]! ^! 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 the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and the former Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but several thousand remained in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (the former Zaire) and formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF tried in 1990. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in August and September 2003 - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output, and ethnic reconciliation is complicated by the real and perceived Tutsi political dominance. Kigali's increasing centralization and intolerance of dissent, the nagging Hutu extremist insurgency across the border, and Rwandan involvement in two wars in recent years in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts to escape its bloody legacy. 
]" ^" Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo ^# 2 00 S, 30 00 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 26,338 sq km `" 24,948 sq km `# 1,390 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Maryland ^' `! 893 km `Y Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km ^( 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 ^, `% Rusizi River 950 m `& Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m ^- gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land ^. `' 45.56% `( 10.25% `) 44.19% (2005) ^/ 90 sq km (2003) ^0 periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo ^1 deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands `Q Law of the Sea ^2 landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural 
]# ^3 9,907,509 `* estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 41.9% (male 2,082,474/female 2,065,251) `, 55.7% (male 2,748,189/female 2,765,767) `- 2.5% (male 98,796/female 147,032) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 18.6 years `. 18.4 years `/ 18.8 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.766% (2007 est.) ^7 40.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 14.91 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 2.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.03 male(s)/female `1 1.008 male(s)/female `, 0.994 male(s)/female `- 0.672 male(s)/female `2 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 85.27 deaths/1,000 live births `. 90.41 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 79.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 48.99 years `. 47.87 years `/ 50.16 years (2007 est.) ^= 5.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 5.1% (2003 est.) ^? 250,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 22,000 (2003 est.) _` `h very high `i bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria (2007) ^A `3 Rwandan(s) `4 Rwandan ^B Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 15%, Twa (Pygmy) 1% ^C Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001) ^D Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 70.4% `. 76.3% `/ 64.7% (2003 est.) _g Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Rwanda `7 Rwanda `Z Republika y'u Rwanda `[ Rwanda `\ Ruanda, German East Africa ^H republic; presidential, multiparty system ^I `8 Kigali `9 1 57 S, 30 04 E `: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 5 provinces (in French - provinces, singular - province; in Kinyarwanda - prefigintara for singular and plural); East, Kigali, North, South, West ^K 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) ^L Independence Day, 1 July (1962) ^M new constitution passed by referendum 26 May 2003 ^N based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Paul KAGAME (since 22 April 2000) `< Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March 2000) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the president `> President elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 25 August 2003 (next to be held in 2010) `? Paul KAGAME elected president in first direct popular vote; Paul KAGAME 95.05%, Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU 3.62%, Jean-Nepomuscene NAYINZIRA 1.33% ^Q bicameral Parliament consists of Senate (26 seats; 12 members elected by local councils, eight appointed by the president, four by the Political Organizations Forum, two represent institutions of higher learning; members serve eight-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies (80 seats; 53 members elected by popular vote, 24 women elected by local bodies, three selected by youth and disability organizations; members serve five-year terms) `> Senate - members appointed as part of the transitional government (next to be held in 2011); Chamber of Deputies - last held 29 September 2003 (next to be held in 2008) `? seats by party under the 2003 Constitution - RPF 40, PSD 7, PL 6, additional 27 members indirectly elected ^R Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees ^S Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Alfred MUKEZAMFURA]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [Adrien RANGIRA]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR [Celestin KABANDA] (officially banned); Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Prosper HIGIRO]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned); Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA] ^T IBUKA - association of genocide survivors ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Zac NSENGA `S 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 `T [1] (202) 232-2882 `U [1] (202) 232-4544 ^W `R Ambassador Michael ARIETTI `_ 337 Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali `` B. P. 28, Kigali `T [250] 50 56 01 through 03 `U [250] 57 2128 ^X 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 
]% ^Y Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa and is landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded the country's ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels, although poverty levels are higher now. GDP has rebounded and inflation has been curbed. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, requiring food imports. Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid money and obtained IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in 2005-06. Rwanda also received Millennium Challenge Account Threshold status in 2006. Kigali's high defense expenditures have caused tension between the government and international donors and lending agencies. Energy shortages, instability in neighboring states, and lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries continue to handicap growth. ^Z $13.54 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $1.968 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 5.8% (2006 est.) ^] $1,600 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 39.4% `A 23.3% `B 37.3% (2006 est.) ^_ 4.6 million (2000) ^` `@ 90% industry and services: 10% ^a NA% _! 60% (2001 est.) _" `C 4.2% `D 24.2% (1985) _d 28.9 (1985) _# 6.7% (2006 est.) _V 19.8% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $560.9 million `F $654 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 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 _( 7% (2001 est.) _) 93 million kWh (2004) _* 196.5 million kWh (2004) _+ 10 million kWh (2004) _, 120 million kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 5,400 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _W 0 bbl (1 January 2002) _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Z 56.63 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $-104.1 million (2006 est.) _3 $135.4 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 coffee, tea, hides, tin ore _5 Germany 11%, China 6.5%, Belgium 4.5% (2005) _6 $390.4 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material _8 Kenya 18.9%, Uganda 6.6%, Belgium 5.8%, Germany 5.6%, Israel 4.3% (2005) _[ $422.8 million (2006 est.) _9 $1.4 billion (2004 est.) _: $425 million (2003) _; Rwandan franc (RWF) _< Rwandan francs per US dollar - 560 (2006), 610 (2005), 574.62 (2004), 537.66 (2003), 476.33 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 23,000 (2004) _? 290,000 (2005) _@ `G telephone system primarily serves business and government `H the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the provinces by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone `I 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) _A AM 0, FM 8 (two main FM programs are broadcast through a system of repeaters, three international FM programs include the BBC, VOA, and Deutchewelle), shortwave 1 (2005) _B 2 (2004) _C .rw _D 1,590 (2006) _E 38,000 (2005) 
]' _F 9 (2006) _G `! 4 `a 1 `c 2 `W 1 (2006) _R `! 5 `c 2 `W 3 (2006) _H `! 14,008 km `K 2,662 km `L 11,346 km (2004) _b Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2005) _I Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye 
]( _J Rwandan Defense Forces: Army, Air Force _T 16 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001) _K males age 16-49: 2,004,750 females age 16-49: 1,990,935 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 16-49: 1,103,823 females age 16-49: 1,096,644 (2005 est.) _U 13.3% (2006 est.) 
]) _N 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, 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 _c `o 41,403 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 4,400 (Burundi) (2006) 