About Rwanda
She is a small landlocked country regarded as Land of a Thousand Hills and it’s found in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa. Rwanda is bordered by Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
She has both fertile and hilly terrain land and her population is approximately 9 million people. Because of the 1994 genocide that led to the deaths of over 1 million people, Rwanda is well known to the outside world. Besides the genocides, Rwanda has a tragic history of conflict, violence and serial genocide.
On July 1, 1962, she got her independence and was created as a republic governed by the majority Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement (PARMEHUTU), has made it gain full control of national politics by this time.
Politics in Rwanda
After the 1994 genocide, a single-party "coalition-based" was created by the RPF and Paul Kagame became Vice-President of the Country. In the year 2000 Paul Kagame was elected the president of Rwanda by the parliament. In 2003 the new constitution written by the president was adopted by referendum in that in August and September 2003 presidential and legislative elections were held hence making Paul Kagame the president.
The Senate has at least 26 members, each with an 8 year term. At least 1/3 of positions must be held by women. 8 posts are appointed by the president. 12 are elected representatives of the 11 provinces and the city of Kigali. Four members are designated by the Forum of Political Organizations, one member is a university lecturer or researcher elected by the public universities; one member is a university lecturer or researcher elected by the private universities. Any past President has permanent membership in the Senate. Under this scheme, up to 12 appointees to the Senate are appointed by the President and his party. The elected members must be approved by the Supreme Court.
Administrative divisions
She is divided into five provinces and also subdivided into thirty districts. The provinces include these include: the East Province, West Province, Kigali Province, North Province and South Province.
Geography of Rwanda
Rwanda is situated near the center of Africa and is a few degrees south of the Equator. Her capital city is Kigali that is situated in the centre of the country. She is divided by Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley to the west from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the north its bordered by Uganda, Tanzania in the east, and in the south by Burundi.
The countryside is designed with the grasslands and small farms extending over rolling hills and the rugged mountains areas extending southeast from a chain of volcanoes in the northwest. The division between the Congo and Nile drainage systems extend from north to south through western Rwanda at an average elevation of about 2,740 m. On the western slopes of this ridgeline, the land slopes abruptly toward Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley, and constitutes part of the Great Rift Valley. The eastern slopes are more moderate, with rolling hills extending across central uplands at gradually reducing altitudes, to the plains, swamps, and lakes of the eastern border region. In 2006, a British-led exploration announced that they had located the longest headstream of the River Nile in Nyungwe Forest.
Climate in Rwanda
Because of the high elevation, the temperate climate, snow and frost in the mountains and Rwanda is regarded as a tropical country. Near Lake Kivu, the average daily temperature at an altitude of about 1,463 m is 23°C (73°F). Due to intense daily Tsunami's during the two rainy seasons of February to May and September to December, Rwanda is regarded as the lightning capital of the world. The annual rainfall averages is 830 mm though in the western and northwestern mountains is heavier than in the eastern savannas.
Transport in Rwanda
The transport system in Rwanda centers primarily on the road network, connecting from the capital, Kigali and most other major cities and towns in the country. Rwanda is also linked by road with other East African countries where the majority of the country's imports and exports are made. There is also an international airport that is located at the capital city of Rwanda which is Kigali which serves one domestic and several international destinations. She also has a limited water transport that is between the port cities on Lake Kivu. However there has been a lot of investment in the transport section. These investments have been made by the government with aid from the China, European Union, Japan and others.
Shared taxis are used as the public transport in Rwanda with express routes linking the major cities and local services serving most villages along the main roads of the country. And also Coach Services are used to different destinations in neighboring countries.
Economy in Rwanda
Agriculture is the largest relied on economy that the population is engaged in and it covers about 90%. Since she is a landlocked country, there are few natural resources and minimal industry. The major exports for Rwanda are both coffee, tea, flowers and in minerals it’s Coltan which is used in manufacturing electronic and communication devices such as mobile phones. Recently, tourism also is a growing sector and the most common attractions are Lake Kivu, Nyungwe Forest and the world famous and unique mountain gorillas in the Virunga Park. The GNP of Rwanda is low and it’s identified as a Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC).
Demographics
Most Rwandans speak Kinyarwanda. Before the arrival of European colonists, there was no written history. Today, the nation is roughly 84% Hutu, 15% Tutsi, and 1% Twa, with smaller minorities of South Asians, Arabs, French, British, and Belgians. The nation is some 56.5% Roman Catholic, 26% Protestant, 11.1% Adventist, and 4.6% Muslim, original beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001).
Culture
According to the mitochondrial DNA analyses, the pygmy Twa are considered to be one of the oldest races on earth. The Twa are found in Nyungwe Forest National Park and they are still hunter-gatherer. Most of them have been chased away from their land and because of the emphasis on "non-racialism" the rights of the Twa are even fewer and they occupy the fringes of Rwandan society. The "Intore," were trained as military, high jump which is over 2.4 meters and dancers.