Ghana (2008) | Rwanda (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western | 12 prefectures (in French - prefectures, singular - prefecture; in Kinyarwanda - plural - NA, singular - prefegitura); Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Kigali Rurale, Kigali-ville, Umutara, Ruhengeri |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.2% (male 4,438,308/female 4,329,293)
15-64 years: 58.2% (male 6,661,512/female 6,687,738) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 380,495/female 433,953) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.7% (male 1,550,141; female 1,539,375)
15-64 years: 55.4% (male 2,039,573; female 2,057,059) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 84,030; female 127,896) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock |
Airports | 12 (2007) | 8 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 7
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Area | total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, RAWLINGS won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR succeeded him and was re-elected in 2004. Kufuor is constitutionally barred from running for a third term in upcoming Presidential elections, which are scheduled for December 2008. | 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 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 Zaire. Since then most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output and to foster reconciliation. A series of massive population displacements, a nagging Hutu extremist insurgency, and Rwandan involvement in two wars over the past four years in the neighboring DROC continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts. |
Birth rate | 29.85 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 33.28 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.347 billion
expenditures: $5.197 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $199.3 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Accra
geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Kigali |
Climate | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible |
Coastline | 539 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | approved 28 April 1992 | on 5 May 1995, the Transitional National Assembly adopted as Fundamental Law the constitution of 18 June 1991, provisions of the 1993 Arusha peace accord, the July 1994 Declaration by the Rwanda Patriotic Front, and the November 1994 multiparty protocol of understanding |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
conventional long form: Rwandese Republic
conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda |
Currency | - | Rwandan franc (RWF) |
Death rate | 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 21.39 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.387 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $1.3 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER
embassy: 24 4th Circular Rd. Cantonments, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 741-000 FAX: [233] (21) 741-389 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Margaret K. McMILLION
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 Dr. Kwame BAWUAH-EDUSEI
chancery: 1156 15th St. NW #905, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1379 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard SEZIBERA
chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544 |
Disputes - international | Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire | Tutsi, Hutu and other ethnic groups, political rebels, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.316 billion in loans and grants (2007) | $372.9 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold and cocoa production, and individual remittances, are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around agriculture, which accounts for about 35% of GDP and employs about 55% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002, and is also benefiting from the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative that took effect in 2006. Thematic priorities under its current Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy, which also provides the framework for development partner assistance, are: macroeconomic stability; private sector competitiveness; human resource development; and good governance and civic responsibility. Sound macro-economic management along with high prices for gold and cocoa helped sustain GDP growth in 2007. Ghana signed a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact in 2006, which aims to assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural sector. | 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; landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary exports 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 significant progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy. GDP has rebounded, and inflation has been curbed. Rwanda received approval for debt relief from the IMF in late 2000 and continued to make progress on inflation, privatization, and GDP growth in 2001. However, export earnings were hindered by low global coffee prices, depriving the country of much needed hard currency. President KAGAME is encouraging investors to take advantage of export opportunities in Rwanda based on its membership in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) free trade area and its access to the US and the EU markets through preferential trade agreements. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.906 billion kWh (2007 est.) | 174.09 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 256 million kWh (2007 est.) | 1 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 461 million kWh (2007 est.) | 70 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 7.042 billion kWh (2007 est.) | 113 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
Environment - current issues | recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water | 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Akan 45.3%, Mole-Dagbon 15.2%, Ewe 11.7%, Ga-Dangme 7.3%, Guan 4%, Gurma 3.6%, Grusi 2.6%, Mande-Busanga 1%, other tribes 1.4%, other 7.8% (2000 census) | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% |
Exchange rates | cedis per US dollar - 0.95 (2007), 9,174.8 (2006), 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003) | Rwandan francs per US dollar - 456.81 (January 2002), 442.99 (2001), 389.70 (2000), 333.94 (1999) 312.31 (1998), 301.53 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject to approval by Parliament elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2008) election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR reelected president in election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 52.4%, John ATTA-MILLS 44.6% |
chief of state: President Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME (FPR) (since 22 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: normally the president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; special election for new president by deputies of the National Assembly and governmental ministers held 17 April 2000 (next national election to be held NA June 2003); prime minister is appointed by the president election results: Paul KAGAME (FPR) elected president in a special parliamentary/ministerial ballot receiving 81 of a possible 86 votes |
Exports | 8,041 bbl/day (2004) | $61 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds, horticulture | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 11.3%, UK 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.7%, Belgium 5.2%, France 4.4% (2006) | EU 56.9%, Pakistan 12.3%, US 9.2%, China 4.4% Malaysia 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow 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 | - | purchasing power parity - $7.2 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 37.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 37.5% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 46%
