Rwanda (2001) | Niue (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 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 | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 8 (2000 est.) | 1 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
26,338 sq km land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | 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 about 2,100 in 2002) with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 33.97 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues:
$198 million expenditures: $411 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Kigali | Alofi |
Climate | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 64 km |
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 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Rwandese Republic conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | Rwandan franc (RWF) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 21.13 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (1999) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | Rwandan military forces are supporting the rebel forces in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $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 | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
Economy - overview | 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. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. 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, although Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 will be about $2.6 million. |
Electricity - consumption | 191.8 million kWh (1999) | 2.79 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 1 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 70 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 132 million kWh (1999) | 3 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
3.03% hydro: 96.97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Rusizi River 950 m highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) |
Exchange rates | Rwandan francs per US dollar - 432.24 (January 2001), 389.70 (2000), 333.94 (1999) 312.31 (1998), 301.53 (1997), 306.82 (1996) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.3535 (January 2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998), 1.5082 (1997) |
Executive branch | 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 |
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 Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) 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 1 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2005) election results: Young VIVIAN elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 70%, Hunukitama HUNUKI (AI)30% |
Exports | $68.4 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $137,200 (1999) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Germany, Belgium, Pakistan, Italy, Kenya | NZ mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | 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 | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 20% services: 40% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 55% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.8% (2000 est.) | -0.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 30 00 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; predominantly rural population | one of world's largest coral islands |
Highways | total:
12,000 km paved: 1,000 km unpaved: 11,000 km (1997 est.) |
total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (106 km of which is access and plantation road) (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 24.2% (1983-85) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $245.9 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $2.38 million (1999) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | Kenya, Tanzania, US, Benelux, France, India | NZ mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.7% (1998 est.) | NA% |
Industries | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 118.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2000) | 1% (1995) (1995) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 3.6 million | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90% | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
Land boundaries | total:
893 km border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
35% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 22% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 19.23%
permanent crops: 7.69% other: 73.08% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | 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 | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
Legislative branch | 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 |
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 21 March 2002 (next to be held in March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
38.99 years male: 38.35 years female: 39.65 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 48% male: 52% female: 45% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $58 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 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 | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun:
Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo | typhoons |
Natural resources | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | -1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors | NA |
Population | 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.) |
2,134 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.16% (2001 est.) | 0.5% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 601,000 (1997) | 1,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52.7%, Protestant 24%, Adventist 10.4%, Muslim 1.9%, indigenous beliefs and other 6.5%, none 4.5% (1996) | 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) |
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: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,000 (1995) | 376 (1991) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA
note: however, Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2000) |
0 (1991) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 4.89 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | note:
Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft |
none |