Rwanda

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

agricultural land:

74.5%;

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

forest:

18%

other:

7.5% (2011 est.)

total:

0.15 cu km/yr (33%/11%/55%)

per capita:

17.25 cu m/yr (2005)

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea

noun:

Rwandan(s)

adjective:

Rwandan

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.87 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.7 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever

animal contact disease:

rabies (2013)

total number:

783,113

percentage:

35% (2000 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Rwanda

conventional short form:

Rwanda

local long form:

Republika y'u Rwanda

local short form:

Rwanda

former:

Ruanda, German East Africa

name:

Kigali

geographic coordinates:

1 57 S, 30 03 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• 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)

• several previous;
• latest adopted by referendum 26 May 2003, effective 4 June 2003;
• amended several times, last in 2010 (2013)

chief of state:

President Paul KAGAME (since 22 April 2000)

head of government:

Prime Minister Anastase MUREKEZI (since 24 July 2014)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 9 August 2010 (next to be held in 2017);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Paul KAGAME reelected president; Paul KAGAME (RPF) 93.1%, Jean NTAWUKURIRYAYO (PSD) 5.1%, other 1.8%

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and 12 judges; normally organized into 3-judge benches)

note: the Gacaca Court was established in 2001 by the National Unity Government to try cases of genocide against the Tutsis

judge selection and term of office:

• judges nominated by the president of the republic after consultation with the Cabinet and the Superior Council of the Judiciary (a 14-member body of judges, other judicial officials, and legal professionals), and approved by the Senate;
• court president and vice president appointed for 8-year nonrenewable terms;
• tenure of other judges NA

subordinate courts:

• High Court of the Republic;
• commercial courts including the High Commercial Court;
• intermediate courts;
• primary courts;
• Gacaca and military specialized courts

• Liberal Party or PL [Protais MITALI]
• Party for Progress and Concord or PPC [Christian MARARA]
• Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME]
• Social Democratic Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mathilde MUKANTABANA (since 5 July 2013)

chancery:

1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 418, Washington, DC, 2000

telephone:

[1] (202) 232-2882

FAX:

[1] (202) 232-4544

chief of mission:

Ambassador Erica BARKS-RUGGLES (since 26 January 2015)

embassy:

2657 Avenue de la Gendarmerie, Kigali

mailing address:

B. P. 28, Kigali

telephone:

[250] 596-400

FAX:

[250] 596-591

• 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

name:

"Rwanda nziza" (Rwanda, Our Beautiful Country)

lyrics/music:

Faustin MURIGO/Jean-Bosco HASHAKAIMANA

note: adopted 2001

agriculture:

90%

industry and services:

10% (2000)

lowest 10%:

2.1%

highest 10%:

43.2% (2011 est.)

general assessment:

small, inadequate telephone system primarily serves business, education, and government

domestic:

• the capital, Kigali, is connected to provincial centers by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular telephone service;
• much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone;
• combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone density has increased and now exceeds 40 telephones per 100 persons

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) (2010)

• 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)

total:

4,700 km

paved:

1,207 km

unpaved:

3,493 km (2012)

country comparison to the world: 153

• 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)

males age 16-49:

2,625,917

females age 16-49:

2,608,110 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,685,066

females age 16-49:

1,749,580 (2010 est.)

male:

110,736

female:

110,328 (2010 est.)

• 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

refugees (country of origin):

73,915 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 69,316 (Burundi) (2015)

IDPs:

undetermined (fighting between government and insurgency in 1998-99; returning refugees) (2012)

current situation:

• Rwanda is a source and, to a lesser extent, transit and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• Rwandan girls and, to a lesser extent, boys are exploited in domestic servitude within the country;
• Rwandan adults and children are forced to work in agriculture, industry, domestic servitude, and prostitution in Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Zambia, South Africa, UAE, Malaysia, China, the US, and Europe;
• women and children from neighboring countries and Somalia are subjected to prostitution and forced labor in Rwanda;
• until its defeat in late 2013, M23, an armed group operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, recruited men and children with the support of some Rwandan officials

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – Rwanda does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• in 2013, the government maintained strong efforts to investigate and prosecute some trafficking crimes but convicted no offenders and remained complicit in human trafficking crimes through its support of M23;
• the government opened five additional centers for assisting victims of gender-based violence and provided financial support to private and NGO-run child rehabilitation centers (2014)