Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Rwanda -- a small and centralized country dominated by rugged hills and fertile volcanic soil -- has exerted disproportionate influence over the African Great Lakes region for centuries. A Rwandan kingdom increasingly dominated the region from the mid-18th century onward, with the Tutsi monarchs gradually extending the power of the royal court into peripheral areas and expanding their borders through military conquest.
- Capital
- Kigali
- Government
- presidential republic
- Population
- 13,623,302
- Area
- 26,338 sq km
- Location
- Central Africa, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, north of Burundi
- Climate
- temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible
- Natural resources
- gold; cassiterite (tin ore); wolframite (tungsten ore); methane; hydropower; arable land
- Languages
- Kinyarwanda (official; universal Bantu vernacular) 93.2%; French (official) <0.1%; English (official) <0.1%…
- Religions
- Catholic 39.9%; Pentecostal 21.3%; Protestant 14.6%; Adventist 12.2%…
- Independence
- 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)
- Administrative divisions
- 4 provinces (provinces, singular - province (French); intara for singular and plural (Kinyarwanda)) and 1 city* (ville (…
- Currency
- Rwandan francs (RWF)
- Export partners
- UAE 66%; China 10%; USA 3%; Kenya 3%…
- Import partners
- China 19%; Kenya 14%; Uganda 13%; Tanzania 9%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain