Some facts
- Slightly smaller than Maryland
- Known as “The Land of a Thousand Hills”
- Population of 11.68 million, most densely populated African country
- Capital and largest city: Kigali
- Located just south of the equator
- Geography dominated by mountains in the west, savanna in the east, 23 lakes (including 1 of the top 20 deepest lakes in the world), and numerous rivers (some forming one source of the Nile)
- Temperatures in Kigali range between 54 and 81°F
- Average elevation of 5,000ft
- Rainfall exceeds 39" annually in many areas
- $1,400 per capita GDP
- Official languages: Kinyarwanda, French, and English
- Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, other 1.8%
- Northern region is home to the world’s largest number of endangered mountain gorillas
- Economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture with coffee and tea as the major cash crops—approx. 90% of the population farms
- Mostly vegetarian diets in rural areas, though meat may be eaten on special occasions—staples are beans, potatoes, cassava, bananas, maize meal, sweet potatoes and rice
- Music and dance play an important role in Rwandan traditions
- A distinctively Rwandan craft is the type of cow dung ‘painting’ called Imigongo
Brief historical synopsis (copy/pasted together from the sources below)
In pre-colonial Rwandan society, the Hutu, Tutsi, and
Twa peoples spoke the same language, followed the same cultural practices, and
occasionally intermarried. The Tutsi were traditionally cattle herders, while
the Hutu were generally farmers. Because
cattle were the dominant form of disposal capital, the Tutsi were better
positioned to exert economic power and influence. The economic leverage of the
Tutsi led to political dominance and a line of Tutsi bwami (kings).
Germany colonized Rwanda in 1884, followed
by Belgium, which invaded in
1916 during World War I. Both European
nations ruled through the bwami and perpetuated pro-Tutsi policy. The
Hutu population revolted in 1959, massacring a large number of Tutsi and
ultimately establishing an independent Hutu-dominated state in 1962.
The Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front launched a civil war in 1990, which was followed by the 1994 genocide, in which Hutu
extremists killed an estimated 800,000 to 1 million Tutsi and moderate Hutu.
The RPF ended the genocide with a military victory.
Today, Rwanda is a Republic, operating under a presidential,
multi-party system. With more than half of the parliament’s seats occupied by
female lawmakers, Rwanda boasts the highest percentage of women lawmakers in
the world. The economy steadily improves, having suffered devastation after the
genocide. The Rwandan people are working to heal the wounds of war, and the
government has implemented a policy that ethnicity (Hutu, Tutsi, Twa) no longer
exists in Rwanda, and that Rwandans are one united people. As a result, it is
now unlawful to discuss the ethnic groups.
Thank you to the
following sources for this info:
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