Rwanda (2001) | Saint Kitts and Nevis (2007) | |
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 | 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point |
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: 27.2% (male 5,472/female 5,218)
15-64 years: 64.9% (male 12,779/female 12,752) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 1,300/female 1,828) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock | sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish |
Airports | 8 (2000 est.) | 2 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
26,338 sq km land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
land: 261 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. | First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Nevis continues in its efforts to try and separate from Saint Kitts. |
Birth rate | 33.97 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.89 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$198 million expenditures: $411 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $89.7 million
expenditures: $128.2 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Kigali | name: Basseterre
geographic coordinates: 17 18 N, 62 43 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible | tropical, tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 135 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 September 1983 |
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: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
Currency | Rwandan franc (RWF) | - |
Death rate | 21.13 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.16 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (1999) | $314 million (2004) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Izben Cordinal WILLIAMS
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | Rwandan military forces are supporting the rebel forces in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea |
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 | $NA (2005) |
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. | Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the Saint Kitts economy until the 1970s. The government closed the sugar industry following the 2005 harvest after decades of losses at the state-run sugar company. To compensate, the government has embarked on a program to diversify the agricultural sector and to stimulate other sectors of the economy. Activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy. Tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange; about 341,800 tourists visited Nevis in 2005. Additional tourist facilities, including a second cruise ship pier, hotels, and golf courses are under construction. |
Electricity - consumption | 191.8 million kWh (1999) | 116.3 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 1 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 70 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 132 million kWh (1999) | 125 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
3.03% hydro: 96.97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Rusizi River 950 m highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching | NA |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% | predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese |
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) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002) |
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); represented by Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995); Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | $68.4 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco |
Exports - partners | Germany, Belgium, Pakistan, Italy, Kenya | US 61.9%, Canada 9.4%, Netherlands 6.6%, Azerbaijan 5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 20% services: 40% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.8% services: 70.7% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $900 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.8% (2000 est.) | 4.9% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 30 00 E | 17 20 N, 62 45 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; predominantly rural population | with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island |
Highways | total:
12,000 km paved: 1,000 km unpaved: 11,000 km (1997 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 24.2% (1983-85) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity |
Imports | $245.9 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels |
Imports - partners | Kenya, Tanzania, US, Benelux, France, India | US 49.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.3%, UK 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) | 19 September 1983 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.7% (1998 est.) | NA% |
Industries | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes | tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 118.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 13.74 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2000) | 8.7% (2005 est.) |
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, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) |
Labor force | 3.6 million | 18,170 (June 1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90% | - |
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: 19.44%
permanent crops: 2.78% other: 77.78% (2005) |
Languages | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers | 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 | based on English common law |
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 National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 25 October 2004 (next to be held by 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SKNLP 7, CCM 2, NRP 1, PAM 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
38.99 years male: 38.35 years female: 39.65 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.66 years
male: 69.81 years female: 75.69 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 48% male: 52% female: 45% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.8% male: NA% female: NA% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 104 ships (1000 GRT or over) 465,056 GRT/663,511 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 66, chemical tanker 8, container 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: 76 (Belgium 1, Egypt 2, Estonia 1, Greece 2, India 1, Iran 1, Latvia 4, Monaco 1, Romania 1, Russia 14, Spain 1, Syria 5, Tanzania 1, Turkey 13, Ukraine 5, UAE 22, Yemen 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (includes Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $58 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.2% (FY01) | NA |
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.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Independence Day, 19 September (1983) |
Nationality | noun:
Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan |
noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo | hurricanes (July to October) |
Natural resources | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land | arable land |
Net migration rate | -1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
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] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsay GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS] |
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.) |
39,349 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.16% (2001 est.) | 0.623% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2003) |
Radios | 601,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 50 km
narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts for tourists (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52.7%, Protestant 24%, Adventist 10.4%, Muslim 1.9%, indigenous beliefs and other 6.5%, none 4.5% (1996) | Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic |
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.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.049 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.002 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.711 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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) |
general assessment: good inter-island and international connections
domestic: inter-island links via Eastern Caribbean Fiber Optic cable; construction of enhanced wireless infrastructure launched in November 2004 international: country code - 1-869; international calls are carried by submarine cable or Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,000 (1995) | 25,000 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA
note: however, Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2000) |
10,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (plus 3 repeaters) (2003) |
Terrain | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east | volcanic with mountainous interiors |
Total fertility rate | 4.89 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.29 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 4.5% (1997) |
Waterways | note:
Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft |
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