by Thokozile Gurganious

Created on: September 10, 2010   Last Updated: September 12, 2010

Rwanda is one of the sixty one countries of Africa. It is located in the heartland of Africa, sandwiched in between Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The capital city of Rwanda, Kigali, is situated somewhat in the middle of the country. Other major cities of Rwanda include Kibuye, Gitarama, Cyangugu, Butare, Kibungo, Ruhengeri, and Byumba. The major languages in Rwanda are Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili and English. About 70% of the Rwandese population can read and write.  Although Rwanda is landlocked, the country is blessed to have a big lake, Lake Kivu, along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rwanda was a colony of Belgium, and became independent in 1962. The population of the country is about 86%. Christian.  There are two major ethnic groups in Rwanda, the Tutsi and the Hutus. The Hutus (Bantu) are the majority, making up 84% of the population of the country, while the Tutsi (Hamitic) make up 15% and the Twa (Pygmy) make up 1%. However, at independence, it was a Tutsi king who ruled the country. The majority Hutus were not happy with this, as the two ethnic groups had a history of animosity. The Hutus overthrew the Tutsi king, and many Tutsis left the country and went into exile, from where they formed the RPF, the Rwandan Patriotic Front. In 1990, the RPF started waging a civil war against the Rwandan government. The civil war aggravated the country’s already weak social and economic situation, and eventually, the country faltered under unprecedented genocide in April 1994. About 800,000 people, mainly Tutsi, but also tolerant Hutus, perished. Many people in Rwanda, fearing revenge for the killings, fled from the country. These refugees were estimated at 2 million. Many of the refugees haves returned to Rwanda, but some remained in the Democratic Republic of Congo were they formed an insurgency mimicking the 1990s RFP, to topple the Rwandan government. The Congolese assisted the Rwandan government in a joint operation to stamp out the rebels in 2009.  In the meantime, the first elections after the genocide were held in 2003.

The population of Rwanda is slightly over 10 million. As if the civil strife that the country has gone through is not enough, the country has also suffered from the scourge of Aids.  The country has over 150, 000 people living with Aids. Other major diseases include water borne diseases like typhoid fever, diarrhea and hepatitis A. 

Rwanda has diplomatic relations with the United States. Rwanda is a poor country with about 90% of the population engaged mainly farming, most of which is subsistence farming. The GDP income per capita was estimated at $1000 in 2009.  60% of the population lives below the poverty line. The genocide aggravated the poverty of the population.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-f actbook/geos/rw.html

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