Location:
East-Central Africa
Capital City:
Kigali
Area:
total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,668 sq km
water: 1,670 sq km
border countries (4):
Burundi 930 km,
The Democratic Republic of the Congo 221 km,
Tanzania 222 km,
Uganda 172 km
Coastline: 0 km
Total: 930 km
Rwanda
Climate:
temperate;
two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January);
mild in mountains with frost and snow possible
Terrain:
generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast
Elevation:
mean elevation: 1,598 m
elevation 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
Land use:
agricultural land: 74.5%
arable land 47%; permanent crops 10.1%; permanent pasture 17.4%
forest: 18%
other: 7.5% (2011 est.)
Irrigated land:
96 sq km (2012)
Population – distribution:
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
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts;
the volcanic Virunga Mountains are in the northwest
People and Society
As of 2017, the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda estimates Rwanda’s population to be 11,262,564. The 2012 census recorded a population of 10,515,973. The population is young: in the 2012 census, 43.3% of the population were aged 15 and under, and 53.4% were between 16 and 64. According to the CIA World Factbook, the annual birth rate is estimated at 40.2 births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2015, and the death rate at 14.9. The life expectancy is 59.67 years (61.27 years for females and 58.11 years for males), which is the 26th lowest out of 224 countries and territories. The sex ratio of the country is relatively even.
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 the 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.
Population:
11,901,484(July 2017 est.)
Nationality:
Rwandan(s)
Ethnic groups:
Hutu, Tutsi, Twa (Pygmy)
Languages:
Kinyarwanda (official, universal Bantu vernacular) 93.2%, French, English
, Swahili/Kiswahili, other 6.3%, unspecified 0.3%
Religions:
Protestant 49.5% (includes Adventist 11.8% and other Protestant 37.7%), Roman Catholic 43.7%, Muslim 2%, other 0.9% (includes Jehovah’s Witness), none 2.5%, unspecified 1.3% (2012 est.).
Ethnicity Language, and Religion
Rwanda has been a unified state since pre-colonial times, and the population is drawn from just one cultural and linguistic group, the Banyarwanda; this contrasts with most modern African states, whose borders were drawn by colonial powers and did not correspond to ethnic boundaries or pre-colonial kingdoms. Within the Banyarwanda people, there are three separate groups, the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. The CIA World Factbook gives estimates that the Hutu made up 84% of the population in 2009, the Tutsi 15% and Twa 1%.
The Twa are a pygmy people who descend from Rwanda’s earliest inhabitants, but scholars do not agree on the origins of and differences between the Hutu and Tutsi. In precolonial Rwanda, the Tutsi were the ruling class, from whom the kings and the majority of chiefs were derived, while the Hutu were agriculturalists. The current government discourages the Hutu/Tutsi/Twa distinction and has removed such classification from identity cards. The 2002 census was the first since 1933 which did not categorize Rwandan population into the three groups.
The country’s principal language is Kinyarwanda, which is spoken by nearly all Rwandans. Other languages spoken in Rwanda are English, French. Rwanda, a Bantu language belonging to the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family, is spoken by virtually all Rwandans. It is closely related to Rundi, which is spoken in the neighboring country of Burundi. English and French have traditionally been spoken by only a small fraction of the population, although English was designated the language of educational instruction in 2008. Swahili is widely spoken in the towns and is still the principal means of communication with Africans from neighboring countries.
A 2009 study indicated that about 94% of the population were Christians: 50% Catholic and 44% Protestant. Muslims accounted for about 5% of the total population and about 2% professed no religion at all. A small number of people practice indigenous religions exclusively, but it is believed that many adherents of other faiths incorporate traditional elements into their own practice. These elements include belief in a supreme being, Imaana, and a number of lesser deities, who can be communicated with through the spirits of ancestors. There are small groups of Baha’is, Hindus, and others. There are several foreign missionary groups.
Education
Thanks to the significant efforts made over the last decade by the Government of Rwanda and its partners to expand access to education throughout the country, Rwanda is one of the top-performing countries in sub-Saharan Africa in education, having achieved Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 2 for access to Universal Primary Education, with a net enrolment rate of 97.7per cent (boys: 97.3%; girls: 98%) (MINEDUC, 2016). In terms of gender equality in education, Rwanda’s education system boasts the highest participation rates in East Africa as well as gender parity in net and gross enrolment at the pre-primary, primary, and secondary levels. In fact, girls’ enrolment surpasses boys’ enrolment at all levels.
