Rwanda
About
Rwanda is located in Sub-Saharan Africa part of Africa. It's total area is 25K km² and 11.2% of it is forest area. As of 2023 it has a total population of 14M. 17.9% lives in cities whereas 82.1% lives in rural areas.
Rwanda ( (listen); Kinyarwanda: u Rwanda [u.ɾɡwaː.nda] (listen)), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is highly elevated, giving it the soubriquet "land of a thousand hills", with its geography dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the southeast, with numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. Rwanda has a population of over 12.6 million living on 26,338 km2 (10,169 sq mi) of land, and is the most densely populated mainland African country; among countries larger than 10,000 km2, it is the fifth most densely populated country in the world. One million people live in the capital and largest city Kigali.
Hunter-gatherers settled the territory in the Stone and Iron Ages, followed later by Bantu peoples. The population coalesced first into clans, and then, into kingdoms. In the 15th century, one kingdom, under King Gihanga, managed to incorporate several of its close neighbor territories establishing the Kingdom of Rwanda. The Kingdom of Rwanda dominated from the mid-eighteen century, with the Tutsi kings conquering others militarily, centralising power, and enacting anti-Hutu policies. In 1897, Germany colonized Rwanda as part of German East Africa, followed by Belgium, which took control in 1916 during World War I. Both European nations ruled through the Rwandan king and perpetuated a pro-Tutsi policy. The Hutu population revolted in 1959. They massacred numerous Tutsi and ultimately established an independent, Hutu-dominated republic in 1962 led by President Grégoire Kayibanda. A 1973 military coup overthrew Kayibanda and brought Juvénal Habyarimana to power, who retained the pro-Hutu policy. The Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) launched a civil war in 1990. Habyarimana was assassinated in April 1994. Social tensions erupted in the Rwandan genocide that followed, in which Hutu extremists killed an estimated 500,000–1,000,000 Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu in the span of one hundred days. The RPF ended the genocide with a military victory in July 1994.
Rwanda has been governed as a unitary presidential system with a bicameral parliament ruled by the Rwandan Patriotic Front since 1994. The country has been governed by a centralized authoritarian government since precolonial times. Although Rwanda has low levels of corruption compared with neighbouring countries, it ranks among the lowest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties and quality of life. The population is young and predominantly rural; Rwanda has one of the youngest populations in the world. Rwandans are drawn from just one cultural and linguistic group, the Banyarwanda. However, within this group there are three subgroups: the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. The Twa are a forest-dwelling pygmy people and are often considered descendants of Rwanda's earliest inhabitants. Christianity is the largest religion in the country; the principal and national language is Kinyarwanda, spoken by native Rwandans, with English, French and Swahili serving as additional official languages.
The economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture. Coffee and tea are the major cash crops for export. Tourism is a fast-growing sector and is now the country's leading foreign exchange earner. In the 21st century, Rwanda has been described as an emerging tech hub for Africa, with an increase of start-up companies. The country is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, COMESA, OIF and the East African Community. In June 2022, the country hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) originally scheduled for 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hunter-gatherers settled the territory in the Stone and Iron Ages, followed later by Bantu peoples. The population coalesced first into clans, and then, into kingdoms. In the 15th century, one kingdom, under King Gihanga, managed to incorporate several of its close neighbor territories establishing the Kingdom of Rwanda. The Kingdom of Rwanda dominated from the mid-eighteen century, with the Tutsi kings conquering others militarily, centralising power, and enacting anti-Hutu policies. In 1897, Germany colonized Rwanda as part of German East Africa, followed by Belgium, which took control in 1916 during World War I. Both European nations ruled through the Rwandan king and perpetuated a pro-Tutsi policy. The Hutu population revolted in 1959. They massacred numerous Tutsi and ultimately established an independent, Hutu-dominated republic in 1962 led by President Grégoire Kayibanda. A 1973 military coup overthrew Kayibanda and brought Juvénal Habyarimana to power, who retained the pro-Hutu policy. The Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) launched a civil war in 1990. Habyarimana was assassinated in April 1994. Social tensions erupted in the Rwandan genocide that followed, in which Hutu extremists killed an estimated 500,000–1,000,000 Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu in the span of one hundred days. The RPF ended the genocide with a military victory in July 1994.
Rwanda has been governed as a unitary presidential system with a bicameral parliament ruled by the Rwandan Patriotic Front since 1994. The country has been governed by a centralized authoritarian government since precolonial times. Although Rwanda has low levels of corruption compared with neighbouring countries, it ranks among the lowest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties and quality of life. The population is young and predominantly rural; Rwanda has one of the youngest populations in the world. Rwandans are drawn from just one cultural and linguistic group, the Banyarwanda. However, within this group there are three subgroups: the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. The Twa are a forest-dwelling pygmy people and are often considered descendants of Rwanda's earliest inhabitants. Christianity is the largest religion in the country; the principal and national language is Kinyarwanda, spoken by native Rwandans, with English, French and Swahili serving as additional official languages.
The economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture. Coffee and tea are the major cash crops for export. Tourism is a fast-growing sector and is now the country's leading foreign exchange earner. In the 21st century, Rwanda has been described as an emerging tech hub for Africa, with an increase of start-up companies. The country is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, COMESA, OIF and the East African Community. In June 2022, the country hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) originally scheduled for 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
💬 Languages
English, French, Rwandi are the official languages.
💵 Currencies
The official currency is Rwandan franc [1 USD = 1,289.108 RWF].
🏧 Cash / Credit card usage
As credit cards are not widely used in Rwanda, we suggest you to carry cash during your travels [2017: %0.731855957]. Approximately there are a total of 🏧 560 ATM's in Rwanda.
🧑🤝🧑 Tourism
In 2019, 1.6M tourists arrived to Rwanda. In 2019, tourism has contributed to Rwanda economy with a total of 635.9M $ income (%28.3).
📱 Bandwidth
Broadband is 🐢average with 30.64 Mbps.
Broadband (0.97 / 10)
☀️ Climate
Averag yearly temperature is ☀️ 19 °C and hot. Current 3 months (December, January and February) average is ☀️ 19 °C and hot. Current season (winter) is ☀️ 19 °C and hot.
Yearly average | 19 °C ☀️ |
3 month average | 19 °C ☀️ |
Spring average | 19 °C ☀️ |
Summer average | 19 °C ☀️ |
Fall average | 19 °C ☀️ |
Winter average | 19 °C ☀️ |
About seasons: Remember that seasons in Southern Hemisphere are opposite of the Northern one. This means that in Argentina and Australia, winter begins in June. Currently season averages are rendered according Northern Hemisphere.
📈 Economics
In 2023, gross national income (GNI) was 14B $ and with %5.9 increase GNI per capita was 980 $. In 2023, consumer inflation was calculated as %19.8.
🏠 Cities6
🗺️ Map
Note
The data contained in this page is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. We gather our data from open resources and may contain outdated information. Make sure to verify these data from official resources of the respective country.