*Rwanda, Government
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court (consists of the Court of Cassation and the Council of
State in joint session)
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Juvenal HABYARIMANA (since 5 July 1973)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Dismas NSENGIYAREMYE (since NA April 1992)
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 in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Aloys UWIMANA
chancery:
1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
(202) 232-2882
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Robert A. FLATEN
embassy:
Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali
mailing address:
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 1990, has dampened
prospects for economic improvement.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $2.35 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
1.3% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
$290 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $350 million; expenditures $453.7 million, including capital
expenditures of $NA million (1992 est.)
Exports:
$66.6 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
coffee 85%, tea, tin, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum
partners:
Germany, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US
Imports:
$259.5 million (f.o.b., 1992 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
*Rwanda, Economy
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:
1 Rwandan franc (RF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
Rwandan francs (RF) per US$1 - 146.34 (January 1993), 133.35 (1992), 125.14
(1991), 82.60 (1990), 79.98 (1989), 76.45 (1988)
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
Airports:
total:
8
usable:
7
with permanent-surface runways:
3
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
2
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 age 15-49 1,675,160; fit for military service 853,467 (1993 est.); no
conscription
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $37 million, 1.6% of GDP (1988 est.)