Rwanda (2008) | Saint Lucia (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) | 11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort |
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: 31.6% (male 25,879; female 24,695)
15-64 years: 63.1% (male 49,667; female 51,482) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 3,134; female 5,288) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa |
Airports | 9 (2007) | 2 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
total: 616 sq km
land: 606 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | 3.5 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 (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. | The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979. |
Birth rate | 40.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 21.37 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $702.6 million
expenditures: $779.6 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.) |
revenues: $141.2 million
expenditures: $146.7 million, including capital expenditures of $25.1 million |
Capital | name: Kigali
geographic coordinates: 1 57 S, 30 04 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Castries |
Climate | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible | tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to April, rainy season from May to August |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 158 km |
Constitution | new constitution passed by referendum 26 May 2003 | 22 February 1979 |
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: none
conventional short form: Saint Lucia |
Currency | - | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 14.91 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.3 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.4 billion (2004 est.) | $214 million (2000) (2000) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia |
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 Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6728 consulate(s) general: Miami 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 - recipient | $576 million (2005) | $51.8 million (1995) (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 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 recent changes in the EU import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin American bananas have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia. The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalize the banana industry. Despite negative growth in 2001, economic fundamentals remain solid, and GDP growth should recover in 2002. |
Electricity - consumption | 198.4 million kWh (2005) | 106.95 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 10 million kWh (2005 est.) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 120 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 95 million kWh (2005) | 115 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% 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: Mount Gimie 950 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching | deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region |
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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 15%, Twa (Pygmy) 1% | black 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, white 1% |
Exchange rates | Rwandan francs per US dollar - 585 (2007), 560 (2006), 610 (2005), 574.62 (2004), 537.66 (2003) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dr. Perlette LOUISY (since September 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Kenneth Davis ANTHONY (since 24 May 1997) and Deputy Prime Minister Mario MICHEL (since 24 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $68.3 million (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore | bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil |
Exports - partners | China 10.3%, Germany 9.7%, US 4.3% (2006) | UK 50%, US 24%, Caricom countries 16% (1995) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $700 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 38.2%
industry: 20.1% services: 41.7% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 20% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $4,400 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2007 est.) | -2.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 30 00 E | 13 53 N, 60 68 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural | the twin Pitons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton), striking cone-shaped peaks south of Soufriere, are one of the scenic natural highlights of the Caribbean |
Highways | - | total: 1,210 km
paved: 63 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 38.2% (2000) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | 5,165 bbl/day (2004) | $319.4 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material | food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels |
Imports - partners | Kenya 19.6%, Germany 7.9%, Uganda 6.8%, Belgium 5.1% (2006) | US 36%, Caricom countries 22%, UK 11%, Japan 5%, Canada 4% (1995) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) | 22 February 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.8% (2007 est.) | -8.9% (1997 est.) |
Industries | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes | clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing |
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.) |
14.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8% (2007 est.) | 3% (2001 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 | ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 15 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 90 sq km (2003) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) |
Labor force | 4.6 million (2000) | 43,800 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2000) |
agriculture 43%, services 39%, industry and commerce 18% (1981 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 893 km
border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 45.56%
permanent crops: 10.25% other: 44.19% (2005) |
arable land: 4.92%
permanent crops: 22.95% other: 72.13% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers | English (official), French 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 | based on English common law |
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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; six members appointed on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and two after consultation with religious, economic, and social groups) and the House of Assembly (17 seats; members are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 3 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - SLP 55%, UWP 37%, NA 3.5%; seats by party - SLP 14, UWP 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 48.99 years
male: 47.87 years female: 50.16 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 72.82 years
male: 69.26 years female: 76.64 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 has ever attended school
total population: 67% male: 65% female: 69% (1980 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Rwandan Defense Forces: Army, Air Force | Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit and Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.9% (2006 est.) | $NA |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Independence Day, 22 February (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan |
noun: Saint Lucian(s)
adjective: Saint Lucian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo | hurricanes and volcanic activity |
Natural resources | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land | forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential |
Net migration rate | 2.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -3.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
People - note | Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa | - |
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] | National Alliance or NA [George ODLUM]; Saint Lucia Freedom Party or SFP [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY]; Sou Tout Apwe Fete Fini or STAFF [Christopher HUNTE]; United Workers Party or UWP [Dr. Morella JOSEPH] |
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.) |
160,145 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.766% (2007 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | - | Castries, Vieux Fort |
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 7 (plus 3 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 111,000 (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 90%, Protestant 7%, Anglican 3% |
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: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 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: adequate system
domestic: system is automatically switched international: direct microwave radio relay link with Martinique and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; tropospheric scatter to Barbados; international calls beyond these countries are carried by Intelsat from Martinique |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,000 (2005) | 37,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 290,000 (2005) | 1,600 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2004) | 3 (of which two are commercial stations and one is a community antenna television or CATV channel) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east | volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys |
Total fertility rate | 5.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.34 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 15% (1996 est.) |
Waterways | Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2006) | none |