Map of Rwanda - Rwanda Map, Rwanda Information, Africa Map

Description

In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries.

The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and the former Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but several thousand remain in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo and formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF tried in 1990.

Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in August and September 2003 - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output, and ethnic reconciliation is complicated by the real and perceived Tutsi political dominance. Kigali's increasing centralization and intolerance of dissent, the nagging Hutu extremist insurgency across the border, and Rwandan involvement in two wars in recent years in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts to escape its bloody legacy.

Facts and Figures

Official Name Republic of Rwanda

Capital City Kigali

Languages Kinyarwanda, French, local dialects

Official Currency Rwanda Franc

Religions Catholic, traditional beliefs

Population 8,648,248

Land Area 24,950 sq km (9,633 sq miles)

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Recommended Links

Rwanda (Complete) info on the (GDP) economy, imports and exports, natural resources, government, population, military, transportation and more here

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Climate The climate of Rwanda is made up of two wet seasons and two dry seasons. The short wet season lasts from October-November, and the main rainy season lasts mid-March to the end of May. During the dry seasons, which last from December to mid-March and from June to the end of August, frequent light cloud cover yields a pleasant, never stifling, temperature.