)

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 1990, has dampened prospects for economic improvement.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Airports

total: 8 usable: 7 with permanent-surface runways: 3 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 2

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 age 15-49 1,675,160; fit for military service 853,467 (1993 est.); no conscription