Rwanda

'''Rwanda''' is a country in central Africa. It is bordered by Uganda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. The indigenous population consists of three ethnic groups. The Hutus, who comprise the majority of the population, are farmers of Bantu origin. The Tutsis are a pastoral people who arrived in the area in the 15th century. Until 1959, they formed the dominant caste under a feudal system based on cattleholding. The Twa are thought to be the remnants of the earliest settlers of the region.

Repubulika y'u Rwanda
Republique Rwandaise
Republic of Rwanda

Image:Rwanda flag large.png	Image:rwandaflag3.PNG
(In Detail)	(Full size)

National motto: Liberty, Cooperation, Progress

image:LocationRwanda.png

Official languages

French, Kinyarwanda, English, Swahili

Capital

Kigali

President

Paul Kagame

Prime Minister

Bernard Makuza

Area
- Total
- % water

Ranked 144th
26,338 km²
5.3%

Population
- Total
- Density

Ranked 91st
7,312,756
281/km²

Independence
- Declared

From Belgium
July 1, 1962

Currency

Rwandan franc

Time zone

UTC +2

National anthem

250

History

Main article: History of Rwanda The earliest known inhabitants of the region now known as Rwanda were the pygmy Twa. At later stages groups known as Hutus and Tutsis also settled in the same region. In 1895 Rwanda became a German colony. However at early stages the Germans were completely dependent on the indigenous government. The colonizers favoured Tutsis over Hutus, creating a bigger gap between the two than had existed before. After Germany's loss in World War I, the colony was taken over by Belgium. Belgian rule in the region was far more direct and far harsher than that of the Germans. Belgian forced labour policies were mainly enforced by Tutsis, further polarising the Hutu-Tutsi situation. After World War II Rwanda became a UN trust territory with Belgium as the administrative authority. Through a series of processes such as several reforms, the assassination of King Charles in 1959 and the fleeing of the last Tutsi monarch, King Kigeri V, to Uganda, the Hutu gained more and more power and upon Rwanda's independence in 1962, the Hutu held virtually all power. In 1990, the Tutsi-dominated Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) invaded Rwanda from their base in Uganda. The military government of Juvénal Habyarimana responded with genocidal programs against Tutsis, whom it claimed were trying to re-enslave the Hutus. Fighting continued until 1992, when the government and the RPF signed a cease-fire agreement known as the Arusha accords in Arusha, Tanzania. In 1994, President Habyarimana was killed in a plane crash and over the next two months, the military and militia groups killed over 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu moderates in the Rwandan Genocide. The RPF launched another invasion, and captured the northern part of the country by July. The war ended as the French peacekeepers secured the southern part of the country. Over 2 million Hutus fled the country after the war, fearing Tutsi retribution. Most have since returned, although some militias remain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and have become involved in that country's civil war.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Rwanda After its military victory in July 1994, the Rwandese Patriotic Front organized a coalition government similar to that established by President Juvénal Habyarimana in 1992. Called the Broad Based Government of National Unity, its fundamental law is based on a combination of the constitution, the 1993 Arusha accords, and political declarations by the parties. Habyarimana's National Movement for Democracy and Development was outlawed. Political organizing was banned until 2003. The first post-war presidential and legislative elections were held in August and September 2003, respectively.

Prefectures

Map of Rwanda Rwanda is divided into 12 prefectures:

Butare
Byumba
Cyangugu
Gikongoro
Gisenyi
Gitarama

Kibungo
Kibuye
Kigali
Kigali City
Umutara
Ruhengeri

Geography

Main article: Geography of Rwanda This small country is located near the centre of Africa, a few degrees south of the Equator. It is separated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley to the west; it is bounded on the north by Uganda, to the east by Tanzania, and to the south by Burundi. The capital, Kigali, is located in the centre of the country. Rwanda's countryside is covered by grasslands and small farms extending over rolling hills, with areas of rugged mountains that extend southeast from a chain of volcanoes in the northwest. The divide between the Congo and Nile drainage systems extends from north to south through western Rwanda at an average elevation of almost 9,000 feet. On the western slopes of this ridgeline, the land slopes abruptly toward Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley, and constitute part of the Great Rift Valley. The eastern slopes are more moderate, with rolling hills extending across central uplands at gradually reducing altitudes, to the plains, swamps, and lakes of the eastern border region.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Rwanda Rwanda is a rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa; is landlocked; and has few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary exports are coffee and tea.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Rwanda Rwanda's population density, even after the 1994 genocide, is among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly every family in this country with few villages lives in a self-contained compound on a hillside. The urban concentrations are grouped around administrative centers.

Rwanda

History

Politics

Prefectures

Geography

Economy

Demographics

Culture

Miscellaneous topics

External links

Further reading

rwanda.search.ipupdater.com