New Caledonia (2001) | Rwanda (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud | 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:
30.31% (male 31,674; female 30,416) 15-64 years: 63.95% (male 66,014; female 65,006) 65 years and over: 5.74% (male 5,548; female 6,205) (2001 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 | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 8 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
6 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
23 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
total:
4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
19,060 sq km land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
total:
26,338 sq km land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s seems to have dissipated. | 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 | 20.37 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 33.97 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$861.3 million expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
revenues:
$198 million expenditures: $411 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Noumea | Kigali |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible |
Coastline | 2,254 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 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:
Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
conventional long form:
Rwandese Republic conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda |
Currency | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF) | Rwandan franc (RWF) |
Death rate | 5.62 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.13 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $79 million (1998 est.) | $1.3 billion (1999) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of France since 1956 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of France) | 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 | none (overseas territory of France) | 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 | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu | Rwandan military forces are supporting the rebel forces in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Economic aid - recipient | $880 million annual subsidy from France | $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 | New Caledonia has more than 20% of the world's known nickel resources. In recent years, the economy has suffered because of depressed international demand for nickel, the principal source of export earnings. Only a negligible amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, the substantial financial support from France and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. The situation in 1998 was clouded by the spillover of financial problems in East Asia and by lower prices for nickel. Nickel prices jumped in 1999-2000, and large additions were made to capacity. French Government interests in the New Caledonian nickel industry are being transferred to local ownership. | 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 | 1.414 billion kWh (1999) | 191.8 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 70 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.52 billion kWh (1999) | 132 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
78.95% hydro: 21.05% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
3.03% hydro: 96.97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
lowest point:
Rusizi River 950 m highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
Environment - current issues | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires | 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, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% |
Exchange rates | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 127.11 (January 2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998), 106.11 (1997), 93.00 (1996); note - linked at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro | 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:
President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Thierry LATASTE (since 19 July 1999) head of government: President of the Government Jean LEQUES (since 28 May 1999) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress |
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 | $411 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $68.4 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore |
Exports - partners | Japan 27%, France 17%, Taiwan 12%, South Korea 9% (1999) | Germany, Belgium, Pakistan, Italy, Kenya |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 - $3 billion (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 30% services: 66% (1997 est.) |
agriculture:
40% industry: 20% services: 40% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (1998 est.) | 5.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 S, 165 30 E | 2 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; predominantly rural population |
Heliports | 6 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
4,825 km paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
total:
12,000 km paved: 1,000 km unpaved: 11,000 km (1997 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 24.2% (1983-85) |
Imports | $843 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $245.9 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | transport equipment, machinery and electrical equipment, fuels, minerals, wine, sugar, rice | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material |
Imports - partners | France 49%, Australia 14%, Singapore 6%, New Zealand 5%, US 5% (1999) | Kenya, Tanzania, US, Benelux, France, India |
Independence | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.6% (1996) | 8.7% (1998 est.) |
Industries | nickel mining and smelting | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 118.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (1998 est.) | 4% (2000) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO | 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) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 160 sq km (1991) | 40 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court | Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts |
Labor force | 79,395 (including 15, 018 unemployed, 1996) | 3.6 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) | agriculture 90% |
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:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 12% forests and woodland: 39% other: 49% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
35% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 22% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers |
Legal system | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French 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 | unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members are members of the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR 24, FLNKS 12, UNI 6, FCCI 4, FN 4, Alliance pour la Caledonie 3, LKS 1 note: New Caledonia elects 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held NA September 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May-1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2 |
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:
73.02 years male: 70.08 years female: 76.11 years (2001 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: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 48% male: 52% female: 45% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | French Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $192.3 million (1996) | $58 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.3% (1996) | 3.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,815,633 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
924,544 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
New Caledonian(s) adjective: New Caledonian |
noun:
Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan |
Natural hazards | cyclones, most frequent from November to March | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Natural resources | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance pour la Caledonie [Didier LEROUX]; Developper Ensemble pour Construire l'Avenir or DEPCA [Robert FROUIN]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Leopald SOREDIE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Groupe de l'Alliance Multiraciale or GAM [Dany DALMAYRAE]; Independance et Progres [Alphonse PUJAPUJANE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [Rock WAMYTAN] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); La Caledonie Autrement [Denis MILLIARD]; Loyalty Islands Development Front or FDIL [Cono HAMU]; National Front or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Charles WASHETINE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic or RPCR [Jacques LAFLEUR]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [leader NA]; Renouveau [Thierry VALET]; Socialist Kanak Liberation or LKS [Nidoish NAISSELINE]; Union Caledonienne or UC [Bernard LEPEU]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Andre GOPEA] | 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 | NA | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors |
Population | 204,863 (July 2001 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 | NA% | 70% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.48% (2001 est.) | 1.16% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mueo, Noumea, Thio | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 107,000 (1997) | 601,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% | 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 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:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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 | 47,000 (1997) | 15,000 (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13,040 (1998) | NA
note: however, Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plains with interior mountains | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east |
Total fertility rate | 2.48 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.89 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 19% (1996) | NA% |
Waterways | none | note:
Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft |