Rwanda (2001) | Uruguay (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 | 19 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Artigas, Canelones, Cerro Largo, Colonia, Durazno, Flores, Florida, Lavalleja, Maldonado, Montevideo, Paysandu, Rio Negro, Rivera, Rocha, Salto, San Jose, Soriano, Tacuarembo, Treinta y Tres |
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: 23% (male 403,745/female 390,623)
15-64 years: 63.8% (male 1,096,225/female 1,112,568) 65 years and over: 13.2% (male 184,303/female 273,143) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock | rice, wheat, corn, barley; livestock; fish |
Airports | 8 (2000 est.) | 60 (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: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 29 (2007) |
Area | total:
26,338 sq km land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than the state of Washington |
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. | Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to become an important commercial center. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose BATLLE in the early 20th century established widespread political, social, and economic reforms that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to cede control of the government to the military in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold over the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and Blanco parties. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent. |
Birth rate | 33.97 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$198 million expenditures: $411 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $5.56 billion
expenditures: $5.67 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Kigali | name: Montevideo
geographic coordinates: 34 53 S, 56 11 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in October; ends second Sunday in March |
Climate | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 660 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 | 27 November 1966, effective 15 February 1967; suspended 27 June 1973, new constitution rejected by referendum 30 November 1980; two constitutional reforms approved by plebiscite 26 November 1989 and 7 January 1997 |
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: Oriental Republic of Uruguay
conventional short form: Uruguay local long form: Republica Oriental del Uruguay local short form: Uruguay former: Banda Oriental, Cisplatine Province |
Currency | Rwandan franc (RWF) | - |
Death rate | 21.13 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.16 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (1999) | $11.74 billion (2006 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Frank BAXTER
embassy: Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo 11200 mailing address: APO AA 34035 telephone: [598] (2) 418-7777 FAX: [598] (2) 418-8611 |
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 Carlos Alberto GIANELLI Derois
chancery: 1913 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 331-1313 through 1316 FAX: [1] (202) 331-8142 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York consulate(s): San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | Rwandan military forces are supporting the rebel forces in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | in Jan 2007, ICJ provisionally ruled Uruguay may begin construction of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina, while the court examines further whether Argentina has the legal right to stop such construction with potential environmental implications to both countries; uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina |
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. | Uruguay's well-to-do economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated work force, and high levels of social spending. After averaging growth of 5% annually during 1996-98, in 1999-2002 the economy suffered a major downturn, stemming largely from the spillover effects of the economic problems of its large neighbors, Argentina and Brazil. For instance, in 2001-02 Argentina made massive withdrawals of dollars deposited in Uruguayan banks, which led to a plunge in the Uruguayan peso and a massive rise in unemployment. Total GDP in these four years dropped by nearly 20%, with 2002 the worst year due to the banking crisis. The unemployment rate rose to nearly 20% in 2002, inflation surged, and the burden of external debt doubled. Cooperation with the IMF helped stem the damage. A debt swap with private-sector creditors in 2003 extended the maturity dates on nearly half of Uruguay's then $11.3 billion of public debt and helped restore public confidence. The economy grew about 12% in 2004 as a result of high commodity prices for Uruguayan exports, a competitive peso, growth in the region, and low international interest rates, and it continued to grow nearly 7% annually in 2005 and 2006. |
Electricity - consumption | 191.8 million kWh (1999) | 6.509 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 1 million kWh (1999) | 841 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 70 million kWh (1999) | 1.585 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 132 million kWh (1999) | 7.558 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
3.03% hydro: 96.97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Rusizi River 950 m highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching | water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent) |
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) | Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 24.048 (2006), 24.479 (2005), 28.704 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 21.257 (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: President Tabare VAZQUEZ Rosas (since 1 March 2005); Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVOA (since 1 March 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tabare VAZQUEZ Rosas (since 1 March 2005); Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVOA (since 1 March 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president with parliamentary approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held in October 2009) election results: Tabare VAZQUEZ elected president; percent of vote - Tabare VAZQUEZ 50.5%, Jorge LARRANAGA 35.1%, Guillermo STIRLING 10.3%; other 4.1% |
Exports | $68.4 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore | meat, rice, leather products, wool, fish, dairy products |
