Rwanda




                                 Geography


Location:
     Central Africa, between Tanzania and Zaire
Map references:
     Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     26,340 sq km
land area:
     24,950 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:
     total 893 km, Burundi 290 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km, Zaire
     217 km
Coastline:
     0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
     none; landlocked
International disputes:
     none
Climate:
     temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January);
     mild in mountains with frost and snow possible
Terrain:
     mostly grassy uplands and hills; mountains in west
Natural resources:
     gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), natural gas,
     hydropower
Land use:
arable land:
     29%
permanent crops:
     11%
meadows and pastures:
     18%
forest and woodland:
     10%
other:
     32%
Irrigated land:
     40 sq km (1989 est.)
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
Note:
     landlocked; predominantly rural population




                                  People


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.)
Birth rate:
     49.17 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     21.35 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     118.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     40.25 years
male:
     39.33 years
female:
     41.21 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     8.19 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Rwandan(s)
adjective:
     Rwandan
Ethnic divisions:
     Hutu 90%, Tutsi 9%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 65%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 1%, indigenous beliefs and
     other 25%
Languages:
     Kinyarwanda (official), French (official), Kiswahili used in
     commercial centers
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     50%
male:
     64%
female:
     37%
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)




                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Rwanda
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republika y'u Rwanda
local short form:
Digraph:
     RW
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
Capital:
     Kigali
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
Independence:
     1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
National holiday:
     Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
Constitution:
     18 June 1991
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
Suffrage:
     universal adult at age NA
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
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
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




Judicial branch:
     Constitutional Court (consists of the Court of Cassation and the
     Council of State in joint session)
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
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
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
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Aloys UWIMANA
chancery:
     1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
     (202) 232-2882
FAX:
     (202) 232-4544
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     (vacant)
embassy:
     Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali
mailing address:
     B. P. 28, Kigali
telephone:
     [250] 75601 through 75603
FAX:
     [250] 72128
note:
     embassy closed on 10 April 1994 and personnel withdrawn because of
     severe civil strife and consequent danger for foreign nationals
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


                                  Economy




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
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $6.8 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     1.3% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
     $800 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     9.5% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     NA%
Budget:
revenues:
     $350 million
expenditures:
     $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Exports:
     $66.6 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     coffee 63%, tea, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum
partners:
     Germany, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US
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
External debt:
     $845 million (1991 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate -2.2% (1991); accounts for 17% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     30,000 kW
production:
     130 million kWh
consumption per capita:
     15 kWh (1991)




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
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
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)
Currency:
     1 Rwandan franc (RF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
     Rwandan francs (RF) per US$1 - 145.45 (December 1993), 133.35 (1992),
     125.14 (1991), 82.60 (1990), 79.98 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Highways:
total:
     4,885 km
paved:
     460 km
unpaved:
     gravel, improved earth 1,725 km; unimproved earth 2,700 km
Inland waterways:
     Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft
Airports:
total:
     8
usable:
     7
with permanent-surface runways:
     3
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     2




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


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army (including Air Wing), Gendarmerie
note:
     Rwanda plans to demobilize and reorganize with RPF elements during
     1994
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 1,733,246; fit for military service 883,291
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $37 million, 1.6% of GDP (1988 est.)