Republic of Rwanda

National name: Repubulika y'u Rwanda

President: Paul Kagame (2000)

Prime Minister: Bernard Makuza (2000)

Land area: 9,633 sq mi (24,949 sq km); total area: 10,169 sq mi (26,338 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 8,648,248 (growth rate: 2.4%); birth rate: 40.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 89.6/1000; life expectancy: 47.3; density per sq mi: 898

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Kigali, 298,100

Monetary unit: Rwanda franc

Languages: Kinyarwanda, French, and English (all official); Kiswahili in commercial centers

Ethnicity/race: Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Islam 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001)

Literacy rate: 70% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $11.26 billion; per capita $1,300. Real growth rate: 4.8%. Inflation: 8%. Unemployment: n.a. Arable land: 46%. Agriculture: coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock. Labor force: 4.6 million (2000); agriculture 90%, industry and services 10%. Industries: cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes. Natural resources: gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land. Exports: $98 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): coffee, tea, hides, tin ore. Imports: $243 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material. Major trading partners: Indonesia, China, Germany, Kenya, Belgium, Uganda, France (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 600,000; note: 90% in Kigali (2002); mobile cellular: 81,000 (2001); note: Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2002). Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 3 (two main FM programs are broadcast through a system of repeaters and the third FM program is a 24 hour BBC program), shortwave 1 (2002). Radios: 601,000 (1997). Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997). Televisions: n.a.; probably less than 1,000 (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2002). Internet users: 20,000 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. 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. Ports and harbors: Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye. Airports: 9 (2002).

International disputes: Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas and natural resources - government heads pledge to end conflicts, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts.


 

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