Rwanda (2003) | Slovakia (2001) | |
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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 | 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.5% (male 1,667,128; female 1,651,422)
15-64 years: 54.8% (male 2,128,495; female 2,148,694) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 85,576; female 128,741) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
18.86% (male 522,563; female 498,832) 15-64 years: 69.6% (male 1,872,496; female 1,896,249) 65 years and over: 11.54% (male 236,996; female 387,801) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products |
Airports | 9 (2002) | 35 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
18 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
total:
17 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
total:
48,845 sq km land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | about twice the size of New Hampshire |
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. | In 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Historic, political, and geographic factors have caused Slovakia to experience more difficulty in developing a modern market economy than some of its Central European neighbors. |
Birth rate | 40.1 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $199.3 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues:
$5.2 billion expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
Capital | Kigali | Bratislava |
Climate | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
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 | ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president; amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership |
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:
Slovak Republic conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
Currency | Rwandan franc (RWF) | Slovak koruna (SKK) |
Death rate | 21.72 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.25 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (2000 est.) | $10.3 billion (2000 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Carl SPIELVOGEL embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [421] (7) 5443-3338 FAX: [421] (7) 5443-0096 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Zac NSENGA
chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Martin BUTORA chancery: Suite 250, 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; note - new chancery opening in June 2001 at International Court NW, Washington, DC telephone: [1] (202) 965-5161 FAX: [1] (202) 965-5166 |
Disputes - international | Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas and natural resources - government heads pledge to end conflicts, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts | Gabcikovo/Nagymaros Dam dispute with Hungary is before the ICJ |
Economic aid - recipient | $372.9 million (1999) | $421.9 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Rwanda is a poor 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 foreign exchange earners 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 substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels, although poverty levels are higher now. GDP has rebounded, and inflation has been curbed. Export earnings, however, have been hindered by low beverage prices, depriving the country of much needed hard currency. Attempts to diversify into non-traditional agriculture exports such as flowers and vegetables have been stymied by a lack of adequate transportation infrastructure. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, requiring food to be imported. Rwanda continues to receive substantial amounts of aid money and was approved for IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in late 2000. But Kigali's high defense expenditures cause tension between the government and international donors and lending agencies. | Slovakia continues the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The economic slowdown in 1999 stemmed from large budget and current account deficits, fast-growing external debt, and persistent corruption. Even though GDP growth reached only 2.2% in 2000, the year was marked by positive developments such as foreign direct investment of $1.5 billion, strong export performance, restructuring and privatization in the banking sector, entry into the OECD, and initial efforts to stem corruption. Strong challenges face the government in 2001, especially the maintenance of fiscal balance, the further privatization of the economy, and the reduction of unemployment. |
Electricity - consumption | 140 million kWh (2001) | 21.471 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 930 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 50 million kWh (2001) | 1.4 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 96.78 million kWh (2001) | 22.582 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 2.3%
hydro: 97.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
37.56% hydro: 18.27% nuclear: 44.17% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
lowest point:
Bodrok River 94 m highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
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 |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% | Slovak 85.7%, Hungarian 10.6%, Roma 1.6% (the 1992 census figures underreport the Gypsy/Romany community, which is about 500,000), Czech, Moravian, Silesian 1.1%, Ruthenian and Ukrainian 0.6%, German 0.1%, Polish 0.1%, other 0.2% (1996) |
Exchange rates | Rwandan francs per US dollar - 475.37 (2002), 442.99 (2001), 389.7 (2000), 333.94 (1999), 312.31 (1998) | koruny per US dollar - 48.09 (March 2001), 46.395 (2000), 41.363 (1999), 35.233 (1998), 33.616 (1997), 30.654 (1996) |
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: last held 25 August 2003 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: Paul KAGAME elected president in first direct popular vote; Paul KAGAME (RPF) 95.05%, Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU 3.62%, Jean-Nepomuscene NAYINZIRA 1.33% |
chief of state:
President Rudolf SCHUSTER (since 15 June 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 May 1999 (next to be held NA May/June 2004); following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Rudolf SCHUSTER elected president in the first direct, popular election; percent of vote - Rudolf SCHUSTER 57% note: government coalition - SDK, SDL, SMK, SOP, KDH |
Exports | NA (2001) | $12 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore | machinery and transport equipment 39.4%, intermediate manufactured goods 27.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%, chemicals 8% (1999) |
Exports - partners | Indonesia 30.8%, Germany 14.6%, Hong Kong 9%, South Africa 5.5% (2002) | EU 59.7% (Germany 27.8%, Austria 8%, Italy 8.9%), Czech Republic 18.1% (1999) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $8.92 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $55.3 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 45%
industry: 20% services: 35% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
4.5% industry: 29.3% services: 66.2% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 9.7% (2002 est.) | 2.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 30 00 E | 48 40 N, 19 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural | landlocked |
Highways | total: 12,000 km
paved: 996 km unpaved: 11,004 km (1999 est.) |
total:
17,710 km paved: 17,533 km (including 288 km of expressways) unpaved: 177 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4.2%
