Rwanda (2008) | Finland (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 provinces (in French - provinces, singular - province; in Kinyarwanda - intara for singular and plural) and 1 city* (in French - ville; in Kinyarwanda - umujyi); Est (Eastern), Kigali*, Nord (Northern), Ouest (Western), Sud (Southern) | 6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Aland, Etela-Suomen Laani, Ita-Suomen Laani, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Lappi, Oulun Laani |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.9% (male 2,082,474/female 2,065,251)
15-64 years: 55.7% (male 2,748,189/female 2,765,767) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 98,796/female 147,032) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 17.9% (male 471,920; female 454,082)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 1,752,493; female 1,717,544) 65 years and over: 15.2% (male 306,216; female 481,290) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock | barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish |
Airports | 9 (2007) | 160 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 74
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 12 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
total: 76
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 72 (2002) |
Area | total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
total: 337,030 sq km
land: 305,470 sq km water: 31,560 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Montana |
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 (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 the former Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but several thousand remained in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (the former Zaire) and formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF tried in 1990. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in August and September 2003 - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output, and ethnic reconciliation is complicated by the real and perceived Tutsi political dominance. Kigali's increasing centralization and intolerance of dissent, the nagging Hutu extremist insurgency across the border, and Rwandan involvement in two wars in recent years in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts to escape its bloody legacy. | Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It finally won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and fend off invasions by the Soviet Union and Germany. In the subsequent half century, the Finns have made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999. |
Birth rate | 40.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.6 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $702.6 million
expenditures: $779.6 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.) |
revenues: $36.1 billion
expenditures: $31 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Kigali
geographic coordinates: 1 57 S, 30 04 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Helsinki |
Climate | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible | cold temperate; potentially subarctic, but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,126 km (excludes islands and coastal indentations) |
Constitution | new constitution passed by referendum 26 May 2003 | 17 July 1919 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Rwanda
conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda former: Ruanda, German East Africa |
conventional long form: Republic of Finland
conventional short form: Finland local long form: Suomen Tasavalta local short form: Suomi |
Currency | - | euro (EUR); markka (FIM)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Death rate | 14.91 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.4 billion (2004 est.) | $30 billion (December 1993) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael ARIETTI
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 Bonnie McELVEEN-HUNTER
embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14B, FIN-00140, Helsinki mailing address: APO AE 09723 telephone: [358] (9) 171931 FAX: [358] (9) 174681 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James KOMONYO
chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jukka Robert VALTASAARI
chancery: 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5800 FAX: [1] (202) 298-6030 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
Disputes - international | fighting among ethnic groups - loosely associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces in Great Lakes region transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda - abated substantially from a decade ago due largely to UN peacekeeping, international mediation, and efforts by local governments to create civil societies; nonetheless, 57,000 Rwandan refugees still reside in 21 African states, including Zambia, Gabon, and 20,000 who fled to Burundi in 2005 and 2006 to escape drought and recriminations from traditional courts investigating the 1994 massacres; the 2005 DROC and Rwanda border verification mechanism to stem rebel actions on both sides of the border remains in place | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $379 million (1997) |
Economic aid - recipient | $576 million (2005) | - |
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 and is 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. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, requiring food imports. Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid money and obtained IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in 2005-06. Rwanda also received Millennium Challenge Account Threshold status in 2006. The government has embraced an expansionary fiscal policy to reduce poverty by improving education, infrastructure, and foreign and domestic investment and pursuing market-oriented reforms, although energy shortages, instability in neighboring states, and lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries continue to handicap growth. | Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy, with per capita output roughly that of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Trade is important, with exports equaling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Rapidly increasing integration with Western Europe - Finland was one of the 11 countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on 1 January 1999 - will dominate the economic picture over the next several years. Growth in 2002 was held back by the global slowdown but will pick up in 2003 provided the world economy suffers no further blows. |
Electricity - consumption | 198.4 million kWh (2005) | 81.961 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 10 million kWh (2005 est.) | 326 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 120 million kWh (2005) | 12.206 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 95 million kWh (2005) | 75.356 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 41%
hydro: 19% nuclear: 28% other: 12% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Halti 1,328 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching | air pollution from manufacturing and power plants contributing to acid rain; water pollution from industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens wildlife populations |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
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-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 15%, Twa (Pygmy) 1% | Finn 93%, Swede 6%, Sami 0.11%, Roma 0.12%, Tatar 0.02% |
Exchange rates | Rwandan francs per US dollar - 585 (2007), 560 (2006), 610 (2005), 574.62 (2004), 537.66 (2003) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); markkaa per US dollar - 5.3441 (1998), 5.1914 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Paul KAGAME (since 22 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Bernard MAKUZA (since 8 March 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: President elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 25 August 2003 (next to be held in 2010) election results: Paul KAGAME elected president in first direct popular vote; Paul KAGAME 95.05%, Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU 3.62%, Jean-Nepomuscene NAYINZIRA 1.33% |
chief of state: President Tarja HALONEN (since 1 March 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Paavo LIPPONEN (since 13 April 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Ville ITALA (since 31 August 2001) cabinet: Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 6 February 2000 (next to be held NA February 2006); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed from the majority party by the president after parliamentary elections election results: Tarja HALONEN elected president; percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 51.6%, Esko AHO (Kesk) 48.4% note: government coalition - SDP, Kok, Leftist Alliance (People's Democratic Union and Democratic Alternative), SFP, and Green League |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $40.1 billion f.o.b. (2002) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; timber, paper, pulp |
Exports - partners | China 10.3%, Germany 9.7%, US 4.3% (2006) | Germany 12.4%, US 9.7%, UK 9.6%, Sweden 8.4%, Russia 5.9%, France 4.6% (2001) |
