Form of Government: Republic
Area: 26 338 sq km
Population: 12 663 117 inhab. (estimate 2020)
Density: 480.79 inhab./sq km
Coordinates: lat. 1° - 3° S; long. 29° - 31° E
Capital: Kigali (capital) 1 132 686 inhab. (2012);
Currency: Rwandese franc (100 centimes)
Human development index: 0.543 (rank: 160)
President: Paul Kagame (FPR), since 23 March 2000, last re-elected 4 August 2017
Prime Minister: Édouard Ngirente (independent), since 30 August 2018
House of Representatives: seats based on the elections of 3 September 2018: coalition led by the FPR (Rwandan Patriotic Front, including minor parties), 40; PSD (Social Democratic Party), 5; PL (Liberal Party), 4; others, 4
Internet: www.statistics.gov.rw (National Institute of Statistics)
Member of AU, COMESA, Commonwealth, EAC, UN, WTO
Rwanda

International license plate code RWA
International dialling code 00250
Travel vaccinations requirement yellow fever (required); malaria prophylaxis (recommended)
Electricity (Voltage) 230
Driving side rigth
Internet code .rw
GMT +2
DST not applied
Annual average temperature (°C) Kigali 16.9
Average temperature in January/July (°C) Kigali 18/16
Daily sunshine hours in June/December (average) Kigali 6/4
Annual average precipitation (mm) Kigali 977
Days of rainfall (annual average) Kigali 101
Geography.
Rwanda is bordered to the north by Uganda, to the east by Tanzania, to the south by Burundi and to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The country lies on a plateau that slopes down towards Lake Victoria. To the west, the plateau is hemmed in by a mountain chain; to the east, there are imposing volcanic formations (Mount Karisimbi, 4507 m). The most important river is the River Kagera. The climate is equatorial although milder on account of the altitude.
Government
Previously a German protectorate known as Ruanda-Urundi, it was granted as a trust territory to Belgium in 1920 and became fully independent on 1 July 1962. In 1973, a coup d’état brought to power General Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu from the north who established an authoritarian one-party regime. In October 1990, armed groups of Tutsi refugees from the Rwandan Patriotic Front (FPR) started a civil war between the Tutsi minority and Hutu government forces. In 1993, the government and the FPR signed a peace treaty, but in April 1994, following the assassination of President Habyarimana, the situation hurled headlong into a terrible bloodbath (with 800 000 dead and two million refugees). Victors in the civil war (which ended in 1994), the FPR along with moderate Hutu parties set up a provisional government. Elected President in 2000 by the Transitional Assembly, the FPR leader, Paul Kagame was reconfirmed in the subsequent elections. However, the process of ethnic reconciliation has encountered new obstacles on account of the political domination of the Tutsi minority. The country is also involved in wars taking place in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. Based on the Constitution approved by a referendum on 26 May 2003, the President of the Republic, also head of the executive, is elected by direct voting for a term of seven years, but a constitutional amendment that was approved via referendum (18 December 2015) reduced the presidential term to 5 years after 2024. The Chamber of Deputies is made up of 80 members (53 directly elected, 24 women elected by the local councils and 3 members appointed by youth and disabled organisations) for a term of five years; the Senate (26 members, 12 of whom elected) is elected for a term of eight years.
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Air force | 3$ | % | 2015 |
Army | 97$ | % | 2015 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Homicides | 2.5 | per 100 000 pop. | 2015 |
Police personnel | 4.8 | per 100 000 pop. | 2013 |
Administrative division
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Kigali | 1 132 686 | inhab. | 2012 |
Gisenyi | 126 706 | inhab. | 2012 |
Population
Population by age and gender (% - 2020) | ||||||||
| ||||||||
MALE | AGE | FEMALE |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Birth rate | 31.249 | ‰ | 2019 |
Death rate | 5.123 | ‰ | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Hutu | 85$ | % | 2002 |
Tutsi | 14$ | % | 2002 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Catholic | 43.7 | % | 2012 |
Protestant | 37.7 | % | 2012 |
DESCRIPTION |
---|
English (official) |
French (official) |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
0-14 years | 39.9 | % | 2020 |
15-29 years | 27.8 | % | 2020 |
Economy
Before the crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy, driven by the development of services, had maintained good growth levels. It remains dependent on international aid and sensitive to oil and food prices trends, the country’s main imports. Agriculture occupies most of the active population. Although under development, commercial crops (coffee and tea) are far from widespread; subsistence crops (bananas, cassava and potatoes) are not sufficient enough to meet the demand for food. Mineral resources (methane in Lake Kivu, gold, cassiterite, wolframite, columbite-tantalite, beryllium) are often exploited on a small scale due to inadequate infrastructure. Industrial activity includes a tin foundry in Kigali, small factories processing agricultural products as well as cement factories and tobacco manufacturing. In 2011, the Kigali Special Economic Zone was created. The telecommunications sector is under fast development. The country exports gold, coffee, tea, tin.
