Niue (2001) | Rwanda (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages each with its own village council whose members are elected and serve three-year terms | 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:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
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 | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 8 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Area | total:
260 sq km land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to 2,100 in 2000) with substantial emigration to New Zealand. | 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 | NA births/1,000 population | 33.28 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $199.3 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Alofi | Kigali |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible |
Coastline | 64 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) | 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:
none conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
conventional long form: Rwandese Republic
conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda |
Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | Rwandan franc (RWF) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 21.39 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.3 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) | 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 | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) | 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 | none | 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 | $8.3 million (1995) | $372.9 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry. | 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 | 2.8 million kWh (1999) | 174.09 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 70 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 3 million kWh (1999) | 113 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
Environment - current issues | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture | 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 signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.2502 (January 2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998), 1.5082 (1997), 1.4543 (1996) | 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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000) head of government: Premier Sani LAKATANI (since 1 April 1999) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 19 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2002) election results: Sani LAKATANI elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA% |
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 | $117,500 (f.o.b., 1989) | $61 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore |
Exports - partners | NZ 89%, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia | EU 56.9%, Pakistan 12.3%, US 9.2%, China 4.4% Malaysia 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross | 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 - $4.5 million (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.2 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 46%
industry: 20% services: 34% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 02 S, 169 52 W | 2 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | one of world's largest coral islands | landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural |
Highways | total:
234 km paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (106 km of which is access and plantation road) (2001) |
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%
highest 10%: 24% (1983-85) |
Imports | $4.1 million (c.i.f., 1989) | $248 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material |
Imports - partners | NZ 59%, Fiji 20%, Japan 13%, Samoa, Australia, US | Kenya 29.4%, EU 28%, US 10%, India 4.4%, Tanzania 2.2% (2000 est.) |
Independence | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7% (2001 est.) |
Industries | tourism, handicrafts, food processing | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | NA deaths/1,000 live births | 117.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (1995) | 5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO | 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) | 1 (2000) | 2 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 40 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue | Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts |
Labor force | 450 (1992 est.) | 3.6 million |
Labor force - by occupation | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board | 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:
19% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 19% other: 50% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 32.43%
permanent crops: 10.13% other: 57.44% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Polynesian closely related to Tongan and Samoan, English | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers |
Legal system | 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 | unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 19 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11 |
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:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 38.66 years
male: 38.14 years female: 39.2 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 48% male: 52% female: 45% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga | 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 | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | - |
Military branches | Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $58 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 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 | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
Niuean(s) adjective: Niuean |
noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan |
Natural hazards | typhoons | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Natural resources | fish, arable land | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Sani LAKATANI] | 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 | 2,124 (July 2001 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 | NA% | 70% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.5% (2001 est.) | 1.16% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | 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 | 1,000 (1997) | 601,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) | 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: 1.01 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:
primitive system domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island international: NA |
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 | 376 (1991) | 11,000 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1991) | 11,000 (1999)
note: Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | NA |
Terrain | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 4.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | none | note: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft |