United States (2008) | Rwanda (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming | 5 provinces (in French - provinces, singular - province; in Kinyarwanda - prefigintara for singular and plural); East, Kigali, North, South, West |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2% (male 31,152,050/female 29,777,438)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 100,995,752/female 101,365,035) 65 years and over: 12.6% (male 15,858,477/female 21,991,195) (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish; forest products | coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock |
Airports | 14,947 (2007) | 9 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5,143
over 3,047 m: 191 2,438 to 3,047 m: 224 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,452 914 to 1,523 m: 2,323 under 914 m: 953 (2007) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 9,804
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 153 914 to 1,523 m: 1,732 under 914 m: 7,912 (2007) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Area | total: 9,826,630 sq km
land: 9,161,923 sq km water: 664,707 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia |
total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; more than twice the size of the European Union | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology. | 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. |
Birth rate | 14.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 40.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.568 trillion
expenditures: $2.731 trillion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $682.4 million
expenditures: $714.6 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
Capital | name: Washington, DC
geographic coordinates: 38 53 N, 77 02 W time difference: UTC-5 (during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November note: the US is divided into six time zones |
name: Kigali
geographic coordinates: 1 57 S, 30 04 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible |
Coastline | 19,924 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789 | new constitution passed by referendum 26 May 2003 |
Country name | conventional long form: United States of America
conventional short form: United States abbreviation: US or USA |
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 |
Death rate | 8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 14.91 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.25 trillion (30 June 2007) | $1.4 billion (2004 est.) |
Dependent areas | American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island
note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; it entered into a political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994) |
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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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Zac NSENGA
chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544 |
Disputes - international | the U.S. has intensified domestic security measures and is collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico, to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across the international borders; abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; The Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other states; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island; Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution | 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 |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $6.9 billion (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $576 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $46,000. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. The rise in GDP in 2004-07 was undergirded by substantial gains in labor productivity. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage in the Gulf Coast region in August 2005, but had a small impact on overall GDP growth for the year. Soaring oil prices in 2005-2007 threatened inflation and unemployment, yet the economy continued to grow through year-end 2007. Imported oil accounts for about two-thirds of US consumption. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. The merchandise trade deficit reached a record $847 billion in 2007. Together, these problems caused a marked reduction in the value and status of the dollar worldwide in 2007. | 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. Kigali's high defense expenditures have caused tension between the government and international donors and lending agencies. Energy shortages, instability in neighboring states, and lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries continue to handicap growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.816 trillion kWh (2005) | 198.4 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 19.8 billion kWh (2005) | 10 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 44.53 billion kWh (2005) | 120 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 4.062 trillion kWh (2005) | 95 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
highest point: Mount McKinley 6,198 m |
lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification | deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion; widespread poaching |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes |
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 |
Ethnic groups | white 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.)
note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.) |
Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 15%, Twa (Pygmy) 1% |
Exchange rates | British pounds per US dollar: 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5500 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003)
Canadian dollars per US dollar: 1.0724 (2007), 1.1334 (2006), 1.2118 (2005), 1.3010 (2004), 1.4011 (2003) Japanese yen per US dollar: 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006) 110.22 (2005), 108.19 (2004), 115.93 (2003) euros per US dollar: 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.8860 (2003) Chinese yuan per US dollar: 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.2770 (2003) |
Rwandan francs per US dollar - 560 (2006), 610 (2005), 574.62 (2004), 537.66 (2003), 476.33 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held on 4 November 2008) election results: George W. BUSH reelected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH 50.9%, John KERRY 48.1%, other 1.0% |
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% |
Exports | 1.048 million bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0% (2003) | coffee, tea, hides, tin ore |
Exports - partners | Canada 22.2%, Mexico 12.9%, Japan 5.8%, China 5.3%, UK 4.4% (2006) | China 10.3%, Germany 9.7%, US 4.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 20.6% services: 78.5% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 39.9%
industry: 20.3% services: 39.7% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2007 est.) | 5.8% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 38 00 N, 97 00 W | 2 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent | landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the population predominantly rural |
Heliports | 146 (2007) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 30% (2007 est.) |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 38.2% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | world's largest consumer of cocaine, shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of ecstasy and of Mexican heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine; minor consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center | - |
Imports | 13.15 million bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys) (2003) | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material |
Imports - partners | Canada 16%, China 15.9%, Mexico 10.4%, Japan 7.9%, Germany 4.8% (2006) | Kenya 19.6%, Germany 7.8%, Uganda 6.8%, Belgium 5.1% (2006) |
Independence | 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain) | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.5% (2007 est.) | 7% (2001 est.) |
Industries | leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining | cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.37 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2007 est.) | 8.8% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ADB (nonregional members), AfDB, ANZUS, APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SECI (observer), SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | 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, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 223,850 sq km (2003) | 90 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (nine justices; nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate; appointed to serve for life); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts | Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees |
Labor force | 153.1 million (includes unemployed) (2007 est.) | 4.6 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | farming, forestry, and fishing 0.6%, manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.6%, managerial, professional, and technical 35.5%, sales and office 24.8%, other services 16.5%
note: figures exclude the unemployed (2007) |
agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total: 12,034 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141 km note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and is part of Cuba; the base boundary is 28 km |
total: 893 km
border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
Land use | arable land: 18.01%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 81.78% (2005) |
arable land: 45.56%
permanent crops: 10.25% other: 44.19% (2005) |
Languages | English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)
note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii |
Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers |
Legal system | federal court system based on English common law; each state has its own unique legal system, of which all but one (Louisiana, which is still influenced by the Napoleonic Code) is based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | 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 |
Legislative branch | bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats, 2 members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third are elected every two years) and the House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008); House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 49, Republican Party 49, independent 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 233, Republican Party 202 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78 years
male: 75.15 years female: 80.97 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 48.99 years
male: 47.87 years female: 50.16 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.4% male: 76.3% female: 64.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | North America | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: not specified |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 446 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,308,428 GRT/12,616,742 DWT
by type: barge carrier 6, bulk carrier 64, cargo 82, carrier 2, chemical tanker 20, container 82, passenger 20, passenger/cargo 60, petroleum tanker 59, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 26, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 20 foreign-owned: 67 (Australia 2, Canada 4, Denmark 29, Germany 6, Malaysia 4, Netherlands 1, Norway 4, Singapore 11, Sweden 5, UK 1) registered in other countries: 785 (Antigua and Barbuda 8, Australia 5, Bahamas 162, Belize 3, Bermuda 23, Cambodia 6, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 41, Comoros 2, Cyprus 8, Ecuador 1, Greece 10, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 22, Ireland 2, Isle of Man 4, Italy 16, Liberia 103, South Korea 7, Luxembourg 3, Malta 11, Marshall Islands 129, Netherlands 13, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 18, Panama 115, Peru 1, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 3, Russia 1, Singapore 17, Spain 9, St Vincent and The Grenadines 21, Sweden 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Tuvalu 1, UK 11, Vanuatu 1, unknown 4) (2007) |
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Military branches | Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard; note - Coast Guard administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy | Rwandan Defense Forces: Army, Air Force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.06% (2005 est.) | 2.9% (2006 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 July (1776) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: American(s)
adjective: American |
noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan |
Natural hazards | tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Natural resources | coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | 3.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 2.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
People - note | - | Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa |
Pipelines | petroleum products 244,620 km; natural gas 548,665 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Howard DEAN]; Green Party; Libertarian Party [William (Bill) REDPATH]; Republican Party [Robert M. (Mike) DUNCAN] | 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 [Prosper HIGIRO]; Party for Democratic Renewal (officially banned); Rwandan Patriotic Front or RPF [Paul KAGAME]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Vincent BIRUTA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | IBUKA - association of genocide survivors |
Population | 301,139,947 (July 2007 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | 12% (2004 est.) | 60% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.894% (2007 est.) | 2.766% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4,789, FM 8,961, shortwave 19 (2006) | 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) |
Railways | total: 226,612 km
standard gauge: 226,612 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) |
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Religions | Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.) | Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.046 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.996 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.721 male(s)/female total population: 0.967 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system
domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country international: country code - 1; multiple ocean cable systems provide international connectivity; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000) |
general assessment: 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 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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 172 million (2006) | 22,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 233 million (2006) | 290,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2,218 (2006) | 2 (2004) |
Terrain | vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east |
Total fertility rate | 2.09 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 5.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.6% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 41,009 km (19,312 km used for commerce)
note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with Canada (2007) |
Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft (2006) |