Nepal (2002) | Rwanda (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti | 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: 40% (male 5,346,422; female 5,007,416)
15-64 years: 56.4% (male 7,476,202; female 7,125,471) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 453,263; female 465,143) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.4% (male 1,555,878; female 1,544,942) 15-64 years: 54.73% (male 1,989,501; female 2,013,012) 65 years and over: 2.87% (male 83,769; female 125,654) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock |
Airports | 45 (2001) | 8 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2002) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 28 (2002) |
total:
4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 140,800 sq km
land: 136,800 sq km water: 4,000 sq km |
total:
26,338 sq km land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arkansas | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A maoist insugency, launched in 1996, has gained traction and is threatening to bring down the regime. Ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, were massacred in a family dispute in 2001. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. The country is now governed by the king and his appointed cabinet until elections can be held at some unspecified future date. | In 1959, three years before independence, 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 Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC). 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 | 32.94 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 33.97 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $665 million
expenditures: $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues:
$198 million expenditures: $411 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Kathmandu | Kigali |
Climate | varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 9 November 1990 | 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: Kingdom of Nepal
conventional short form: Nepal |
conventional long form:
Rwandese Republic conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda |
Currency | Nepalese rupee (NPR) | Rwandan franc (RWF) |
Death rate | 10.03 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 21.13 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.55 billion (FY00/01) | $1.3 billion (1999) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael E. MALINOWSKI
embassy: Panipokhari, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 411179 FAX: [977] (1) 419963 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador George M. STAPLES embassy: Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali telephone: [250] 756 01 through 03, 721 26, 771 47 FAX: [250] 721 28 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Jai Pratap RANA
chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534 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 | formed Joint Border committee with India in 2001 to resolve 53 disputed sections of boundary covering an area of 720 sq km; approximately 100,000 Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal, 90% of whom reside in seven UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees camps, place decades-long strains on Nepal | Rwandan military forces are supporting the rebel forces in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Economic aid - recipient | $424 million (FY00/01) | $591.5 million (1997); note - in summer 1998, Rwanda presented its policy objectives and development priorities to donor governments resulting in multiyear pledges in the amount of $250 million |
Economy - overview | Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with nearly half of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 41% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Textile and carpet production, accounteing for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in recent years, contracted significantly in 2001 due to the overall slowdown in the world economy and pressures by Maoist insurgents on factory owners and workers. Security concerns in the wake of Maoist activity, the June massacre of many members of the royal family, and the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US led to a decrease in tourism, another key source of foreign exchange. Agricultural production is growing by about 5% on average as compared with annual population growth of 2.3%. Since May 1991, the government has been moving forward with economic reforms, particularly those that encourage trade and foreign investment, e.g., by reducing business licenses and registration requirements to simplify investment procedures. The government has also been cutting expenditures by reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil servants. More recently, however, political instability - five different governments over the past few years - has hampered Kathmandu's ability to forge consensus to implement key economic reforms. Nepal has considerable scope for accelerating economic growth by exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely continue as a major ingredient of growth. | 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. 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. In June 1998, Rwanda signed an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) with the IMF. Rwanda has also embarked upon an ambitious privatization program with the World Bank. Continued growth in 2001 depends on the maintenance of international aid levels and the strengthening of world prices of coffee and tea. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.431 billion kWh (2000) | 191.8 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 95 million kWh (2000) | 1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 174 million kWh (2000) | 70 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.454 billion kWh (2000) | 132 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 10%
hydro: 90% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
3.03% hydro: 96.97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
lowest point:
Rusizi River 950 m highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995) | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% |
Exchange rates | Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 76.675 (January 2002), 74.961 (2001), 71.094 (2000), 68.239 (1999), 65.976 (1998), 58.010 (1997) | Rwandan francs per US dollar - 432.24 (January 2001), 389.70 (2000), 333.94 (1999) 312.31 (1998), 301.53 (1997), 306.82 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: King GYANENDRA Bir Bikram Shah (succeeded to the throne 4 June 2001 following the death of his nephew, King DIPENDRA Bir Bikram Shah)
head of government: Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur CHAND (since 11 October 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch note: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev died in a bloody shooting at the royal palace on 1 June 2001 that also claimed the lives of most of the royal family; King BIRENDRA's son, Crown Price DIPENDRA, is believed to have been responsible for the shootings before fatally wounding himself; immediately following the shootings and while still clinging to life, DIPENDRA was crowned king; he died three days later and was succeeded by his uncle |
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 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 | $757 million f.o.b., but does not include unrecorded border trade with India (FY00/01 est.) | $68.4 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore |
Exports - partners | India 48%, US 26%, Germany 11% (FY00/01) | Germany, Belgium, Pakistan, Italy, Kenya |
Fiscal year | 16 July - 15 July | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun | three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green with a large black letter R centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Guinea, which has a plain yellow band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $35.6 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 41%
