Rwanda is known as the “Land of a Thousand Hills.” It is a land-locked country of rivers, lakes and volcanoes, with much of Rwanda's west and central regions at elevations of between 4,900 and 6,500 feet above sea level. The dense, dripping forests of the Volcanoes National Park, that occupies a sliver of the rugged north-western boundary with Uganda, is home to the country's fabled gorilla.
This rural country, the size of Maryland, has a population of 11,370,425. Kigali, the capital and largest city, has a population of 851,024. About 90% of the population of this country is engaged in agriculture, by far the highest rural population density on the continent. It is the most densely populated, the least urbanized country in Africa and has few natural resources and minimal industry.
Tea, coffee, sorghum, beans, bananas and potatoes are the main agricultural products of Rwanda. Furniture, small-scale beverages and cement are some of the revenue generating industrial sectors of Rwanda. Primary exports are coffee and tea.
It has a republican government. Paul Kagame is the president. English, French and Kinyarwanda are the three official languages of Rwanda. Life expectancy is 47 years. 84% are Hutu and 15% are Tutsi.
From 1990 Rwanda was embroiled in a civil war that culminated in genocide. In April 1994, 800,000 Rwandans, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed in 100 days during the genocide. There was also a mass flight of refugees. Aid workers state that the remaining people of Rwanda are just trying to move forward, but are still held down by abject poverty and the lack of international aid.
Based on the 2010 Human Development Index (HDI) report, Rwanda is ranked at 152 out of a total of 169 countries under the ‘Low Human Development’ category. Gross National Income in Rwanda is $233.00 per person.
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