Antigua and Barbuda (2006) | Rwanda (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip | 5 provinces (in French - provinces, singular - province; in Kinyarwanda - prefigintara for singular and plural); East, Kigali, North, South, West |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.6% (male 9,716/female 9,375)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 23,801/female 23,524) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 1,020/female 1,672) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 2,082,474/female 2,065,251)
15-64 years: 55.7% (male 2,748,189/female 2,765,767) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 98,796/female 147,032) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock |
Airports | 3 (2006) | 9 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Area | total: 442.6 sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km)
land: 442.6 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km |
total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak Indians populated the islands when Columbus landed on his second voyage in 1493. Early settlements by the Spanish and French were succeeded by the English who formed a colony in 1667. Slavery, established to run the sugar plantations on Antigua, was abolished in 1834. The islands became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. | 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. |
Birth rate | 16.93 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 40.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $123.7 million
expenditures: $145.9 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $682.4 million
expenditures: $714.6 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
Capital | name: Saint John's
geographic coordinates: 17 06 N, 61 51 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Kigali
geographic coordinates: 1 57 S, 30 04 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible |
Coastline | 153 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 November 1981 | new constitution passed by referendum 26 May 2003 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
conventional long form: Republic of Rwanda
conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda, German East Africa |
Death rate | 5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 14.91 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $427.3 million; note - data are for public external debt, not total external debt (2000) | $1.4 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Antigua and Barbuda (embassy closed 30 June 1994); the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael ARIETTI
embassy: 337 Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali telephone: [250] 50 56 01 through 03 FAX: [250] 57 2128 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Deborah Mae LOVELL
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 362-5122 FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225 consulate(s) general: Miami |
chief of mission: Ambassador Zac NSENGA
chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544 |
Disputes - international | none | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.65 million (2004) | $576 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Tourism continues to dominate the economy, accounting for more than half of GDP. Weak tourist arrival numbers since early 2000 have slowed the economy, however, and pressed the government into a tight fiscal corner. The dual-island nation's agricultural production is focused on the domestic market and constrained by a limited water supply and a labor shortage stemming from the lure of higher wages in tourism and construction. Manufacturing comprises enclave-type assembly for export with major products being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components. Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income growth in the industrialized world, especially in the US, which accounts for slightly more than one-third of tourist arrivals. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 93 million kWh (2003) | 198.4 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 10 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 120 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 100 million kWh (2003) | 95 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m |
lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
Environment - current issues | water management - a major concern because of limited natural fresh water resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian | Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 15%, Twa (Pygmy) 1% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
Rwandan francs per US dollar - 560 (2006), 610 (2005), 574.62 (2004), 537.66 (2003), 476.33 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir James B. CARLISLE (since 10 June 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Winston Baldwin SPENCER (since 24 March 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general chosen by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
chief of state: President Paul KAGAME (since 22 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: 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) election results: Paul KAGAME elected president in first direct popular vote; Paul KAGAME 95.05%, Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU 3.62%, Jean-Nepomuscene NAYINZIRA 1.33% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore |
Exports - partners | Spain 34%, Germany 20.7%, Italy 7.7%, Singapore 5.8%, UK 4.9% (2005) | China 10.3%, Germany 9.7%, US 4.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red, with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white, with a yellow rising sun in the black band | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 22% services: 74.3% (2002) |
agriculture: 39.9%
industry: 20.3% services: 39.7% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (2005 est.) | 5.8% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 03 N, 61 48 W | 2 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has a very large western harbor | landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 38.2% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as an offshore financial center | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material |
Imports - partners | US 21.1%, China 16.4%, Germany 13.3%, Singapore 12.7%, Spain 6.5% (2005) | Kenya 19.6%, Germany 7.8%, Uganda 6.8%, Belgium 5.1% (2006) |
Independence | 1 November 1981 (from UK) | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (1997 est.) | 7% (2001 est.) |
Industries | tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | total: 18.86 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 85.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.41 deaths/1,000 live births female: 79.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.9% (2005 est.) | 8.8% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, EAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 90 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction); member Caribbean Court of Justice | Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees |
Labor force | 30,000 | 4.6 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 7%
industry: 11% services: 82% (1983) |
agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 893 km
border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
Land use | arable land: 18.18%
permanent crops: 4.55% other: 77.27% (2005) |
arable land: 45.56%
permanent crops: 10.25% other: 44.19% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), local dialects | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers |
Legal system | based on English common law | 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 |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (17-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Representatives (17 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 23 March 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ALP 4, UPP 13 |
bicameral Parliament consists of Senate (26 seats; 12 members elected by local councils, 8 appointed by the president, 4 by the Political Organizations Forum, 2 represent institutions of higher learning; to serve eight-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies (80 seats; 53 members elected by popular vote, 24 women elected by local bodies, 3 selected by youth and disability organizations; to serve five-year terms)
elections: 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) election results: seats by party under the 2003 Constitution - RPF 40, PSD 7, PL 6, additional 27 members indirectly elected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.16 years
male: 69.78 years female: 74.66 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 48.99 years
male: 47.87 years female: 50.16 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 85.8% male: NA% female: NA% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.4% male: 76.3% female: 64.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 1,011 ships (1000 GRT or over) 7,452,503 GRT/9,783,309 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 40, cargo 596, chemical tanker 7, container 321, liquefied gas 11, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 21 foreign-owned: 984 (Australia 1, Bangladesh 4, Belgium 4, Colombia 2, Denmark 14, Estonia 12, France 1, Germany 858, Iceland 8, Isle of Man 2, Latvia 5, Lebanon 1, Lithuania 3, Netherlands 14, Norway 11, NZ 1, Poland 3, Russia 6, Singapore 1, Slovenia 6, Switzerland 4, Turkey 8, UK 7, US 7, Vietnam 1) (2006) |
- |
Military branches | Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force (2006) | Rwandan Defense Forces: Army, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 2.9% (2006 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day (National Day), 1 November (1981) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)
adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Natural resources | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | -6.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 2.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
People - note | - | Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa |
Political parties and leaders | Antigua Labor Party or ALP [Lester Bryant BIRD]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK]; National Democratic Congress [Tillman THOMAS]; United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three opposition parties - Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, Progressive Labor Movement or PLM, United National Democratic Party or UNDP) | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors |
Population | 69,108 (July 2006 est.) | 9,907,509
note: 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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 60% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.55% (2006 est.) | 2.766% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | 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) |
Religions | Christian (predominantly Anglican with other Protestant, and some Roman Catholic) | Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.008 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.994 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.672 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: good automatic telephone system international: country code - 1-268; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 2; tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe |
general assessment: telephone system primarily serves business and government
domestic: 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 international: 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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 38,000 (2004) | 22,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 54,000 (2004) | 290,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 2 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east |
Total fertility rate | 2.24 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 5.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2006) |