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Agricultural prod. index (2004-06=100) | 140.11 | index | 2016 |
Agricultural prod. index (2014-16=100) | 123.33 | index | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Active population | 6 296 285 | units | 2020 |
Active population, Females | 51.7 | % | 2020 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Unemployment rate | 15.3 | % | 2019 |
Unemployment rate, Females | 50.7 | % | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Expenses | 1 606 253.2 | M LCU | 2019 |
Revenues | 2 004 371.5 | M LCU | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
agriculture | 62.4 | % | 2019 |
industry | 8.9 | % | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
agriculture | 25.724 | % | 2019 |
industry | 20.645 | % | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Currency in circulation | 286.875 | BN LCU | 2020 |
International reserves | 1 806.068 | M US$ | 2020 |
Agriculture
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
arable land | 56.818 | % | 2018 |
forests | 11.107 | % | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cereals, total | 733.302 | 1000 t | 2019 |
maize | 421.218 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cassava | 1 181.825 | 1000 t | 2019 |
potatoes | 973.408 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cabbages | 58.48 | 1000 t | 2019 |
carrots and turnips | 31.704 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
beans, dry | 484.251 | 1000 t | 2019 |
beans, green | 8.743 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
groundnuts | 19.561 | 1000 t | 2019 |
rapeseed | 30$ | 1000 t | 2014 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
coffee | 29.366 | 1000 t | 2019 |
pepper | 2.841 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
sugar cane | 114.61 | 1000 t | 2019 |
tobacco | 5.44 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
seed cotton | 0$ | 1000 t | 2017 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
fruits, total | 2 845.194 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
citrus fruits | 11.437 | 1000 t | 2019 |
lemons | 7.581 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
avocados | 6.601 | 1000 t | 2019 |
bananas | 1 850.633 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
maize | 288.298 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
millet | 16.233 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cassava | 195.135 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
potatoes | 107.59 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cabbages | 3.526 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
carrots and turnips | 2.276 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
beans, dry | 582.67 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
beans, green | 1.011 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
groundnuts | 43.92 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
rapeseed | 40$ | 1000 ha | 2014 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
coffee | 21.793 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
pepper | 0.757 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
sugar cane | 7.797 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
tobacco | 4.866 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
seed cotton | 0$ | 1000 ha | 2017 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
citrus fruits | 3.365 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
lemons | 1.421 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
avocados | 0.22 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
bananas | 253.996 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
Forests-Livestock-Fishing
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
timber | 6 211 927 | m³ | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cattle | 1 330.192 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
cattle and buffaloes | 1 330.192 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
pigs | 1 228.465 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
sheep | 587.949 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
goats | 2 685.038 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
birds | 5 603 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
honey | 5.046 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
butter | 2.045 | 1000 t | 2018 |
eggs | 7.8 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
freshwater fishes | 24 760.2 | t | 2019 |
total catch | 24 760.2 | t | 2019 |
Minerals
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
natural gas | 69$ | M m³ | 2018 |
peat | 100 | 1000 t | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
beryllium | 0.001 | 1000 t | 2020 |
tantalite | 0.27 | 1000 t | 2020 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
limestone | 560 | 1000 t | 2018 |
pozzolan | 165 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
amethyst | 8 986 | kg | 2016 |
gold | 300 | kg | 2018 |
Energy
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
- thermal | 338 | M kWh | 2018 |
- hydro | 330.68 | M kWh | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
- hydro | 100 | 1000 kW | 2017 |
- thermal | 81$ | 1000 kW | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
total net generation | 725.01 | M kWh | 2018 |
total installed capacity | 120 | 1000 kW | 2018 |
Industry
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
steel, crude | 23$ | 1000 t | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
beer of barley | 200 | 1000 t | 2018 |
groundnut oil | 1.852 | 1000 t | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cigarettes | 0.14 | M units | 2012 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cement | 400 | 1000 t | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
chemicals production | 4$ | M US$ | 2002 |
food, beverages and tobacco production | 135 | M US$ | 2004 |
Trade
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
food products | 34.706 | % of goods exports | 2019 |
ores and metals | 14.803 | % of goods exports | 2019 |
Tourism
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Expenditures | 382.8 | M US$ | 2019 |
Number of arrivals | 1 634 000 | units | 2019 |
Social and welfare
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Expected years of schooling | 11.231 | years | 2019 |
Graduates | 20 405 | units | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Students, primary level | 2 512 465 | units | 2019 |
Students, secondary level | 732 104 | units | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Hospital beds | 1.7 | per 1000 pop. | 2017 |
Physicians | 0.13 | per 1000 pop. | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
HIV | 2.6 | % of adults | 2019 |
HIV, total | 6.3 | % | 2001 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Research and development spending | 0.647 | % of GDP | 2016 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking | 1.5 | % | 2019 |
Access to electricity | 37.782 | % | 2019 |