Exports - partners | Germany, Belgium, Pakistan, Italy, Kenya | Brazil 15.1%, US 12.1%, Argentina 6.8%, Mexico 6.4%, China 6%, Germany 5%, Russia 4.9% (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 | nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and bottom) alternating with blue; there is a white square in the upper hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as the Sun of May with 16 rays that alternate between triangular and wavy |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 20% services: 40% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 31.6% services: 59.1% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $900 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.8% (2000 est.) | 7% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 30 00 E | 33 00 S, 56 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; predominantly rural population | second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising |
Highways | total:
12,000 km paved: 1,000 km unpaved: 11,000 km (1997 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 24.2% (1983-85) |
lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 34% (2003) |
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, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum |
Imports - partners | Kenya, Tanzania, US, Benelux, France, India | Argentina 20.4%, Brazil 17.1%, US 8.2%, Paraguay 7.1%, China 6.9%, Venezuela 4.8%, Nigeria 4.4% (2006) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.7% (1998 est.) | 12.6% (2006 est.) |
Industries | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 118.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 12.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2000) | 6.4% (2006 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 | CAN (associate), CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMEE, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1993 est.) | 2,100 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) |
Labor force | 3.6 million | 1.27 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90% | agriculture: 14%
industry: 16% services: 70% (2003) |
Land boundaries | total:
893 km border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
total: 1,648 km
border countries: Argentina 580 km, Brazil 1,068 km |
Land use | arable land:
35% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 22% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 7.77%
permanent crops: 0.24% other: 91.99% (2005) |
Languages | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) |
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 Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
bicameral General Assembly or Asamblea General consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; vice president has one vote in the Senate) and Chamber of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009); Chamber of Representatives - last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - EP-FA 16, Blanco 11, Colorado Party 3; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - EP-FA 52, Blanco 36, Colorado Party 10, Independent Party 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
38.99 years male: 38.35 years female: 39.65 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.93 years
male: 72.68 years female: 79.3 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 can read and write
total population: 98% male: 97.6% female: 98.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or edge of continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 14 ships (1000 GRT or over) 36,041 GRT/22,274 DWT
by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 4 (Argentina 3, Greece 1) registered in other countries: 7 (Argentina 1, Bahamas 1, Liberia 3, Spain 2) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Army, Navy (includes naval air arm, Marines, Maritime Prefecture in wartime), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Uruguaya, FAU) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $58 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.2% (FY01) | 1.6% (2006) |
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) | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun:
Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan |
noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo | seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind that blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts |
Natural resources | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries |
Net migration rate | -1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 257 km; oil 160 km (2006) |
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] | Broad Front Coalition (Frente Amplio) [Jorge BROVETTO] (formerly known as the Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition or EP-FA); Colorado Party [Julio Maria SANGUINETTI]; Independent Party (Partido Independiente) [Pablo MIERES]; Movement of Popular Participation or MPP [Jose MUJICA]; National Party or Blanco [Jorge LARRANAGA]; New Sector/Space Coalition (Nuevo Espacio) [Rafael MICHELINI]; Uruguayan Assembly or Asamblea Uruguay [Danilo ASTORI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors | Architect's Society of Uruguay (professional organization); Catholic Church; Chamber of Uruguayan Industries (manufacturer's association); Chemist and Pharmaceutical Association (professional organization); PIT-CNT (powerful federation of Uruguayan unions); Rural Association of Uruguay (rancher's association); students; Uruguayan Construction League |
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.) |
3,460,607 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2000 est.) | 27.37% of households (2006) |
Population growth rate | 1.16% (2001 est.) | 0.504% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 93, FM 191, shortwave 7 (2005) |
Radios | 601,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,073 km
standard gauge: 2,073 km 1.435-m gauge note: 461 km have been taken out of service and 460 km are in partial use (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52.7%, Protestant 24%, Adventist 10.4%, Muslim 1.9%, indigenous beliefs and other 6.5%, none 4.5% (1996) | Roman Catholic 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.034 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.985 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female total population: 0.948 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: fully digitalized
domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network international: country code - 598; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 15,000 (1995) | 987,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA
note: however, Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2000) |
2.333 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 62 (2005) |
Terrain | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 4.89 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.97 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 10.8% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | note:
Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft |
1,600 km (2005) |