industry: 20% services: 34% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2007 est.) | 5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 2 00 W | 2 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake | landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural |
Highways | - | total: 12,000 km
paved: 1,000 km unpaved: 11,000 km (1997 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1999) |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 24% (1983-85) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; major transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and, to a lesser extent, South American cocaine destined for Europe and the US; widespread crime and money laundering problem, but the lack of a well developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money laundering center; significant domestic cocaine and cannabis use | - |
Imports | 45,010 bbl/day (2004) | $248 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material |
Imports - partners | Nigeria 16.7%, China 13%, UK 5.7%, Belgium 4.7%, US 4.7%, South Africa 4.1%, France 4.1% (2006) | Kenya 29.4%, EU 28%, US 10%, India 4.4%, Tanzania 2.2% (2000 est.) |
Independence | 6 March 1957 (from UK) | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.4% (2007 est.) | 7% (2001 est.) |
Industries | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | total: 53.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
117.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2007 est.) | 5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 310 sq km (2003) | 40 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts |
Labor force | 11.29 million (2007 est.) | 3.6 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 56%
industry: 15% services: 29% (2005 est.) |
agriculture 90% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 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: 17.54%
permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005) |
arable land: 32.43%
permanent crops: 10.13% other: 57.44% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other 36.1% (includes English (official)) (2000 census) | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers |
Legal system | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | 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 | unicameral Parliament (230 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December in 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 128, NDC 94, PNC 4, CPP 3, independent 1 |
unicameral Transitional National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale de Transition (a power-sharing body with 70 seats established on 12 December 1994 following a multiparty protocol of understanding; members were named by their parties, number of seats per party predetermined by the Arusha peace accord)
note: four additional seats, two for women and two for youth, added in 2001 elections: the last national legislative elections were held 16 December 1988 for the National Development Council (the legislature prior to the advent of the Transitional National Assembly); no elections have been held for the Transitional National Assembly as the distribution of seats was predetermined by the Arusha peace accord (next to be held NA June 2003) election results: seats by party under the Arusha peace accord - FPR 13, MDR 13, PSD 13, PL 13, PDC 6, RPA 6, PSR 2, PDI 2, UDPR 2; note - the distribution of seats was predetermined, four additional seats (two for women and two for youth) added in 2001 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 59.12 years
male: 58.31 years female: 59.95 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 38.66 years
male: 38.14 years female: 39.2 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.9% male: 66.4% female: 49.8% (2000 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 48% male: 52% female: 45% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,032 GRT/7,282 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Brazil 1) (2007) |
- |
Military branches | Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2007) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $58 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2006 est.) | 3.1% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,858,443 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 946,990 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan |
Natural hazards | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Natural resources | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2007) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Convention People's Party or CPP [Ladi NYLANDER]; Democratic Freedom Party or DFP [Alhaji Abudu Rahman ISSAKAH]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTEY]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Kwabena ADJEI]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Peter MAC-MANU]; People's National Convention or PNC [Alhaji Amed RAMADAN]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU]; United Renaissance Party or URP [Charles WAYO] | Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Jean-Nipomuscene NAYINZIRA]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [leader NA]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [leader NA]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR [Celestin KABANDA]; Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Pie MUGABO]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned) [Pasteur BIZIMURGI and Charilg NTAKIROTINKA]; Rwanda Patriotic Army or RPA [Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME, commander]; Rwanda Patriotic Front or FPR [Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME]; Rwandan Socialist Party or PSR [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors |
Population | 22,931,299
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.) |
7,398,074
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 28.5% (2007 est.) | 70% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.972% (2007 est.) | 1.16% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 86, shortwave 3 (2007) | AM 0, FM 3 (two main FM programs are broadcast through a system of repeaters and the third FM program is a 24 hour BBC program), shortwave 1 (2002) |
Radios | - | 601,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | Christian 68.8% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 24.1%, Protestant 18.6%, Catholic 15.1%, other 11%), Muslim 15.9%, traditional 8.5%, other 0.7%, none 6.1% (2000 census) | Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.025 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.996 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 1.003 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: fixed-line infrastructure outdated and unreliable; competition among multiple mobile-cellular providers has spurred growth with subscribership about 25 per 100 persons and rising
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed international: country code - 233; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors |
general assessment: telephone system primarily serves business and government
domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the prefectures by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone international: 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 | 356,400 (2006) | 11,000 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.207 million (2006) | 11,000 (1999)
note: Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (2007) | NA |
Terrain | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east |
Total fertility rate | 3.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 1,293 km
note: 168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta (2007) |
note: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft |