Central Africa.

GMT + 2.

26,338 sq km (10,169 sq miles).

8.6 million (UN, 2005).

326.52 per sq km.

Kigali. Population: 800,000 (estimate 2005).

Rwanda is a small mountainous country in central Africa, bordered to the north by Uganda, to the east by Tanzania, to the south by Burundi and to the west by the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country is divided by great peaks of up to 3000m (9842ft), which run across the country from north to south. The Virunga volcanoes, rising steeply from Lake Kivu in the west, slope down first to a hilly central plateau and further eastwards to an area of marshy lakes around the upper reaches of the A’Kagera River, where the A’Kagera National Park is situated.

Executive power is held by the President, who is directly elected to serve a seven-year term. The legislature is the bicameral National Assembly. This comprises the 80-member Umutwe w’Abadepite (Chamber of Deputies) and the 26-member Umutwe wa Sena (Senate). The Chamber of Deputies serves a five-year term: 53 members are elected by proportional representation, 24 seats are reserved for women, two for the National Youth Council and the remaining seat for the disabled. Members of the Senate serve an eight-year term: eight are appointed by the President; the remainder are indirectly elected.

Republic since 1962. Gained independence from Belgium in 1962. Head of State: President Paul Kagame since 2000. Head of Government: Prime Minister Bernard Makuza since 2000. Recent history: Domestically, the Government faced a formidable task of reconstruction and reconciliation. The architects of the 1994 genocide have been (and still are being) tried before a UN- run tribunal based in Tanzania. Lesser offenders are dealt with in Rwanda. The Government, led by former army chief Paul Kagame, has a fairly impressive record under extremely difficult circumstances. The country relies heavily on western aid to sustain its economy. However, there are signs of an increasingly dictatorial attitude on the part of the Government, manifested in the Presidential and Parliamentary elections held in the summer of 2003: amid numerous allegations of intimidation and ballot rigging, Kagame and the Rwandan Patriotic Front won both polls with a huge majority. Given the Tutsi dominance of the RPF, there is a clear danger of a future repeat of the ethnic violence which has disfigured Rwanda since Independence.
Executive power is held by the President, who is directly elected to serve a seven-year term. The legislature is the bicameral National Assembly. This comprises the 80-member Umutwe w’Abadepite (Chamber of Deputies) and the 26-member Umutwe wa Sena (Senate). The Chamber of Deputies serves a five-year term: 53 members are elected by proportional representation, 24 seats are reserved for women, two for the National Youth Council and the remaining seat for the disabled. Members of the Senate serve an eight-year term: eight are appointed by the President; the remainder are indirectly elected.

The official languages are Kinyarwanda, French and English. Kiswahili is used for trade and commerce.

Animist (50 per cent), Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) and an Islamic minority.

The traditional way of life is based on agriculture and cattle. The Rwandans settle in the fertile areas, but they do not form villages, each family being surrounded by its own fields. The majority of the population belong to the Hutu tribe. There is a significant Tutsi minority (15 per cent) and a smaller minority of Twa, a mixed race of traditional potters and hunters and said to be the country’s first inhabitants. Normal social courtesies apply.

220 volts AC, 50Hz.