1996 Edition

Description

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

Location

2 00 S, 30 00 E -- Central Africa, east of Zaire Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly smaller than Maryland

land area

24,950 sq km

total area

26,340 sq km

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Environment

current issues

deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion

international agreements

party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea

natural hazards

periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Zaire

Geographic coordinates

2 00 S, 30 00 E

Geographic note

landlocked; predominantly rural population

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

40 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Burundi 290 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km, Zaire 217 km

total

893 km

Land use

arable land

29%

forest and woodland

10%

meadows and pastures

18%

other

32%

permanent crops

11%

Location

Central Africa, east of Zaire

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural resources

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

Terrain

mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east

highest point

Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m

lowest point

Rusizi River 950 m

Age structure

0-14 years: 46% (male 1,582,928; female 1,573,536) 15-64 years: 51% (male 1,734,716; female 1,772,722) 65 years and over: 3% (male 78,854; female 110,603) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

38.83 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

20.33 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Hutu 80%, Tutsi 19%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%

Infant mortality rate

118.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

female

40.53 years (1996 est.)

male

39.72 years

total population

40.12 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)

female

51.6%

male

69.8%

total population

60.5%

Nationality

adjective

Rwandan

noun

Rwandan(s)

Net migration rate

146.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

note

since April 1994, more than two million refugees have fled the civil strife between the Hutu and Tutsi factions in Rwanda and crossed into Zaire, Burundi, and Tanzania; close to 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis who fled civil strife in earlier years have returned to Rwanda, and 90,000 of the Hutu refugees are going home despite the perceived danger of doing so; the ethnic violence continues and in 1996 could produce further refugee flows as well as discourage returns

Population

6,853,359 (July 1996 est.)

note

genocide and civil war in 1994 killed more than 1 million Rwandans and forced more than 2 million to flee to neighboring countries

Population growth rate

16.49% (1996 est.)

Religions

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

Sex ratio

all ages

0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

at birth

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years

1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

5.99 children born/woman (1996 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

Constitution

18 June 1991

Data code

RW

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

chief of mission

Ambassador Theogene RUDASINGWA

telephone

[1] (202) 232-2882

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

chief of state

President Pasteur BIZIMUNGU (since 19 July 1994); installed by force by the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front; no date set for elections; president is normally elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; Vice President Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME (since NA)

head of government

Prime Minister Celestin RWIGEMA (since NA September 1995) was appointed by the president

FAX

[1] (202) 232-4544

[250] 721 28

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

Independence

1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)

International organization participation

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

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

Name of country

conventional long form

Republic of Rwanda

conventional short form

Rwanda

local long form

Republika y'u Rwanda

local short form

Rwanda

National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)

sworn in on 25 November 1994; seats - (70 total) RPF 19, MDR 13, PSD 13, PL 13, PDC 6, PSR 2, PDI 2, other 2

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Other political or pressure groups

Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), the RPF military wing, Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME, commander; Rally for the Democracy and Return (RDR)

Political parties and leaders

significant parties include: Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), Alexis KANYARENGWE, chairman; Democratic Republican Movement (MDR); Liberal Party (PL); Democratic and Socialist Party (PSD); Christian Democratic Party (PDC); Islamic Democratic Party (PDI); Rwandan Socialist Party (PSR); National Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND), former ruling party

Suffrage

NA years of age; universal adult

Type of government

republic; presidential system

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission

Ambassador Robert GRIBBIN III

embassy

Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali

mailing address

B. P. 28, Kigali

telephone

[250] 756 01 through 03, 721 26, 771 47

Agriculture

coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock

Budget

expenditures

$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)

revenues

$NA

Currency

1 Rwandan franc (RF) = 100 centimes

Economic aid

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 (1993)

recipient

ODA, $NA

Economic overview

Rwanda is a poor African nation suffering bitterly from ethnic-based civil war. The agricultural sector dominates the economy; coffee and tea normally make up 80%-90% of total exports. The amount of fertile land is limited, however, and deforestation and soil erosion continue to create problems. Manufacturing focuses mainly on the processing of agricultural products. 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. Ethnic-based insurgency since 1990 has devastated wide areas, especially in the north, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. A peace accord in mid-1993 temporarily ended most of the fighting, but resumption of large-scale civil warfare in April 1994 in the capital city Kigali and elsewhere has been taking thousands of lives and severely affecting short-term economic prospects. The economy suffers massively from failure to maintain the infrastructure, looting, neglect of important cash crops, and lack of health care facilities. GDP in 1994 may have dropped by as much as half. The further decline of GDP in 1995 was much smaller and was more than offset by aid from the outside. Because of the severe damage to real property and the decline in public discipline, recovery of domestic production toward previous levels is proceeding slowly.

Electricity

capacity

60,000 kW

consumption per capita

23 kWh (1993)

production

190 million kWh

Exchange rates

Rwandan francs (RF) per US$1 - 401.27 (2nd quarter 1994), 168.20 (1993), 133.35 (1992), 125.14 (1991)

Exports

$52 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

commodities

coffee 63%, tea, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum

partners

Germany, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US

External debt

$873 million (1993 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $3.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

52%

industry

13%

services

35% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita

$400 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

-2.7% (1995 est.)

Imports

$37 million (1994 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

-50% (1994 est.)

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)

64% (1994 est.)

Labor force

3.6 million

by occupation

agriculture 93%, government and services 5%, industry and commerce 2%

Unemployment rate

NA%

Branches

Army, Gendarmerie

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $112.5 million, 7% of GDP (1992)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

1,582,656

males fit for military service

805,722 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios

630,000 (1993 est.)

Telephone system

telephone system does not provide service to the general public but is intended for business and government use

domestic

the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the prefectures by microwave radio relay; the remainder of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone

international

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)

Telephones

6,400 (1983 est.)

Television broadcast stations

1

Televisions

NA Defense

Airports

total

7

with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m

2

with paved runways over 3 047 m

1

with paved runways under 914 m

3

with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m

1 (1995 est.)

Highways

paved

1,186 km

total

13,173 km

unpaved

11,987 km (1990 est.)

Ports

Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye

Railways

0 km

Waterways

Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft