INDEPENDENCE: 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
LEGAL SYSTEM: based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
BRANCHES: executive--president, 16-member Cabinet; legislative--unicameral National Development Council; judicial--four senior courts, magistrates
CHIEF OF STATE: and Head of Government President Maj. Gen. Juvenal
HABYARIMANA (since 5 July 1973)
SUFFRAGE: universal adult
ELECTIONS: national elections including constitutional referendum and presidential plebiscite, held December 1988; National Development Council elected and President Habyarimana reelected in December 1988
POLITICAL PARTIES AND LEADERS: National Revolutionary Movement for Development (MRND), General Habyarimana (officially a development movement, not a party)
DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION: Ambassador Aloys UWIMANA; Chancery at 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 232-2882
U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE POST: Ambassador Leonard H. O. SPEARMAN, Sr.; Embassy at Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali (mailing address is B. P. 28, Kigali); telephone r 72126 through 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
.ECONOMY OF RWANDA
OVERVIEW: About 40% 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 less than 20% to GDP. Manufacturing focuses mainly on the processing of agricultural products.
GNP: $2.3 billion, per capita $340; real growth rate - 2.8% (1987)
INFLATION RATE (CONSUMER PRICES): 4.1% (1987)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: NA%
BUDGET: revenues $270 million; expenditures $330 million, including capital expenditures of $49 million (1987 est.)
EXPORTS: $113 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities--coffee 85%, tea, tin, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum; partners--FRG, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US
IMPORTS: $352 million (c.i.f., 1987); commodities--textiles, foodstuffs, machines and equipment, capital goods, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material; partners--US, Belgium, FRG, Kenya, Japan
EXTERNAL DEBT: $537 million (December 1988)
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION: growth rate 7.5% (1987)
ELECTRICITY: 26,000 kW capacity; 112 million kWh produced, 15 kWh per capita (1988)
AGRICULTURE: cash crops--coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums); main food crops--bananas, cassava; stock raising; self-sufficiency declining; country imports foodstuffs
AID: NA
CURRENCY: Rwandese franc (plural--francs); 1 Rwandese franc (RF) = 100 centimes
HIGHWAYS: 4,885 km (3,035 mi) 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: 1 major transport aircraft
AIRPORTS: 8 total, 8 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 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; 6,600 telephones; stations--2 AM, 5 FM, no TV; SYMPHONIE satellite station; 1 Indian Ocean satellite station
.DEFENSE FORCES OF RWANDA
BRANCHES: Army, paramilitary, Gendarmerie
MILITARY MANPOWER: males 15-49, 1,525,399; 779,892 fit formilitary service; no conscription
MILITARY BUDGET: $44 million, 12% of central government budget (1987)
.TRAVEL IN RWANDA
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: Passport and visa required. All visas are multiple entry for stay up to 3 months, $15. Requires 2 photos, 2 applications. Exact date of entry into Rwanda required with application. For business visa, need company letter stating purpose of trip. Include prepaid envelope or postage for return of passport by certified mail. Vaccination certificates required for yellow fever and cholera. Health requirements change; check latest information.
TOURIST OFFICE: Office of Tourism and National Parks, B.P. 905, Kigali; Tel 76514.
WEATHER AND CLOTHING: Temperate; rainwear is recommended Feb-Apr and Nov-Jan. Winter clothing may be needed in the highlands.
TELEPHONE: Calls to Rwanda should be made through the international operator.
TIME: 7 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time, and 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
ELECTRIC CURRENT: 220V
IMPORTANT!! All requirements/recommendations are subject to change. Be sure to check latest information.
