1994 Edition

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

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 2.8% annual growth in population

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

Area

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

Birth rate

49.17 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

Army (including Air Wing), Gendarmerie note: Rwanda plans to demobilize and reorganize with RPF elements during 1994

Budget

revenues: $350 million expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)

Capital

Kigali

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Constitution

18 June 1991

Currency

1 Rwandan franc (RF) = 100 centimes

Death rate

21.35 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

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

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

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $128 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2 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 (1993)

Electricity

capacity: 30,000 kW production: 130 million kWh consumption per capita: 15 kWh (1991)

Environment

current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion natural hazards: periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Ethnic divisions

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

Exchange rates

Rwandan francs (RF) per US$1 - 145.45 (December 1993), 133.35 (1992), 125.14 (1991), 82.60 (1990), 79.98 (1989)

Executive branch

chief of state: Interim President Dr. Theodore SINDIKUBWABO (since 8 April 1994, following the death of President Juvenal HABYARIMANA on 6 April 1994) the last election was held 19 December 1988 (next planned for 1995); results - the late President Juvenal HABYARIMANA was reelected head of government: Prime Minister Jean KAMBANDA, appointed by President SINDIKUBWABWO 8 April 1994 following the assassination of Agatha UWILINGIYIMANA on 7 April 1994 cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

Exports

$66.6 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: coffee 63%, tea, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum partners: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US

External debt

$845 million (1991 est.)

FAX

(202) 232-4544

[250] 72128 note: embassy closed on 10 April 1994 and personnel withdrawn because of severe civil strife and consequent danger for foreign nationals

Fiscal year

calendar year

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

Highways

total: 4,885 km paved: 460 km unpaved: gravel, improved earth 1,725 km; unimproved earth 2,700 km

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

Independence

1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)

Industrial production

growth rate -2.2% (1991); 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

Infant mortality rate

118.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

9.5% (1992 est.)

Inland waterways

Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

40 sq km (1989 est.)

Judicial branch

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

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)

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%

Languages

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

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 40.25 years male: 39.33 years female: 41.21 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

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

Location

Central Africa, between Tanzania and Zaire

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,733,246; fit for military service 883,291

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

none; landlocked

Member of

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, 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

(Conseil National de Developpement) elections last held 19 December 1988 (new elections to be held in 1995); results - MRND was the only party; seats - (70 total) MRND 70

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $6.8 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$800 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

1.3% (1992 est.)

Nationality

noun: Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan

Natural resources

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

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

landlocked; predominantly rural population

Other political or pressure groups

Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), Alexis KANYARENGWE, Chairman (since 1990); Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), the RPF military wing, Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME, commander

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/tea 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. Ethnic-based insurgency in 1990-93 devastated wide areas of the north and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. A peace accord in mid-1993 temporarily ended most of the fighting, but massive resumption of civil warfare in April 1994 in the capital city Kigali has been taking thousands of lives and severely damaging short-term economic prospects

Political parties and leaders

Republican National Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND);

significant independent parties include

Democratic Republican Movement (MDR); Liberal Party (PL); Democratic and Socialist Party (PSD); Coalition for the Defense of the Republic (CDR); Party for Democracy in Rwanda (PADER); Christian Democratic Party (PDL) note: formerly a one-party state, Rwanda legalized independent parties in mid-1991; since then, at least 10 new political parties have registered

Population

8,373,963 (July 1994 est.) note: the demographic estimates were prepared before civil strife, starting in April 1994, set in motion substantial and continuing population changes

Population growth rate

2.78% (1994 est.)

Religions

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

Suffrage

universal adult at age NA

Telecommunications

telephone system does not provide service to the general public but is intended for business and government use; the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the prefectures by microwave radio relay; the remainder of the network depends on wire and high frequency radio; international connections employ microwave radio relay to neighboring countries and satellite communications to more distant countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 SYMPHONIE station in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service); broadcast stations - 1 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV

Terrain

mostly grassy uplands and hills; mountains in west

Total fertility rate

8.19 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

republic; presidential system note: a new, interim government formed in August 1992 to last until peace accord; political parties are working to form a multiethical broad-based transitonal government to lead them to elections in 1995

Unemployment rate

NA%

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: (vacant) embassy: Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali telephone: [250] 75601 through 75603