Rwanda 2019
Yearbook 2019
Rwanda. The country marked the 25th anniversary of the genocide where approximately 800,000 people were killed, most of them from the Tutsi population. At a ceremony on April 7, the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and his counterpart in the African Union (AU), Moussa Faki Mahamat, attended.
French President Emmanuel Macron was invited, but sent Rwandan-born French MP Hervé Berville, who survived the genocide. Macron appointed a commission to investigate French archives on the role of France between 1990 and 1994. It was seen as an attempt to improve ties with Rwanda, which accused French officials of aiding the 1994 genocide.
In April, Svea Court of Appeal set a life sentence for a 50-year-old Rwandan-born Swedish citizen for, among other things, genocide in 1994. The case is the third that Sweden has tried.
President Paul Kagame and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni agreed in August to normalize relations and not hinder border crossings after several months of tension.
- ABBREVIATIONFINDER.ORG: Click to see the meanings of 3-letter acronym and abbreviation of RWA in general and in geography as Rwanda in particular.
In November, Kagame appointed Vincent Biruta as Foreign Minister. The veteran politician has held several ministerial posts and belongs to the small Social Democratic Party (PSD) supporting Kagames Rwanda’s Patriotic Front (FPR).
Opposition politician Victoire Ingabire, who tried to challenge Kagame in the presidential election, announced in November that she had formed the Development and Freedom Party for All (Dalfa Umurunzi). She leaves her former party, FDU-Inkingi, which is not registered. In October, she was asked about alleged involvement in an attack in northern Rwanda where 14 civilians were killed.
In September, 66 African migrants arrived stranded in Libya. Rwanda has promised to welcome up to 30,000 migrants under an agreement with the UN refugee agency UNHCR and the AU.
The International Monetary Fund estimated that growth would remain around 8% over the next two, three years, strengthened by, among other things, public investment.
Save the Children praised Rwanda for advances in children’s health since 2000. The number of children dying before the age of 5 has decreased by 79%. More children attend school and fewer marry before the age of 18, according to the Global Childhood Report.
Country data
Area: 26,338 km2 (world rank: 145)
Population: 12,208,000
Population density: 464 per km2 (as of 2017, world rank: 77)
Capital: Kigali
Official languages: Kinyarwanda, French, English
Gross domestic product: 9.1 billion US $; Real growth: 6.1%
Gross national product (GNP, per resident and year): 720 US$
Currency: 1 Rwanda Franc (F.Rw) = 100 Centimes
Embassy
Jägerstr. 67
69, 10117 Berlin
Telephone 030 20916590,
Fax 030 209165959
www.rwanda-botschaft.de
Government
Head of State: Paul Kagame, Head of Government: Edouard Ngirente, Exterior: Louise Mushikiwabo
National Day: 1.7.
Administrative structure
5 provinces
State and form of government
Constitution of 2003
Presidential republic (in the Commonwealth since 2009)
Parliament: House of Representatives (Umutwe w’Abadepite) with 80 members (53 directly elected, at least 24 seats go to women), election every 5 years; Senate (Umutwe wa Sena) (indirectly elected 14 appointed 12) with 26 Members Rank, elections every 8 years.
Direct election of the head of state every 7 J.
Voting age 18 years
Population: Rwandans, last census in 2012: 10,515,973 residents.
85% Hutu, 14% Tutsi, 1% Twa (so-called pygmies)
Cities (with population): (As of 2012) Kigali 859,332 pop., Gisenyi 126,706, Ruhengeri 59,333, Butare 50,220, Guitarama 49,038, Byumba 35,544, Cyangugu 27,416, Nyanza 25,417
Religions: 44% Catholics, 38% Protestants, 12% Adventists, 2% Muslims, etc. indigenous religions (as of 2006)
Languages: Kinyarwanda, English, French; Swahili
employed persons by economic sector
no information
Unemployment (in% of all economically active persons)
no information
Inflation rate (in%): 2017: 4.8%
Foreign trade: Import: 2.0 billion US$ (2017); Export: US $ 1.2 billion (2017)
Population 2019
According to CountryAAH, the population of Rwanda in 2019 was 12,626,839, ranking number 76 in the world. The population growth rate was 2.640% yearly, and the population density was 511.8342 people per km2.
