Rwanda (2002) | Guadeloupe (2006) | |
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 (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 23.6% (male 54,725/female 52,348)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 150,934/female 153,094) 65 years and over: 9.2% (male 17,353/female 24,322) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock | bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs, goats |
Airports | 8 (2001) | 9 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 8
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
total: 1,780 sq km
land: 1,706 sq km water: 74 sq km note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint-Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | 10 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The island of Saint Martin is shared with the Netherlands; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles and its northern portion is named Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe |
Birth rate | 33.28 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 15.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $199.3 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $637.7 million
expenditures: $680.1 million; including capital expenditures of $112.5 million (2002) |
Capital | Kigali | name: Basse-Terre
geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 61 44 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 | subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 306 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 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Department of Guadeloupe
conventional short form: Guadeloupe local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe local short form: Guadeloupe |
Currency | Rwandan franc (RWF) | - |
Death rate | 21.39 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.09 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $372.9 million (1999) | $NA; note - substantial annual French subsidies (2004) |
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; 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. | This Caribbean economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on imported food, mainly from France. Light industry features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young. Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 174.09 million kWh (2000) | 1.084 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 1 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 70 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 113 million kWh (2000) | 1.165 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,484 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, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
- |
Ethnic groups | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% | black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5% |
Exchange rates | Rwandan francs per US dollar - 456.81 (January 2002), 442.99 (2001), 389.70 (2000), 333.94 (1999) 312.31 (1998), 301.53 (1997) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 j(2001) |
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 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 |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean-Jacques BROT (since 12 June 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Jacques GILLOT (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Victorin LUREL (since 2 April 2004) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils election results: NA |
Exports | $61 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore | bananas, sugar, rum, melons, spring water |
Exports - partners | EU 56.9%, Pakistan 12.3%, US 9.2%, China 4.4% Malaysia 4.4% (2000 est.) | France 60%, Martinique 18%, US 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | unofficial, local flag based upon the arms of the city of Pointe-a-Pitre; the field is divided horizontally with a narrow, blue stripe along the top edge charged with three gold fleurs-de-lis; the wider, lower portion of the field is black and charged with green sugar cane leaves - representing one of Guadeloupe's main crops - surmounted by a gold radiant sun representing the tropical climate; the only official flag is the national flag of France |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.2 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 46%
industry: 20% services: 34% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 17% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 30 00 E | 16 15 N, 61 35 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural | a narrow channel, the Riviere Salee, divides Guadeloupe proper into two islands: the larger, western Basse-Terre and the smaller, eastern Grande-Terre |
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%
highest 10%: 24% (1983-85) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $248 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material | foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | Kenya 29.4%, EU 28%, US 10%, India 4.4%, Tanzania 2.2% (2000 est.) | France 63%, Germany 4%, US 3%, Japan 2%, Netherlands Antilles 2% (2004) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Industries | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes | construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 117.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 8.41 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (2001 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | 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 | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1998 est.) | 60 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique |
Labor force | 3.6 million | 191,400 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90% | agriculture: 15%
industry: 20% services: 65% (2002) |
Land boundaries | total: 893 km
border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
total: 15 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km |
Land use | arable land: 32.43%
permanent crops: 10.13% other: 57.44% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 11.7%
permanent crops: 2.92% other: 85.38% (2005) |
Languages | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers | French (official) 99%, Creole patois |
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 | French legal system |
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 (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 |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (42 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held March 2004 (next to be held by in 2010); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008 to elect half of the body) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - left-wing candidates 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCG 3, UDF 1; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PS 58.4%, UMP 41.6%; seats by party - PS 29, UMP 12 note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate; elections last held September 2004 (next to be held September 2013); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA, Guadeloupe elects four representatives to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2, PS 1, different right parties 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 38.66 years
male: 38.14 years female: 39.2 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 78.06 years
male: 74.91 years female: 81.37 years (2006 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: 90% male: 90% female: 90% (1982 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie | no regular military forces |
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 | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan |
noun: Guadeloupian(s)
adjective: Guadeloupe |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo | hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere de Guadeloupe is an active volcano |
Natural resources | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land | cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism |
Net migration rate | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG [Mona CADOCE]; FGPS [Dominique LARIFLA]; Left Radical Party or PRG [Flavien FERRANT]; Progressive Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU]; Socialist Party or PS [Jules OTTO]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Claudine LACAVE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (including Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR) [Gabrielle LOUIS-CARABIN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors | Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG; General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G; General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG; Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI; The Socialist Renewal Movement |
Population | 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.) |
452,776 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.16% (2002 est.) | 0.88% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye | - |
Radio broadcast stations | 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) | AM 1, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 601,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001) | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1% |
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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 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 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) |
general assessment: domestic facilities inadequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 590; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique |
Telephones - main lines in use | 11,000 (1999) | 210,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 11,000 (1999)
note: Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2002) |
314,700 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 5 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east | Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin |
Total fertility rate | 4.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.9 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 26.9% (2003) |
Waterways | note: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft | - |