Rwanda (2008) | Lebanon (2004) | |
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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 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye |
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: 26.9% (male 517,356; female 496,888)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,197,430; female 1,305,339) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 117,930; female 142,275) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats |
Airports | 9 (2007) | 8 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut |
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. | Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 15-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a radical Shia organization, retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 16,000 troops in Lebanon, based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The passage of UNSCR 1559 in early October 2004 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to Syria's presence in Lebanon. |
Birth rate | 40.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 19.31 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $702.6 million
expenditures: $779.6 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.) |
revenues: $4.414 billion
expenditures: $7.026 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 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) |
Beirut |
Climate | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 225 km |
Constitution | new constitution passed by referendum 26 May 2003 | 23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 |
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: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan |
Currency | - | Lebanese pound (LBP) |
Death rate | 14.91 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.28 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.4 billion (2004 est.) | $20.79 billion (2003 est.) |
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 Jeffrey D. FELTMAN
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600 FAX: [961] (4) 544136 |
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 Dr. Farid ABBOUD
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles |
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 | Syrian troops in central and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights |
Economic aid - recipient | $576 million (2005) | $3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001); $4.2 billion in soft loan pledges November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference (2002) |
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. | The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% in 1996 and in 1997, but slowed to 1.2% in 1998, -1.6% in 1999, -0.6% in 2000, 0.8% in 2001, 1.5% in 2002, and 3% in 2003. During the 1990s, annual inflation fell to almost 0% from more than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In order to reduce the ballooning national debt, the re-installed HARIRI government began an economic austerity program to rein in government expenditures, increase revenue collection, and privatize state enterprises. The HARIRI government met with international donors at the Paris II conference in November 2002 to seek bilateral assistance restructuring its domestic debt at lower rates of interest. While privatization of state-owned enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2003, massive receipts from donor nations stabilized government finances in 2002-04. |
Electricity - consumption | 198.4 million kWh (2005) | 7.44 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 10 million kWh (2005 est.) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 120 million kWh (2005) | 1.183 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 95 million kWh (2005) | 6.728 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 15%, Twa (Pygmy) 1% | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | Rwandan francs per US dollar - 585 (2007), 560 (2006), 610 (2005), 574.62 (2004), 537.66 (2003) | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2003), 1,507.5 (2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.84 (1999) |
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 Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Omar KARAMI (since 21 October 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next election date NA); note - on 3 September 2004 the National Assembly voted 96 to 29 to extend Emile LAHUD's six-year term by three years; the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shia Muslim election results: For 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore | authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper |
Exports - partners | China 10.3%, Germany 9.7%, US 4.3% (2006) | Switzerland 10.8%, UAE 10%, Saudi Arabia 7.5%, US 7.3%, Turkey 5.5%, Jordan 4.4% (2003) |
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 horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green cedar tree centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $17.82 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 38.2%
industry: 20.1% services: 41.7% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 12%
industry: 21% services: 67% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2007 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 30 00 E | 33 50 N, 35 50 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural | Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity |
Highways | - | total: 7,300 km
paved: 6,198 km unpaved: 1,102 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 38.2% (2000) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption |
Imports | 5,165 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material | petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco |
Imports - partners | Kenya 19.6%, Germany 7.9%, Uganda 6.8%, Belgium 5.1% (2006) | France 13.4%, Germany 11.7%, Italy 10.7%, Syria 5.3%, China 5.2%, UK 4.9%, US 4.5% (2003) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.8% (2007 est.) | NA |
Industries | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes | banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating |
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.) |
total: 25.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8% (2007 est.) | 2.5% (2003 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 | ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 90 sq km (2003) | 1,200 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees | four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed) |
Labor force | 4.6 million (2000) | 1.5 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2000) |
agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | total: 893 km
border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
Land use | arable land: 45.56%
permanent crops: 10.25% other: 44.19% (2005) |
arable land: 16.62%
permanent crops: 13.98% other: 69.4% (2001) |
Languages | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |
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 | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held spring 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by sect - Muslim 64 ( of which Sunnis 27, Shia 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 48.99 years
male: 47.87 years female: 50.16 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 72.35 years
male: 69.91 years female: 74.91 years (2004 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: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 49 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 198,602 GRT/248,313 DWT
by type: bulk 5, cargo 23, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 2, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 8, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 4, vehicle carrier 3 foreign-owned: Greece 7, India 1, Netherlands 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Spain 1, Syria 2 registered in other countries: 52 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Rwandan Defense Forces: Army, Air Force | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $541 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.9% (2006 est.) | 4.8% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,049,097 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 643,050 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) |
Nationality | noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan |
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land |
Net migration rate | 2.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
People - note | Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa | - |
Pipelines | - | oil 209 km (2004) |
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] | political activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, ethnic, clan, and economic considerations |
Political pressure groups and leaders | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors | NA |
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.) |
3,777,218 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2001 est.) | 28% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.766% (2007 est.) | 1.3% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre |
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 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 401 km
standard gauge: 319 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m note: rail system was unusable because of damage during the civil war in the 1980s; short sections are operable (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001) | Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestant), other 1.3%
note: seventeen religious sects recognized |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education |
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: telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable international: country code - 961; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,000 (2005) | 678,800 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 290,000 (2005) | 775,100 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2004) | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.95 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 18% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2006) | - |