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 | white with a blue cross extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $136.2 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 38.2%
industry: 20.1% services: 41.7% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 34% services: 62% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $26,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2007 est.) | 1.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 30 00 E | 64 00 N, 26 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural | long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain |
Highways | - | total: 77,831 km
paved: 49,789 km (including 444 km of expressways) unpaved: 28,042 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 38.2% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 22% (1991) (1991) |
Imports | 5,165 bbl/day (2004) | $31.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material | foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains |
Imports - partners | Kenya 19.6%, Germany 7.9%, Uganda 6.8%, Belgium 5.1% (2006) | Germany 14.5%, Sweden 10.2%, Russia 9.6%, US 6.9%, UK 6.4%, France 4.5% (2001) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) | 6 December 1917 (from Russia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.8% (2007 est.) | 5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes | metal products, electronics, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, copper refining, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 85.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.41 deaths/1,000 live births female: 79.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
3.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8% (2007 est.) | 1.9% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, EAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 90 sq km (2003) | 640 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees | Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 4.6 million (2000) | 2.6 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2000) |
public services 32%, industry 22%, commerce 14%, finance, insurance, and business services 10%, agriculture and forestry 8%, transport and communications 8%, construction 6% |
Land boundaries | total: 893 km
border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
total: 2,628 km
border countries: Norway 729 km, Sweden 586 km, Russia 1,313 km |
Land use | arable land: 45.56%
permanent crops: 10.25% other: 44.19% (2005) |
arable land: 6.98%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 93.01% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers | Finnish 93.4% (official), Swedish 5.9% (official), small Lapp- and Russian-speaking minorities |
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 Swedish law; Supreme Court may request legislation interpreting or modifying laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of Senate (26 seats; 12 members elected by local councils, 8 appointed by the president, 4 by the Political Organizations Forum, 2 represent institutions of higher learning; to serve eight-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies (80 seats; 53 members elected by popular vote, 24 women elected by local bodies, 3 selected by youth and disability organizations; to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - members appointed as part of the transitional government (next to be held in 2011); Chamber of Deputies - last held 29 September 2003 (next to be held in 2008) election results: seats by party under the 2003 Constitution - RPF 40, PSD 7, PL 6, additional 27 members indirectly elected |
unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 21 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - SDP 22.9%, Kesk 22.5%, Kok 21.0%, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 10.9%, SFP 5.1%, Green League 7.2%, SKL 4.2%; seats by party - SDP 51, Kesk 48, Kok 46, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 20, SFP 11, Green League 11, SKL 10, other 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 48.99 years
male: 47.87 years female: 50.16 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 77.75 years
male: 74.1 years female: 81.52 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.4% male: 76.3% female: 64.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% (1980 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden territorial sea: 12 NM (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 NM) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 98 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,172,404 GRT/1,144,139 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 26, chemical tanker 5, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 11, roll on/roll off 36, short-sea passenger 10 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Sweden 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Rwandan Defense Forces: Army, Air Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Frontier Guard (including Sea Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.8 billion (FY98/99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.9% (2006 est.) | 2% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,240,762 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,024,379 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 33,883 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Independence Day, 6 December (1917) |
Nationality | noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan |
noun: Finn(s)
adjective: Finnish |
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 | timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver |
Net migration rate | 2.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
People - note | Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa | - |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 580 km |
Political parties and leaders | Centrist Democratic Party or PDC [Alfred MUKEZAMFURA]; Democratic Popular Union of Rwanda or UDPR [Adrien RANGIRA]; Democratic Republican Movement or MDR [Celestin KABANDA] (officially banned); Islamic Democratic Party or PDI [Andre BUMAYA]; Liberal Party or PL [Protais MITALI]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned); Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA] | Center Party or Kesk [Esko AHO]; Finnish Christian Democratic Party or SKL [C. P. Bjarne KALLIS]; Green League [Osmo SOININVAARA]; Leftist Alliance (Communist) composed of People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative [Suvi-Anne SIIMES]; National Coalition (conservative) Party or Kok [Ville ITALA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Paavo LIPPONEN]; Swedish People's Party or SFP [Jan-Erik ENESTAM]; True Finns [Timo SOINI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors | - |
Population | 9,907,509
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 2007 est.) |
5,183,545 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.766% (2007 est.) | 0.14% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Hamina, Helsinki, Kokkola, Kotka, Loviisa, Oulu, Pori, Rauma, Turku, Uusikaupunki, Varkaus |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 8 (two main FM programs are broadcast through a system of repeaters, three international FM programs include the BBC, VOA, and Deutchewelle), shortwave 1 (2005) | AM 2, FM 186, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 7.7 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 5,865 km
broad gauge: 5,865 km 1.524-m gauge (2,234 km electrified; 480 km double- or multiple-track) (2000 est.) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001) | Evangelical Lutheran 89%, Russian Orthodox 1%, none 9%, other 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.008 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.994 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.672 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: small, inadequate telephone system primarily serves business and government
domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the provinces by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone density is only about 4 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 250; 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: modern system with excellent service
domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and an extensive cellular net provide domestic needs international: 1 submarine cable; satellite earth stations - access to Intelsat transmission service via a Swedish satellite earth station, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Finland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,000 (2005) | 2,847,900 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 290,000 (2005) | 3,728,600 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2004) | 120 (plus 431 repeaters) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east | mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills |
Total fertility rate | 5.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.7 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 8.5% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2006) | 6,675 km
note: includes Saimaa Canal; 3,700 km suitable for large ships |