industry: 22% services: 37% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
40% industry: 20% services: 40% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 5.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 28 00 N, 84 00 E | 2 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest - the world's tallest - on the border with China | landlocked; predominantly rural population |
Highways | total: 13,223 km
paved: 4,073 km unpaved: 9,150 km (April 1999) |
total:
12,000 km paved: 1,000 km unpaved: 11,000 km (1997 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 30% (1995-96) |
lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 24.2% (1983-85) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West | - |
Imports | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (FY00/01 est.) | $245.9 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material |
Imports - partners | India 39%, Singapore 10%, China/Hong Kong 9%, (FY00/01) | Kenya, Tanzania, US, Benelux, France, India |
Independence | 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah) | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.7% (FY99/00) | 8.7% (1998 est.) |
Industries | tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | 72.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 118.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.1% | 4% (2000) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 11,350 sq km (1998 est.) | 40 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Sarbochha Adalat (chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council; the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Council) | Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts |
Labor force | 10 million
note: severe lack of skilled labor (1996 est.) |
3.6 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 81%, services 16%, industry 3% | agriculture 90% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,926 km
border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 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: 20.27%
permanent crops: 0.49% other: 79.24% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
35% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 22% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995) | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers |
Legal system | based on Hindu legal concepts and English common 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 | note: Nepal's Parliament was dissolved on 22 May 2002 and elections are scheduled for 13 November 2002
bicameral Parliament consists of the National Council (60 seats; 35 appointed by the House of Representatives, 10 by the king, and 15 elected by an electoral college; one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (205 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 3 and 17 May 1999 (next to be held 13 November 2002) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NC 37.3%, CPN/UML 31.6%, NDP 10.4%, NSP 3.2%, Rastriya Jana Morcha 1.4%, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 0.8%, NWPP 0.5%, others 14.8%; seats by party - NC 113, CPN/UML 69, NDP 11, NSP 5, Rastriya Jana Morcha 5, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 1, NWPP 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 election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - 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: 58.61 years
male: 59.01 years female: 58.2 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
38.99 years male: 38.35 years female: 39.65 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 27.5% male: 40.9% female: 14% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 48% male: 52% female: 45% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, between China and India | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service), Nepalese Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $51.5 million (FY01) | $58 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY01) | 3.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 6,484,343 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,815,633 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 3,369,454 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
924,544 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 292,589 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Birthday of King GYANENDRA, 7 July (1946) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Nepalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Nepalese |
noun:
Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan |
Natural hazards | severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Natural resources | quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav Kumar NEPAL, general secretary]; National Democratic Party or NDP (also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP) [Surya Bahadur THAPA, chairman]; National People's Front (Rastriya Jana Morcha) [Chitra Bahadur, chairman]; Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP [Bhadri Prasad MANDAL, acting party president]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE, party chair]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA, party president, Sushil KOIRALA, general secretary]; Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal [Lila Mani POKHAREL, general secretary] | Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Jean-Nipomuscene NAYINZIRA]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [Charles NTAKIRUTINKA, Vincent BIRUTA, Augusin IYAMUREMYE]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [Adrien RANGIRA]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR [Celestin KABANDA, Emile NTWARABAKIGA, Christian MARARA]; Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Pie MUGABO, Enock KABERA, Prosper MUGIRANEZA]; Rwanda Patriotic Army or RPA [Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME, commander]; Rwanda Patriotic Front or FPR [Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME]; Rwandan Socialist Party or PSR [Medard RUTIJANWA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency; numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors |
Population | 25,873,917 (July 2002 est.) | 7,312,756
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 42% (FY95/96 est. ) | 70% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.29% (2002 est.) | 1.16% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (January 2000) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 840,000 (1997) | 601,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 59 km
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge note: all in Kosi close to Indian border (2001) |
0 km |
Religions | Hinduism 86.2%, Buddhism 7.8%, Islam 3.8%, other 2.2%
note: only official Hindu state in the world (1995) |
Roman Catholic 52.7%, Protestant 24%, Adventist 10.4%, Muslim 1.9%, indigenous beliefs and other 6.5%, none 4.5% (1996) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 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: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network
domestic: NA international: radiotelephone communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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; the remainder 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 | 236,816 (January 2000) | 15,000 (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA
note: however, Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east |
Total fertility rate | 4.48 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.89 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 47% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | note:
Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft |