:Rwanda Government
National Development Council:
last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held NA December 1993); results -
MRND is the only party; seats - (70 total) MRND 70
Member of:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Aloys UWIMANA; Chancery at 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20009; telephone (202) 232-2882
US:
Ambassador Robert A. FLATEN; Embassy at Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali
(mailing address is B. P. 28, Kigali); telephone [250] 75601 through 75603;
FAX [250] 72128
Flag:
three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green with a
large black letter R
centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of
Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Guinea, which has a plain yellow band
:Rwanda Economy
Overview:
Almost 50% of GDP comes from the agricultural sector; coffee and tea make up
80-90% of total exports. The amount of fertile land is limited, however, and
deforestation and soil erosion have created problems. The industrial sector
in Rwanda is small, contributing only 17% to GDP. Manufacturing focuses
mainly on the processing of agricultural products. The Rwandan economy
remains dependent on coffee exports and foreign aid. Weak international
prices since 1986 have caused the economy to contract and per capita GDP to
decline. A structural adjustment program with the World Bank began in
October 1990. An outbreak of insurgency, also in October, has dampened any
prospects for economic improvement.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $2.1 billion, per capita $300; real growth rate
-6.8% (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.2% (1990)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $391 million; expenditures $491 million, including capital
expenditures of $225 million (1989 est.)
Exports:
$111.7 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
commodities:
coffee 85%, tea, tin, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum
partners:
Germany, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US
Imports:
$279.2 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
commodities:
textiles, foodstuffs, machines and equipment, capital goods, steel,
petroleum products, cement and construction material
partners:
US, Belgium, Germany, Kenya, Japan
External debt:
$911 million (1990 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 1.2% (1988); accounts for 17% of GDP
Electricity:
30,000 kW capacity; 130 million kWh produced, 15 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
mining of cassiterite (tin ore) and wolframite (tungsten ore), tin, cement,
agricultural processing, small-scale beverage production, soap, furniture,
shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes
Agriculture:
accounts for almost 50% of GDP and about 90% of the labor force; cash crops
- coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums); main food
crops - bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; stock raising; self-sufficiency
declining; country imports foodstuffs as farm production fails to keep up
with a 3.8% annual growth in population
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $128 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.0 billion; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $45 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $58
million; note - in October 1990 Rwanda launched a Structural Adjustment
Program with the IMF; since September 1991, the EC has given $46 million and
the US $25 million in support of this program
Currency:
Rwandan franc (plural - francs); 1 Rwandan franc (RF) = 100 centimes
:Rwanda Economy
Exchange rates:
Rwandan francs (RF) per US$1 - 121.40 (January 1992), 125.14 (1991), 82.60
(1990), 79.98 (1989), 76.45 (1988), 79.67 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Rwanda Communications
Highways:
4,885 km total; 460 km paved, 1,725 km gravel and/or improved earth, 2,700
km unimproved
Inland waterways:
Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft
Civil air:
2 major transport aircraft
Airports:
8 total, 8 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over
3,659 m; 1 with runway 2,440-3,659 m;2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
fair system with low-capacity radio relay system centered on Kigali;
broadcast stations - 2 AM, 1 (7 repeaters) FM, no TV; satellite earth
stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 SYMPHONIE
:Rwanda Defense Forces
Branches:
Army (including Air Wing), Gendarmerie
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 1,719,936; 876,659 fit for military service; no conscription
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $37 million, 1.6% of GDP (1988 est.)