Rwanda

Airports

8 total, 8 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

1 major transport aircraft

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; 6,600 telephones; stations--2 AM, 5 FM, no TV; satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 SYMPHONIE

Branches

Army, paramilitary, Gendarmerie

Defense expenditures

2.1% of GDP (1987)

Military manpower

males 15-49, 1,586,989; 810,560 fit for military service; no conscription

Agriculture

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

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $118 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.7 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $45 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $58 million

Budget

revenues $413 million; expenditures $522 million, including capital expenditures of $230 million (1988 est.)

Currency

Rwandan franc (plural--francs); 1 Rwandan franc (RF) = 100 centimes

Electricity

26,000 kW capacity; 112 million kWh produced, 15 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Rwandan francs (RF) per US$1--78.99 (December 1989), 79.98 (1989), 76.45 (1988), 79.67 (1987), 87.64 (1986), 101.26 (1985)

Exports

$118 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--coffee 85%, tea, tin, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum; partners--FRG, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US

External debt

$645 million (December 1989 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$2.3 billion, per capita $325; real growth rate - 2.5% (1988 est.)

Imports

$278 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--textiles, foodstuffs, machines and equipment, capital goods, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material; partners--US, Belgium, FRG, Kenya, Japan

Industrial production

growth rate 1.2% (1988)

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)

3% (1988)

Overview

About 40% 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 less than 20% to GDP. Manufacturing focuses mainly on the processing of agricultural products. The Rwandan economy remains dependent on coffee exports and foreign aid, with no relief in sight. Weak international prices since 1986 have caused the economy to contract and per capita GDP to decline.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

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

Coastline

none--landlocked

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Maryland

Environment

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

Land boundaries

893 km total; Burundi 290 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km, Zaire 217 km

Land use

29% arable land; 11% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 10% forest and woodland; 32% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

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

Total area

26,340 km2; land area: 24,950 km2

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Kigali

Communists

no Communist party

Constitution

17 December 1978

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Aloys UWIMANA; Chancery at 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 232-2882; US--Ambassador Leonard H. O. SPEARMAN, Sr.; Embassy at Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali (mailing address is B. P. 28, Kigali); telephone [205] 75601 through 75603 or 72126 through 72128

Executive branch

president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

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 UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)

Judicial branch

Constitutional Court (consists of the Court of Cassation and the Council of State in joint session) Chief of State and Head of Government--President Maj. Gen. Juvenal HABYARIMANA (since 5 July 1973)

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 pour le Developpement National)

Long-form name

Republic of Rwanda

Member of

ACP, AfDB, EAMA, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Political parties and leaders

only party--National Revolutionary Movement for Development (MRND), Maj. Gen. Juvenal Habyarimana (officially a development movement, not a party)

Suffrage

universal adult, exact age NA President--last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held December 1993); results--President Maj. Gen. Juvenal Habyarimana reelected; National Development Council--last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held December 1993); results--MRND is the only party; seats--(70 total); MRND 70

Type

republic; presidential system in which military leaders hold key offices

Birth rate

53 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

113 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

3,600,000; 93% agriculture, 5% government and services, 2% industry and commerce; 49% of population of working age (1985)

Language

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

Life expectancy at birth

50 years male, 54 years female (1990)

Literacy

46.6%

Nationality

noun and adjective--Rwandan(s)

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

NA

Population

7,609,119 (July 1990), growth rate 3.8% (1990)

Religion

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

Total fertility rate

8.5 children born/woman (1990)