| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Republic of Rwanda
conventional short form: Rwanda
local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda
local short form: Rwanda
former: Ruanda |
| Capital: |
Kigali |
| Location: |
Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
2 00 S, 30 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km
water: 1,390 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 893 km
border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
| Coastline: |
0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime
Claims: |
none (landlocked) |
| 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; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
republic; presidential, multiparty system |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
12 provinces (in French - provinces, singular - province; in Kinyarwanda - prefigintara for singular and plural); Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Kigali Rurale, Kigali-ville, Umutara, Ruhengeri |
| Independence |
1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
| National
Holiday: |
Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
| Constitution: |
a new constitution was adopted 4 June 2003 |
| 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 |
18 years of age; universal adult |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: President Paul KAGAME (since 22 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March 2000)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: last held 25 August 2003 (next to be held NA 2008)
election results: Paul KAGAME elected president in first direct popular vote; Paul KAGAME 95.05%, Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU 3.62%, Jean-Nepomuscene NAYINZIRA 1.33% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (53 seats; members elected by direct vote)
elections: last held 29 September 2003 (next to be held NA 2008 - Chamber of Deputies; NA 2011 - Senate)
election results: seats by party under the 2003 Constitution - RPF 40, PSD 7, PL 6 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Alfred MUKEZAMFURA]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [Adrien RANGIRA]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR (officially banned) [Celestin KABANDA]; Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Prosper HIGIRO]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned) [Pasteur BIZIMUNGU and Charles NTAKARUTINKA]; Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
8,440,820
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 1,777,178/female 1,762,252)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 2,328,686/female 2,356,572)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 87,155/female 128,977) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 18.48 years
male: 18.26 years
female: 18.7 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan |
| Ethnic groups: |
Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001) |
| Languages: |
Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
23,200 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
134,000
note: Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several provincial capitals (2003) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: telephone system primarily serves business and government
domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the provinces by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone
international: country code - 250; 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) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 0, FM 8 (two main FM programs are broadcast through a system of repeaters, three international FM programs include the BBC, VOA, and Deutchewelle), shortwave 1 (2005) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
2 (2004) |
| Internet country
code: |
.rw |
| Internet hosts: |
1,495 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
25,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 12,000 km
paved: 996 km
unpaved: 11,004 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2004) |
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye |
| Merchant marine: |
|
| Airports: |
9 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