Despite these achievements, gender disparities exist, namely in learning outcomes for girls and negative social norms that impact both boys and girls, which have been informed by a Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Study on Gender in Education. Among populations of vulnerable children, however, equitable access is still a key issue: Equitable access to basic education for vulnerable children is an issue; only 70 percent of children with disabilities are enrolled in primary schools.
Each year 28,000 Rwandan students take the national secondary Education Ordinary Level test at the end of Junior Secondary School Form 3 (ninth grade) in nine subjects. Admission to Senior Secondary School is competitive: fewer than 13,000 students can be admitted into the 734 secondary schools. The vast majority of Rwandan students attend public boarding schools, many of which are highly competitive; there are also private secondary schools in the country.
At the end of Senior Secondary School (twelfth grade), all students take the final national exam in each of 3 subjects of the combinations plus Entrepreneurship and general paper. In order to receive a high school leaving certificate, a student must achieve at least three subsidiary level passes. Rwanda’s tertiary institutions enroll over 44,000 students in undergraduate, graduate, certificate and diploma programs in a full range of academic and professional fields. Public Universities in Rwanda recently merged to form the University of Rwanda (UR). Nine public polytechnics offer three-year Higher National Diplomas in Education, Technology, Human Health, Animal Health and Nursing (Advanced Diploma).
Economy
Rwanda is a rural, agrarian country with agriculture accounting for about 63% of export earnings, and with some mineral and agro-processing. Population density is high but, with the exception of the capital Kigali, is not concentrated in large cities – its 12 million people are spread out on a small amount of land (smaller than the state of Maryland). 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.
Rwanda’s annual growth reached 6.1% in the second half of 2017, thanks to improved export performance, revitalized agriculture and resumption of growth in private consumption, according to the 12th edition of the World Bank Rwanda Economic Update launched today. The growth is expected to accelerate to 7.2% in 2018 and to 7.5% in 2019. According to the report, favorable weather experienced in 2017 brought a substantial pick-up in agriculture, and growth in services accelerated to 8%. However, industrial growth slowed mainly because construction continued to contract. Headline inflation went down to 0.7% by December 2017 after peaking at 8% in February, while exchange rate remained relatively stable during the same period.
Leading sectors include energy, agriculture, trade and hospitality, and financial services. Rwanda’s economy is overwhelmingly rural and heavily dependent on agriculture. Strong growth in the services sector, particularly construction and tourism, has contributed to overall economic growth. GDP per capita was USD 697 in 2015, according to the World Bank. The government’s economic priority is turning Rwanda into a regional trade, logistics, and conference hub. Pillars of this strategy include the construction of several new international business class hotels and a convention center in downtown Kigali and expanding and investing in the fleet for the national carrier RwandAir.
Rwanda is playing a leading role in the Northern Corridor initiative, which includes Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and Ethiopia as core members and the DRC, Burundi, and Tanzania as observers. Rwanda is also at the forefront of the Central Corridor initiative, which also includes Burundi, DRC, Tanzania, and Uganda. Unlocking some of the larger infrastructure projects, especially rail transportation, envisioned under the Central and Northern Corridor initiatives would help to substantially reduce the cost of conducting business and transporting goods across borders in the region.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$24.61 billion (2017 est.)
$23.18 billion (2016 est.)
$21.89 billion (2015 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
Real GDP:
$8.918 billion (2017 est.)
GDP – real growth rate:
6.2% (2017 est.)
5.9% (2016 est.)
8.9% (2015 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP):
$2,100 (2017 est.)
$2,000 (2016 est.)
$1,900 (2015 est.)
Gross national saving:
10.8% of GDP (2017 est.)
7.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
8.7% of GDP (2015 est.)
GDP – composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 30.9%
industry: 17.6%
services: 51.5% (2017 est.)
Agriculture – products:
coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock
Industries:
cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes
Population below poverty line:
39.1% (2015 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.874 billion
expenditures: $2.255 billion (2017 est.)
Agriculture
Agriculture employs 70 percent of the labor force, and the country’s solid growth record and macroeconomic stability provide a solid foundation for agricultural investment. The country has committed to generating sustained agricultural growth, increasing the share of the national budget allocated to agriculture from 3 percent in 2006 to 10.01 percent in 2015. these investments appear to be paying off, with annual agriculture growth averaging over 6 percent since 2007. Despite the gains, agricultural productivity remains low and the levels of chronic malnutrition remain unacceptably high at 38 percent for children under 5 years old. Through Feed the Future, USAID is promoting inclusive agricultural growth throughout the country.
Rwanda’s key agricultural crops include coffee, pyrethrum, tea, cinchona, flowers, beans, cassava and sweet potatoes, finger millet, groundnuts, sorghum, banana, Irish and sweet potatoes, rice, wheat, bananas, sugarcane and simsim among others. Coffee is one of the most important cash crops in Rwanda playing a major role in the livelihoods of many people in the country. In Rwanda, about 500,000 households depend on coffee production.
Agriculture is crucial for Rwanda’s growth and reduction of poverty, as the backbone of the economy, it accounts for 39 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), 80 percent of employment, 63 percent of foreign exchange earnings, and 90 percent of the country’s food needs. The sector is challenged by land constraints due to population pressure, poor water management, small average land holdings, lack of public and private capacity, and limited commercialization constrained by poor access to output and financial markets. The country’s average annual income of $550 per capita reflects a rural poverty rate of 49 percent, a figure that soars to 76 percent for families whose main source of income is agriculture.
To curve this challenge the Rwanda government focus on; The intensification of agriculture on the region, which must be executed in potentially fertile hillside land, where most of the arable land is located. The Rwandan authorities have a strong commitment to this project, and the government requested IDA support. The program aimed to improve land husbandry and productivity in seven pilot watersheds covering 10,250 ha of land, of which 1,868 ha would be irrigated. The watershed approach employed by the project involves infrastructural development and farmer education on intensification and land husbandry technology best practices.
The result is an example to the rest of Africa. The Land Husbandry, Water Harvesting and Hillside Irrigation Project (LWH) was able to mobilize beneficiaries quickly for sensitization, implement a labor-intensive approach to land works, and complete a set of land husbandry works on one site while preparing another three sites. In addition to the successes highlighted below, the project has become a very important source of employment in the country. More than 7,000 people have been employed by the project, 19,828 Rwandans have benefited from the project directly, Rainfed productivity has reached $2,240 per non-irrigated hectare in just one season, surpassing the year 2 target of $1,000 per hectare, and more.
Electricity access:
population without electricity: 9,300,000
electrification – total population: 21%
electrification – urban areas: 67%
electrification – rural areas: 5% (2013)
Electricity – production:
600 million kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – consumption:
644 million kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – exports:
4 kWh (2016 est.)
Electricity – imports:
0 kWh (2016 est.)
Electricity – installed generating capacity:
152,000 kW (2015 est.)
Electricity – from fossil fuels:
27.6% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
total subscriptions: 13,403
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (December 2017 est.) (July 2016 est.
Telephones – fixed lines:
total: 8.989 million
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 73 (July 2016 est.)
Telephones – mobile cellular:
total: 8.989 million
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 73 (July 2016 est.)
Internet country code:
.rw
Internet users:
total: 2,597,685
percent of population: 20.0% (July 2016 est
Manufacturing
The industrial sector plays a much smaller role and contributed just 7% of GDP for the same year (Government of the Republic of Rwanda, 2013). Manufacturing makes up the bulk of revenue from the industrial sector, contributing 6% to GDP in 2012, a decrease of 1% from the previous year (World Bank, 2013). According to a study by the Rwanda Development Board Rwanda’s manufacturing sector has approximately 27,769 employees (2012). The total labor force in Rwanda stood at 5.2 million in 2010 (World Bank, 2012).
According to the report from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the industrial sector grew by 6% during 2013/2014, compared to 12% in the 2012/2013. The construction and manufacturing sector with 5% growth, and beverages which grew at a rate of 3%. Sugar production declined due to the fact that the industry stopped production for four months for maintenance purposes instead of the more typical two months stoppage. The production of cement increased by 5% and modern beer at 4%. The production of cement increased mainly due to the greater stability of electricity used to run machines in the production process compared to the previous period. However, it was still a below-average increase in cement, which was related to the slow-down in construction, along with strong competition from imported.
The primary industrial activities involve mainly the processing of coffee, tea, bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes and other agricultural commodities. Other smaller scale industrial products include cement, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, and cigarettes. The majority of goods manufactured in Rwanda are produced for domestic consumption; in order to limit the country’s reliance on imports. The vast majority of manufacturing companies in Rwanda is located in the capital city, Kigali.
Rwanda has development aims, which are outlined in Vision 2020; its objectives include targeting growth and development, which focus on economy-wide improvements in productivity. The overall goal is to have transformed Rwanda’s economy by 2020, moving away from subsistence agriculture towards increased manufacturing, services, and commercial agriculture.
Banking and Finance
Rwanda is home to many financial institutions, including commercial and development banks. The National Bank of Rwanda is the central bank and issues the national currency, the Rwandan franc. The Rwanda Stock Exchange, located in Kigali, opened in 2008. Access to affordable credit is a serious challenge in Rwanda. Interest rates are high for the region, banks offer predominantly short-term loans, and Rwandan commercial banks rarely issue significant loan values. Large international transfers are subject to authorization. Investors who seek to borrow more than USD 1 million must often engage in multi-party loan transactions, usually leveraging support from larger regional banks. Credit terms generally reflect market rates and foreign investors are able to negotiate credit facilities from local lending institutions if they have collateral and “bankable” projects.
Rwanda’s financial sector remains highly concentrated. Around 50 percent of all bank assets in are held by five of the largest commercial banks, while just one bank – majority state-owned Bank of Kigali (BoK) – holds 30 percent of all assets. The banking sector holds around 67 percent of total financial sector assets in Rwanda. Non-performing loans constitute seven percent of all total banking sector assets. Foreign banks are permitted to establish operations in Rwanda. In January 2016, Atlas Mara Limited acquired a majority equity stake in Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR). BPR/Atlas Mara has the largest number of branch locations, and with assets of approximately USD 325 million, is Rwanda’s second-largest bank after Bank of Kigali. Rwanda’s banks have assets of USD 1.5 billion. The IMF gives the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), Rwanda’s central bank, high marks for its effective monetary policy.
Local banks operate in both local currency and dollar-based accounts. Starting in 2008, the Rwandan Central bank fixed a capital requirement of five billion Rwanda Francs ($6.5 million) for commercial banks. All commercial banks have international correspondent banks operating in major cities of the world. Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) are available but limited with only 400 in all of Rwanda. Commercial banks are authorized to provide loans in foreign currency. The government has implemented a financial sector development plan that improves access to financial services and competition in the banking sector and in micro-finance. The IMF gives the National Bank of Rwanda, Rwanda’s central bank, high marks for its effective monetary policy.
Tourism
Rwanda’s tourism industry contributes to 12.7 percent of the country’s GDP, supporting 132,000 jobs. The country is best-known for its 480-strong mountain gorilla population, for which people travel from all over the world to see, paying £1,300 for a permit to enter the Volcanoes National Park with a guide to track down the roaming animals. The country was attempting to reduce its reliance on foreign aid from 80 percent of its budget 10 years ago to 17 percent today. Rwanda believes that a “booming tourism sector”, which has seen the number of visitors double since 2008, is key. It is hoping to reach 1.7 million international arrivals by 2028.
Place of Attractions
Historically Rwanda has been most famous for its natural attractions, namely its three National Parks; Volcanoes National Park on the slopes of the Virunga mountain range, famous for the country’s biggest attraction, the mountain gorillas. Akagera National Park, defined by its “archetypal African savannah landscape”, and Nyungwe Forest National Park, the largest single tract of montane forest in East and Central Africa with incredibly a rich biodiversity. Other attractions include
Kigali is the dynamic capital at the heart of our country. Peacefully nestled along picturesque hilltops, Kigali is a thriving African city immediately notable for its cleanliness, orderliness, and hospitality.
Karongi is located in the western part of Rwanda, Karongi lies on the shores of the Lake Kivu. Lake Kivu is surrounded by magnificent mountains and has deep emerald green waters. The lake covers a total surface area of 2,700 km and stands at a height of 1,460 meters above sea level.
Rubavu / Lake Kivu: If you’re surprised that Rwanda has a beach – you’re not alone. Rubavu (also known as Gisenyi) is a waterfront town located on the shores of Lake Kivu, one Africa’s great bodies of water. At only an hour away from Volcanoes National Park, Rubavu is a great way to unwind after trekking adventures.
Akagera National Park is located in the northeast of Rwanda along the border with Tanzania. Although founded in 1934, much of the park was re-allocated as farms and in 1997 the park was reduced in size from more than 2,500 sq km.
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