About the CBI

February 2006

Background Note: Rwanda

Flag of Rwanda is three horizontal bands of sky blue at top--double width,
yellow, and green, with a golden sun with 24 rays near the fly end of the
blue band.

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Rwanda

Geography
Area: 26,338 sq. km. (10,169 sq. km.); about the size of Maryland.
Cities: Capital--Kigali (est. pop. 800,000). Other cities--Gitarama, Butare,
Ruhengeri, Gisenyi.
Terrain: Uplands and hills.
Climate: Mild and temperate, with two rainy seasons.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Rwandan(s).
Population (2004): 8.6 million.
Annual growth rate: (August 2002 census) Mean of 1.2% between 1991-2002.
Ethnic groups: Hutu 85%, Tutsi 14%, Twa 1%.
Religions: Christian 93.5%, traditional African 0.1%, Muslim 4.6%, 1.7% claim
no religious beliefs.
Languages: French, English, Kinyarwanda.
Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--75% (prewar). Literacy--64%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--107/1,000. Life expectancy--40 yrs.
Work force: Agriculture--92%; industry and commerce, services, and
government--8%.

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: July 1, 1962.
Constitution: May 26, 2003.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), prime minister (head of
government). Broad-based government of national unity formed after the 1994
civil war. Elections in 2003 elected a president, 80-seat Chamber of Deputies
and 26-member Senate. Legislative--Chamber of Deputies; Senate.
Judicial--Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, Council of State, Court of
Appeals.
Administrative subdivisions: 12 provinces; 106 districts; 1,545 sectors;
9,165 cells.
Political parties: Eight parties comprise the government: the Rwandan
Patriotic Front (RPF) leads a coalition that includes the Centrist Democratic
Party (PDC), the Rwandan Labor [formerly Socialist] Party (PSR), the Ideal
[formerly Islamic] Democratic Party (PDI), and the Democratic Popular Union
(UPDR). Other parties in the government include the Social Democratic Party
(PSD), the Liberal Party (PL), and the Concord Progressive Party (PPC).
Suffrage: Universal for citizens over 18--except refugees, prisoners, and
certain categories of convicts.
Central government budget (2000 est.): 31.7 billions of Rwandan francs ($29
million) Revenues--$28 million. Expenditures--$29 million.

Economy
GDP (2004 est.): $1.8 billion.
Real GDP growth rate (2004 est.): 3.8%.
Per capita income (2004 est.): $206.
Average inflation rate (2004 est.): 10.8%.
Agriculture (2003): 41% of GDP. Products--coffee, tea, cattle, hides and
skin, pyrethrum.
Industry (2003): 21% of GDP. Types--beer production, soft drinks, soap,
furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes, pharmaceuticals.
Trade (2004 est.): Exports--$89.5 million: tea, coffee, coltan, cassiterite,
and tin. Major markets--Indonesia, China, Kazakhstan, Germany, Netherlands.
Imports--$219.6 million: consumption goods, intermediate goods, capital
goods, energy. Major suppliers--Kenya, Germany, Belgium, France, South
Africa.

GEOGRAPHY
Rwanda's countryside is covered by grasslands and small farms extending over
rolling hills, with areas of rugged mountains that extend southeast from a
chain of volcanoes in the northwest. The divide between the Congo and Nile
drainage systems extends from north to south through western Rwanda at an
average elevation of almost 9,000 feet. On the western slopes of this
ridgeline, the land slopes abruptly toward Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River
valley, which form the western boundary with the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (formerly Zaire) and constitute part of the Great Rift valley. The
eastern slopes are more moderate, with rolling hills extending across central
uplands at gradually reducing altitudes, to the plains, swamps, and lakes of
the eastern border region.

Although located only two degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda's high
elevation makes the climate temperate. The average daily temperature near
Lake Kivu, at an altitude of 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) is 73o F (23o C).
During the two rainy seasons (February-May and September-December), heavy
downpours occur almost daily, alternating with sunny weather. Annual rainfall
averages 80 centimeters (31 in.) but is generally heavier in the western and
northwestern mountains than in the eastern savannas.

PEOPLE
Rwanda's population density, even after the 1994 genocide, is among the
highest in Sub-Saharan Africa (322 per sq. km., according to the August 2002
census). Nearly every family in this country with few villages lives in a
self-contained compound on a hillside. The urban concentrations are grouped
around administrative centers. The indigenous population consists of three
ethnic groups. The Hutus, who comprise the majority of the population (85%),
are traditionally farmers of Bantu origin. The Tutsis (14%) are traditionally
a pastoral people who arrived in the area in the 15th century. Until 1959,
they formed the dominant caste under a feudal system based on cattleholding.
The Twa (1%) are thought to be the remnants of the earliest settlers of the
region. Over half of the adult population is literate, but not more than 5%
have received secondary education. During 1994-95, most primary schools and
more than half of prewar secondary schools reopened. The national university
in Butare reopened in April 1995; enrollment is over 7,000. Rebuilding the
educational system continues to be a high priority of the Rwandan Government.

HISTORY
According to folklore, Tutsi cattlebreeders began arriving in the area from
the Horn of Africa in the 15th century and gradually subjugated the Hutu
inhabitants. The Tutsis established a monarchy headed by a mwami (king) and a
feudal hierarchy of Tutsi nobles and gentry. Through a contract known as
ubuhake, the Hutu farmers pledged their services and those of their
descendants to a Tutsi lord in return for the loan of cattle and use of
pastures and arable land. Thus, the Tutsi reduced the Hutu to virtual
serfdom. However, boundaries of race and class became less distinct over the
years as some Tutsi declined until they enjoyed few advantages over the Hutu.
The first European known to have visited Rwanda was German Count Von Goetzen
in 1894. He was followed by missionaries, notably the "White Fathers." In
1899, the mwami submitted to a German protectorate without resistance.
Belgian troops from Zaire chased the small number of Germans out of Rwanda in
1915 and took control of the country.

After World War I, the League of Nations mandated Rwanda and its southern
neighbor, Burundi, to Belgium as the territory of Ruanda-Urundi. Following
World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a UN Trust Territory with Belgium as the
administrative authority. Reforms instituted by the Belgians in the 1950s
encouraged the growth of democratic political institutions but were resisted
by the Tutsi traditionalists who saw in them a threat to Tutsi rule. An
increasingly restive Hutu population, encouraged by the Belgian military,
sparked a revolt in November 1959, resulting in the overthrow of the Tutsi
monarchy. Two years later, the Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement
(PARMEHUTU) won an overwhelming victory in a UN-supervised referendum.

During the 1959 revolt and its aftermath, more than 160,000 Tutsis fled to
neighboring countries. The PARMEHUTU government, formed as a result of the
September 1961 election, was granted internal autonomy by Belgium on January
1, 1962. A June 1962 UN General Assembly resolution terminated the Belgian
trusteeship and granted full independence to Rwanda (and Burundi) effective
July 1, 1962.

Gregoire Kayibanda, leader of the PARMEHUTU Party, became Rwanda's first
elected president, leading a government chosen from the membership of the
directly elected unicameral National Assembly. Peaceful negotiation of
international problems, social and economic elevation of the masses, and
integrated development of Rwanda were the ideals of the Kayibanda regime.
Relations with 43 countries, including the United States, were established in
the first 10 years. Despite the progress made, inefficiency and corruption
began festering in government ministries in the mid-1960s. On July 5, 1973,
the military took power under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Juvenal
Habyarimana, who dissolved the National Assembly and the PARMEHUTU Party and
abolished all political activity.

In 1975, President Habyarimana formed the National Revolutionary Movement for
Development (MRND) whose goals were to promote peace, unity, and national
development. The movement was organized from the "hillside" to the national
level and included elected and appointed officials.

Under MRND aegis, Rwandans went to the polls in December 1978, overwhelmingly
endorsed a new constitution, and confirmed President Habyarimana as
president. President Habyarimana was re-elected in 1983 and again in 1988,
when he was the sole candidate. Responding to public pressure for political
reform, President Habyarimana announced in July 1990 his intention to
transform Rwanda's one-party state into a multi-party democracy.

On October 1, 1990, Rwandan exiles banded together as the Rwandan Patriotic
Front (RPF) and invaded Rwanda from their base in Uganda. The rebel force,
composed primarily of ethnic Tutsis, blamed the government for failing to
democratize and resolve the problems of some 500,000 Tutsi refugees living in
diaspora around the world. The war dragged on for almost 2 years until a
cease-fire accord was signed July 12, 1992, in Arusha, Tanzania, fixing a
timetable for an end to the fighting and political talks, leading to a peace
accord and powersharing, and authorizing a neutral military observer group
under the auspices of the Organization for African Unity. A cease-fire took
effect July 31, 1992, and political talks began August 10, 1992.

On April 6, 1994, the airplane carrying President Habyarimana and the
President of Burundi was shot down as it prepared to land at Kigali. Both
presidents were killed. As though the shooting down was a signal, military
and militia groups began rounding up and killing all Tutsis and political
moderates, regardless of their ethnic background.

The prime minister and her 10 Belgian bodyguards were among the first
victims. The killing swiftly spread from Kigali to all corners of the
country; between April 6 and the beginning of July, a genocide of
unprecedented swiftness left up to 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead at
the hands of organized bands of militia--Interahamwe. Even ordinary citizens
were called on to kill their neighbors by local officials and
government-sponsored radio. The president's MRND Party was implicated in
organizing many aspects of the genocide.

The RPF battalion stationed in Kigali under the Arusha accords came under
attack immediately after the shooting down of the president's plane. The
battalion fought its way out of Kigali and joined up with RPF units in the
north. The RPF then resumed its invasion, and civil war raged concurrently
with the genocide for 2 months. French forces landed in Goma, Zaire, in June
1994 on a humanitarian mission. They deployed throughout southwest Rwanda in
an area they called "Zone Turquoise," quelling the genocide and stopping the
fighting there. The Rwandan Army was quickly defeated by the RPF and fled
across the border to Zaire followed by some 2 million refugees who fled to
Zaire, Tanzania, and Burundi. The RPF took Kigali on July 4, 1994, and the
war ended on July 16, 1994. The RPF took control of a country ravaged by war
and genocide. Up to 800,000 had been murdered, another 2 million or so had
fled, and another million or so were displaced internally.

The international community responded with one of the largest humanitarian
relief efforts ever mounted. The United States was one of the largest
contributors. The UN peacekeeping operation, UNAMIR, was drawn down during
the fighting but brought back up to strength after the RPF victory. UNAMIR
remained in Rwanda until March 8, 1996.

Following an uprising by the ethnic Tutsi Banyamulenge people in eastern
Zaire in October 1996, a huge movement of refugees began which brought more
than 600,000 back to Rwanda in the last 2 weeks of November. This massive
repatriation was followed at the end of December 1996 by the return of
another 500,000 from Tanzania, again in a huge, spontaneous wave. Less than
100,000 Rwandans are estimated to remain outside of Rwanda, and they are
thought to be the remnants of the defeated army of the former genocidal
government, its allies in the civilian militias known as Interahamwe, and
soldiers recruited in the refugee camps before 1996.

In 2001, the government began implementation of a grassroots village-level
justice system, known as gacaca, in order to address the enormous backlog of
cases. With the July 2005 release of 36,000 individuals detained for genocide
charges, over 40,000 individuals remain in the prison system and are
scheduled to face the traditional court system. Those released and others
facing lesser charges from the genocide await trial under the gacaca system.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
After its military victory in July 1994, the RPF organized a coalition
government similar to that established by President Habyarimana in 1992.
Called "The Broad Based Government of National Unity," its fundamental law is
based on a combination of the June 1991 constitution, the Arusha accords, and
political declarations by the parties. The MRND Party was outlawed. In April
2003, the transitional National Assembly recommended the dissolution of the
Democratic Republican Party (MDR), one of eight political parties
participating in the Government of National Unity since 1994. Human rights
groups noted the subsequent disappearances of political figures associated
with the MDR, including at least one parliamentarian serving in the National
Assembly. On May 26, 2003, Rwanda adopted a new constitution which eliminated
reference to ethnicity and set the stage for presidential and legislative
elections in August and September 2003. The seven remaining political parties
endorsed incumbent Paul Kagame for president, who was elected to a 7-year
term on August 25, 2003. Rwanda held its first-ever legislative elections
September 29 to October 2, 2003. The success or failure of the Rwandan social
compact will be decided over the next few years, as Hutu and Tutsi try to
find ways to live together again.

Challenges facing the government include promoting further democratization
and judicial reform; prosecuting more than 40,000 individuals detained for
crimes relating to the 1994 genocide; prosecuting the many more individuals
scheduled to be tried under the gacaca system; preventing the recurrence of
any insurgency among ex-military and Interahamwe militia who remain in
eastern Congo; and the shift away from crisis to medium- and long-term
development planning.

Principal Government Officials
President--Paul Kagame
Prime Minister--Bernard Makuza
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Charles Murigande
Ambassador to the United States--Dr. Zac Nsenga
Ambassador to the United Nations--Stanislas Kamanzi

Rwanda maintains an embassy in the United States at 1714 New Hampshire Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel. 202-232-2882).

ECONOMY
The Rwandan economy is based on the largely rainfed agricultural production
of small, semisubsistence, and increasingly fragmented farms. It has few
natural resources to exploit and a small, uncompetitive industrial sector.
While the production of coffee and tea is well-suited to the small farms,
steep slopes, and cool climates of Rwanda, farm size continues to decrease,
especially in view of government ownership of all land and the resettlement
of displaced persons. Agribusiness accounts for 50% of Rwanda's GDP and 70%
of exports. Tea accounts for 60% of export earnings, followed by coffee and
pyrethrum (whose extract is used in insect repellant). Mountain gorillas
serve as a potentially important source of tourism revenue, but Rwanda's
tourism and hospitality sector requires further development. Rwanda is a
member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Some
34% of Rwanda's imports originate in Africa, 90% from COMESA countries. The
genocide continues to impact Rwanda's economy; as of 2003, 30% of the Rwanda
Development Bank's outstanding nonperforming loans originated from the period
of 1994 genocide. In 2003, the Government of Rwanda sought to privatize
several key firms, including Rwandatel (the country's second-largest mobile
phone provider); Electrogaz, the utility monopoly; several government-owned
tea factories; and the Commercial Bank of Rwanda, the country's
second-largest commercial bank.

During the 5 years of civil war that culminated in the 1994 genocide, GDP
declined in 3 out of 5 years, posting a dramatic decline at more than 40% in
1994, the year of the genocide. The 9% increase in real GDP for 1995, the
first postwar year, signaled the resurgence of economic activity, due
primarily to massive foreign aid.

In the immediate postwar period--mid-1994 through 1995--emergency
humanitarian assistance of more than $307.4 million was largely directed to
relief efforts in Rwanda and in the refugee camps in neighboring countries
where Rwandans fled during the war. In 1996, humanitarian relief aid began to
shift to reconstruction and development assistance.

Since 1996, Rwanda has experienced steady economic recovery, thanks to
foreign aid (averaging $200-$300 million per year) and governmental reforms.
As of 2002, the GDP had ranged from 3%-9% per annum, and inflation had ranged
between 2%-3%. Rwanda depends on significant foreign imports ($250-$300
million per year). Export rates remain weak at $75 million per year. Private
investment remains below expectations despite an open trade policy, a
favorable investment climate, cheap and abundant labor, tax incentives to
businesses, stable internal security, and crime rates that are comparatively
low. Investment insurance also is available through the Africa Trade
Insurance Agency or the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. The weakness
of exports as well as low domestic savings rates have had a negative impact
on the current account for Rwanda, thus requiring a recent currency
devaluation and debt restructuring measures.

The Government of Rwanda remains committed to a strong and enduring economic
climate for the country. To this end the government focuses on poverty
reduction, infrastructure development, privatization of government-owned
assets, expansion of the export base, and liberalization of trade. The
implementation of a value added tax of 18% and improved tax collections are
having a positive impact on government revenues and thereby services
rendered. Banking reform and low corruption also are favorable current
trends. Agricultural reforms, improved farming methods, and increased use of
fertilizers are improving crop yields and national food supply. Moreover, the
government is pursing educational and healthcare programs that bode well for
the long-term quality of Rwanda's human resource skills base.

Many challenges remain for Rwanda. Rwanda is dependent on significant foreign
aid. Exports continue to lag far behind imports and will continue to affect
the current account. Inflation may become a problem should the government
resort to over-printing currency for short-term gains. The persistent lack of
economic diversification beyond the production of tea, coffee, and coltan
keeps the country vulnerable to market fluctuations. Rwanda's landlocked
situation necessitates strong highway infrastructure maintenance, and good
transport linkages to neighboring countries, especially Uganda and Tanzania,
are critical. Transportation costs remain high and, therefore, burden import
and export costs. Rwanda has no railway system for port access in Tanzania,
although the nearest railhead from Kigali is 380 kilometers away at Isaka,
Tanzania. The development of small manufacturing and service industries is
needed, and the tourism industry, now at 8,000 visitors per year, has far
greater potential given the current stability, travel infrastructure, and
available animal parks as well as other potential tourist sites.

American business interest in Rwanda, other than in tea and
telecommunications, is weak, and the African Growth and Opportunity Act
(AGOA) has yet to make a significant impact in Rwanda. Energy needs will
stress natural resources in wood and gas, but hydroelectric power development
is underway, albeit primarily in the planning stages. Rwanda does not have
nuclear power nor coal resources. Finally, the Rwanda's fertility rate
(averaging 5.8 births per woman) will continue to stress services, and
diseases such as AIDS/HIV transmission, malaria, and tuberculosis will have a
major impact on human resources.

Rwanda's government-run radio broadcasts 15 hours a day in English, French,
and Kinyarwanda, the national languages. News programs include regular
re-broadcasts from international radio such as Voice of America and Radio
France International. There is a fledgling television station. There are few
independent newspapers; most newspapers publish in Kinyarwanda on a weekly,
biweekly, or monthly basis. Several Western nations, including the United
States, are working to encourage freedom of the press, the free exchange of
ideas, and responsible journalism.

DEFENSE
The military establishment is comprised of a well-trained army and a small,
rotary-wing air force. Defense spending continues to represent a
disproportionate share of the national budget, largely due to continuing
security problems along the frontiers with the Democratic Republic of the
Congo and Burundi in the aftermath of the war. Following withdrawal of
Rwandan Armed Forces from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in October
2002, the government completely restructured the military and launched an
ambitious plan to demobilize thousands of soldiers. At end state, Rwanda will
have a small, well-equipped army of 25,000 soldiers.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
In July 2003, Rwanda's Presidential Special Envoy for the Great Lakes,
Patrick Mazimhaka, was elected Deputy Chairperson of the 10-person African
Union Commission. President Paul Kagame was elected as the First Vice
Chairman of the African Union (AU).

Rwanda has been the center of much international attention since the war and
genocide of 1994. Rwanda is an active member of the UN, having presided over
the Security Council during part of 1995. The UN assistance mission in Rwanda
(UNAMIR), a UN Chapter Six peacekeeping operation, involved personnel from
more than a dozen countries. Most of the UN development and humanitarian
agencies have had a large presence in Rwanda.

At the height of the emergency, more than 200 nongovernmental organizations
were carrying out humanitarian operations. Several west European and African
nations, Canada, China, Egypt, Libya, Russia, the Vatican, and the European
Union maintain diplomatic missions in Kigali. In 1998, Rwanda, along with
Uganda, invaded the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.) to back
Congolese rebels trying to overthrow then-President Laurent Kabila. Rwandan
troops pulled out of the D.R.C. in October 2002, however, in accordance with
the Lusaka cease-fire agreement.

U.S.-RWANDAN RELATIONS
In the post-crisis period, U.S. Government interests have shifted from
strictly humanitarian to include the prevention of renewed regional conflict,
the promotion of internal stability, and renewed economic development.

Since 1995, the United States has been the principal donor for Rwanda's
humanitarian demining program, providing over $11 million to help remove the
scourge of landmines. As of October 2003, one million square meters of
landmines were estimated to remain in Rwanda, 80% of which lay in two
identified minefields.

A major focus of bilateral relations is the U.S. Agency for International
Development's (USAID) "transition" program, which aims to promote internal
stability and to increase confidence in the society. To achieve this, USAID
is trying to achieve three strategic objectives under an integrated strategic
plan:

* Increased rule of law and transparency in governance;
* Increased use of health and social services and changed behavior related
to sexually transmitted infections and human immunodeficiency virus and
maternal and child health by building service capacity in target regions;
and
* Increased ability of rural families in targeted communities to improve
household food security.

The mission currently is implementing activities in humanitarian assistance
and rehabilitation--women's income-generating initiatives, shelter, family
relocation for children, administration of justice, increased local
government capacity, improved health service delivery, AIDS and sexually
transmitted infection (STI) prevention, and enhanced food security.

The State Department's Public Affairs section maintains a cultural center in
Kigali, which offers public access to English-language publications and
information on the United States. American business interests have been
small; currently, private U.S. investment is limited to the tea industry.
Annual U.S. exports to Rwanda, under $10 million annually from 1990-93,
exceeded $40 million in 1994 and 1995, but decreased to only $13.4 million in
2001.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Michael R. Arietti
Deputy Chief of Mission--Michael Thurston
Director USAID Program--Kevin Mullally
Public Affairs Officer--Grace Brunton

The U.S. Embassy is located on Boulevard de la Revolution, P.O. Box 28,
Kigali (tel. 250-75601/02; fax 250-72128).