highest 10%: 24.2% (1985) |
lowest 10%:
5.1% highest 10%: 18.2% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | $12.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material | machinery and transport equipment 37.7%, intermediate manufactured goods 18%, fuels 13%, chemicals 11%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999) |
Imports - partners | Kenya 21.8%, Germany 8.4%, Belgium 7.9%, Israel 4.3% (2002) | EU 51.4% (Germany 26%, Italy 7.1%), Czech Republic 16.6%, Russia 11.9% (1999) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2001 est.) | 9.3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes | metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 102.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 107.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 97.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
8.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.5% (2002 est.) | 12.2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2002) | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1998 est.) | 800 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts | Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council) |
Labor force | 4.6 million (2000) | 3 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90% | industry 29.3%, agriculture 8.9%, construction 8%, transport and communication 8.2%, services 45.6% (1994) |
Land boundaries | total: 893 km
border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
total:
1,355 km border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 515 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 90 km |
Land use | arable land: 32.43%
permanent crops: 10.13% other: 57.44% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
31% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 17% forests and woodland: 41% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers | Slovak (official), Hungarian |
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 | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (53 seats; members elected by direct vote)
elections: last held 29 September 2003 (next to be held NA) election results: seats by party under the Arusha peace accord - FPR 40, PSD 7, PL 6 |
unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25-26 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - HZDS 27%, SDK 26.3%, SDL 14.7%, SMK 9.1%, SNS 9.1%, SOP 8%; seats by party - governing coalition 93 (SDK 42, SDL 23, SMK 15, SOP 13), opposition 57 (HZDS 43, SNS 14) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 39.33 years
male: 38.51 years female: 40.18 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
73.97 years male: 69.95 years female: 78.2 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.4% male: 76.3% female: 64.7% (2003 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Central Europe, south of Poland |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total:
3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,041 GRT/19,517 DWT ships by type: cargo 3 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, Civil Defense Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $59.57 million (FY02) | $380 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3% (FY02) | 1.71% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,932,637 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,487,093 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 982,909 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,136,811 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
45,502 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) |
Nationality | noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan |
noun:
Slovak(s) adjective: Slovak |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo | NA |
Natural resources | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
People - note | Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa | - |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products NA km; natural gas 2,700 km |
Political parties and leaders | Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Jean-Nipomuscene NAYINZIRA]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [J. Damascene NTAWUKURIRYAYO]; 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 BIZIMUNGU and Charles NTAKARUTINKA]; Rwanda Patriotic Front or FPR [Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME]; Rwandan Socialist Party or PSR [leader NA] | Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Liberal Democratic Union or LDU [Jan BUDAJ]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia or HZDS [Vladimir MECIAR]; Party of Civic Understanding or SOP [Pavol HAMZIK]; Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Jozef MIGAS]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; note - this is DZURINDA's new party for 2002 elections; he remains chairman of a rump and splintering SDK; Slovak Democratic Coalition or SDK (loose parliamentary club grouping representing members of the smaller SSDS, SZS, and those committed to run under SDKU in 2002) [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Anna MALIKOVA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors | Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG |
Population | 7,810,056
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 2003 est.) |
5,414,937 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.84% (2003 est.) | 0.13% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye | Bratislava, Komarno |
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 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.12 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
3,660 km broad gauge: 102 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 3,507 km 1.435-m gauge (1,505 km electrified; 1,011 km double track) narrow gauge: 51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (1998) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001) | Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5% |
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 (2003 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: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 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:
a modernization and privatization program is increasing accessibility to telephone service, reducing the waiting time for new subscribers, and generally improving service quality domestic: predominantly an analog system that is now receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities; mobile cellular capability has been added international: three international exchanges (one in Bratislava and two in Banska Bystrica) are available; Slovakia is participating in several international telecommunications projects that will increase the availability of external services |
Telephones - main lines in use | 600,000 note - 90% in Kigali (2002) | 1,934,558 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 81,000 (2001)
note: Rwanda has mobile cellular service between Kigali and several prefecture capitals (2002) |
736,662 (April 1999) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 38 (plus 864 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south |
Total fertility rate | 5.6 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.25 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 17% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | note: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft | 172 km (all on the Danube) |