In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in a state-orchestrated genocide, in which Rwandans killed up to a million of their fellow citizens, including approximately three-quarters of the Tutsi population. The genocide ended later that same year when the predominantly Tutsi RPF, operating out of Uganda and northern Rwanda, defeated the national army and Hutu militias, and established an RPF-led government of national unity. Approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and former Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but several thousand remained in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, the former Zaire) and formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF did in 1990. Rwanda held its first local elections in 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in 2003. Rwanda in 2009 staged a joint military operation with the Congolese Army in DRC to rout out the Hutu extremist insurgency there, and Kigali and Kinshasa restored diplomatic relations. Rwanda also joined the Commonwealth in late 2009 and assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2013-14 term.

Central Africa, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, north of Burundi

2 00 S, 30 00 E

Africa

slightly smaller than Maryland

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

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

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

highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m

gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land

arable land 47%; permanent crops 10.1%; permanent pasture 17.4%

96 sq km (2012)

one of Africa's most densely populated countries; large concentrations tend to be in the central regions and along the shore of Lake Kivu in the west

periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga Mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo

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

landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural

11,901,484

Hutu (Bantu), Tutsi (Hamitic), Twa (Pygmy)

Kinyarwanda (official, universal Bantu vernacular) 93.2%, French (official) <.1, English (official) <.1, Swahili (or Kiswahili, used in commercial centers) <.1, more than one language, other 6.3%, unspecified 0.3% (2002 est.)

Protestant 50.2% (includes Adventist 12% and other Protestant 38.2%), Roman Catholic 44.3%, Muslim 2%, other 0.9% (includes traditionalist/animist), none 2.5%, unspecified <.1 (2002 est.)

Rwanda’s fertility rate declined sharply during the last decade, as a result of the government’s commitment to family planning, the increased use of contraceptives, and a downward trend in ideal family size. Increases in educational attainment, particularly among girls, and exposure to social media also contributed to the reduction in the birth rate. The average number of births per woman decreased from a 5.6 in 2005 to 4.5 in 2016. Despite these significant strides in reducing fertility, Rwanda’s birth rate remains very high and will continue to for an extended period of time because of its large population entering reproductive age. Because Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, its persistent high population growth and increasingly small agricultural landholdings will put additional strain on families’ ability to raise foodstuffs and access potable water. These conditions will also hinder the government’s efforts to reduce poverty and prevent environmental degradation.

The UNHCR recommended that effective 30 June 2013 countries invoke a cessation of refugee status for those Rwandans who fled their homeland between 1959 and 1998, including the 1994 genocide, on the grounds that the conditions that drove them to seek protection abroad no longer exist. The UNHCR’s decision is controversial because many Rwandan refugees still fear persecution if they return home, concerns that are supported by the number of Rwandans granted asylum since 1998 and by the number exempted from the cessation. Rwandan refugees can still seek an exemption or local integration, but host countries are anxious to send the refugees back to Rwanda and are likely to avoid options that enable them to stay. Conversely, Rwanda itself hosts almost 160,000 refugees as of 2017; virtually all of them fleeing conflict in neighboring Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

2.45% (2017 est.)

30.7 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

one of Africa's most densely populated countries; large concentrations tend to be in the central regions and along the shore of Lake Kivu in the west

KIGALI (capital) 1.257 million (2015)

23 years

290 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

3.87 children born/woman (2017 est.)

53.2% (2014/15)

7.5% of GDP (2014)

0.06 physicians/1,000 population (2010)

1.6 beds/1,000 population (2007)

urban: 86.6% of population

rural: 71.9% of population

total: 76.1% of population

urban: 13.4% of population

rural: 28.1% of population

total: 23.9% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 58.5% of population

rural: 62.9% of population

total: 61.6% of population

urban: 41.5% of population

rural: 37.1% of population

total: 38.4% of population (2015 est.)

3.1% (2016 est.)

220,000 (2016 est.)

3,300 (2016 est.)

5.8% (2016)

9.3% (2015)

5% of GDP (2013)

presidential republic

4 provinces (in French - provinces, singular - province; in Kinyarwanda - intara for singular and plural) and 1 city* (in French - ville; in Kinyarwanda - umujyi); Est (Eastern), Kigali*, Nord (Northern), Ouest (Western), Sud (Southern)

1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)

Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

mixed legal system of civil law, based on German and Belgian models, and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

Liberal Party or PL [Donatille MUKABALISA]

Party for Progress and Concord or PPC [Dr. Alivera MUKABARAMBA]

Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME]

Rwandan Patriotic Front Coalition (includes RPF, PPC) [Paul KAGAME]

Social Democratic Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA]

IBUKA (association of genocide survivors)

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CEPGL, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three horizontal bands of sky blue (top, double width), yellow, and green, with a golden sun with 24 rays near the fly end of the blue band; blue represents happiness and peace, yellow economic development and mineral wealth, green hope of prosperity and natural resources; the sun symbolizes unity, as well as enlightenment and transparency from ignorance

traditional woven basket with peaked lid; national colors: blue, yellow, green

Rwanda is a rural, agrarian country with about 35% of the population engaged in subsistence agriculture, and with some mineral and agro-processing. Population density is high but not concentrated in large metropolises – its 13 million people are spread out on a small amount of land (about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined). Tourism, minerals, coffee, and tea are Rwanda's main sources of foreign exchange. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with demand, requiring food imports. Energy shortages, instability in neighboring states, and lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries continue to handicap private sector growth.

The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and temporarily stalled the country's ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy beyond pre-1994 levels. GDP has rebounded with an average annual growth of 6%-8% since 2003 and inflation has been reduced to single digits. In 2015, 39% of the population lived below the poverty line, according to government statistics, compared to 57% in 2006. Mining profits in 2015 were reduced by almost half, owing to the drop in global demand for minerals.

Africa's most densely populated country is trying to overcome the limitations of its small, landlocked economy by leveraging regional trade; Rwanda joined the East African Community and is aligning its budget, trade, and immigration policies with its regional partners. The government has embraced an expansionary fiscal policy to reduce poverty by improving education, infrastructure, and foreign and domestic investment. In recognition of Rwanda's successful management of its macro economy, the IMF graduated Rwanda to a Policy Support Instrument in 2010.

The Rwandan Government is seeking to become a regional leader in information and communication technologies. In 2012, Rwanda completed the first modern Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Kigali. The SEZ seeks to attract investment in all sectors, but specifically in agribusiness, information and communications, trade and logistics, mining, and construction. In 2016, the government launched an online system to give investors information about public land and its suitability for agricultural development.

$22.79 billion (2016 est.)

$21.24 billion (2015 est.)

$19.3 billion (2014 est.)

$8.406 billion (2016 est.)

5.9% (2016 est.)

8.9% (2015 est.)

7.6% (2014 est.)

$2,000 (2016 est.)

$1,900 (2015 est.)

$1,800 (2014 est.)

7.6% of GDP (2016 est.)

8.7% of GDP (2015 est.)

8.6% of GDP (2014 est.)

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

cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes

6.8% (2016 est.)

6.011 million (2016 est.)

2.7% (2014 est.)

39.1% (2015 est.)

46.8 (2000)

28.9 (1985)

23.3% of GDP (2016 est.)

-3.7% of GDP (2016 est.)

43.4% of GDP (2016 est.)

36.2% of GDP (2015 est.)

calendar year

5.7% (2016 est.)

2.5% (2015 est.)

7.75% (31 December 2010)

11.25% (31 December 2008)

17.3% (31 December 2016 est.)

17.33% (31 December 2015 est.)

$940.6 million (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.013 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.903 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.64 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.959 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.337 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$NA

$-1.211 billion (2016 est.)

$-1.106 billion (2015 est.)

$745 million (2016 est.)

$683.7 million (2015 est.)

coffee, tea, hides, tin ore

Democratic Republic of the Congo 31.3%, Kenya 15.7%, UAE 13.8%, Switzerland 8.7%, Burundi 5.7% (2016)

$2.045 billion (2016 est.)

$1.919 billion (2015 est.)

foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material

China 21.2%, Uganda 11.2%, Kenya 7.8%, India 7.4%, UAE 5.8%, Tanzania 5.3% (2016)

$1.104 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.03 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$2.611 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$2.244 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$2.072 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.813 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$26.8 million (31 December 2016 est.)

$20.2 million (31 December 2015 est.)

Rwandan francs (RWF) per US dollar -

787.25 (2016 est.)

787.25 (2015 est.)

720.54 (2014 est.)

680.95 (2013 est.)

616.6 (2012 est.)

600 million kWh (2015 est.)

644 million kWh (2015 est.)

4 million kWh (2015 est.)

90 million kWh (2015 est.)

152,000 kW (2015 est.)

27.6% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

65.8% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

6.6% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

6,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

5,979 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

56.63 billion cu m (1 January 2017 es)

800,000 Mt (2013 est.)

government owns and operates the only TV station; government-owned and operated Radio Rwanda has a national reach; 9 private radio stations; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2007)

.rw

9XR (2016)

7 (2013)

(Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft) (2011)

1.21% of GDP (2016)

1.25% of GDP (2015)

1.13% of GDP (2014)

1.08% of GDP (2013)

1.09% of GDP (2012)

Rwanda Defense Force (RDF): Rwanda Army (Rwanda Land Force), Rwanda Air Force (Force Aerienne Rwandaise, FAR) (2013)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; Rwandan citizenship is required, as is a 9th-grade education for enlisted recruits and an A-level certificate for officer candidates; enlistment is either as contract (5-years, renewable twice) or career; retirement (for officers and senior NCOs) after 20 years of service or at 40-60 years of age (2012)

Burundi and Rwanda dispute two sq km (0.8 sq mi) of Sabanerwa, a farmed area in the Rukurazi Valley where the Akanyaru/Kanyaru River shifted its course southward after heavy rains in 1965; fighting among ethnic groups - loosely associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces in Great Lakes region transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC), Rwanda, and Uganda - abated substantially from a decade ago due largely to UN peacekeeping, international mediation, and efforts by local governments to create civil societies; nonetheless, 57,000 Rwandan refugees still reside in 21 African states, including Zambia, Gabon, and 20,000 who fled to Burundi in 2005 and 2006 to escape drought and recriminations from traditional courts investigating the 1994 massacres; the 2005 DROC and Rwanda border verification mechanism to stem rebel actions on both sides of the border remains in place