![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Rwanda-on-the-Globe.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>The population is young and predominantly rural. Rwandans are drawn from just one cultural and linguistic group, the Banyarwanda<\/a>. However, within this group there are three subgroups: the Hutu<\/a>, Tutsi<\/a> and Twa<\/a>. The Twa are a forest-dwelling pygmy people and are often considered descendants of Rwanda’s earliest inhabitants. Scholars disagree on the origins of and differences between the Hutu and Tutsi; some believe differences are derived from former social castes within a single people, while others believe the Hutu and Tutsi arrived in the country separately, and from different locations. Christianity is the largest religion in the country; the principal language is Kinyarwanda<\/a>, spoken by most Rwandans, with English and French serving as additional official languages. The sovereign state of Rwanda has a presidential system of government. The president is Paul Kagame<\/a> of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)<\/a>, who has served continuously since 2000. Today, Rwanda has low levels of corruption compared with neighboring countries, although human rights organizations report suppression of opposition groups, intimidation and restrictions on freedom of speech. The country has been governed by a strict administrative hierarchy since precolonial times; there are five provinces delineated by borders drawn in 2006. Rwanda is one of only three countries in the world with a female majority in the national parliament, the two other countries being Bolivia and Cuba.<\/p>\n Hunter-gatherers settled the territory in the Stone<\/a> and Iron Ages<\/a>, followed later by Bantu peoples<\/a>. The population coalesced first into clans and then into kingdoms. The Kingdom of Rwanda<\/a> dominated from the mid-eighteenth century, with the Tutsi kings conquering others militarily, centralizing power and later enacting anti-Hutu policies. Germany<\/a> colonized Rwanda in 1884 as part of German East Africa<\/a>, followed by Belgium<\/a>, which invaded in 1916 during World War I<\/a>. Both European nations ruled through the kings and perpetuated a pro-Tutsi policy. The Hutu population revolted<\/a> in 1959. They massacred numerous Tutsi and ultimately established an independent, Hutu-dominated republic in 1962. A 1973 military coup<\/a> saw a change of leadership, but the pro-Hutu policy remained. The Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front launched a civil war<\/a> in 1990. The presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, both Hutus, were killed when their aircraft was shot down on 6 April 1994. Social tensions erupted in the 1994 genocide<\/a> that followed, in which Hutu extremists killed an estimated 500,000\u20131,000,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu. The RPF ended the genocide with a military victory.<\/p>\n Rwanda’s developing economy suffered heavily in the wake of the 1994 genocide, but has since strengthened. The economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture. Coffee and tea are the major cash crops for export. Tourism is a fast-growing sector and is now the country’s leading foreign exchange earner. Rwanda is one of only two countries in which mountain gorillas can be visited safely, and visitors pay high prices for gorilla tracking permits. Music and dance are an integral part of Rwandan culture, particularly drums and the highly choreographed intore dance. Traditional arts and crafts are produced throughout the country, including imigongo, a unique cow dung art.<\/p>\n Rwanda has been governed as a unitary presidential system with a bicameral parliament ruled by the Rwandan Patriotic Front since 1994. The country is member of the African Union<\/a>, the United Nations<\/a>, the Commonwealth of Nations<\/a>, COMESA<\/a>, OIF<\/a> and the East African Community<\/a>.<\/p>\n Modern human settlement of what is now Rwanda dates from, at the latest, the last glacial period, either in the Neolithic period around 8000 BC, or in the long humid period which followed, up to around 3000 BC. Archaeological excavations have revealed evidence of sparse settlement by hunter-gatherers in the late Stone Age, followed by a larger population of early Iron Age settlers, who produced dimpled pottery and iron tools. These early inhabitants were the ancestors of the Twa, aboriginal pygmy hunter-gatherers who remain in Rwanda today. Between 700 BC and 1500 AD, a number of Bantu groups migrated into Rwanda, clearing forest land for agriculture. The forest-dwelling Twa lost much of their habitat and moved to the mountain slopes. Historians have several theories regarding the nature of the Bantu migrations; one theory is that the first settlers were Hutu, while the Tutsi migrated later to form a distinct racial group, possibly of Nilo-hamitic origin. An alternative theory is that the migration was slow and steady, with incoming groups integrating into rather than conquering the existing society. Under this theory, the Hutu and Tutsi distinction arose later and was a class distinction rather than a racial one.<\/p>\n The earliest form of social organization in the area was the clan (ubwoko). The clans were not limited to genealogical lineages or geographical area, and most included Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. From the 15th century, the clans began to coalesce into kingdoms; by 1700 around eight kingdoms existed in present-day Rwanda. One of these, the Kingdom of Rwanda, ruled by the Tutsi Nyiginya clan<\/a>, became increasingly dominant from the mid-eighteenth century. The kingdom reached its greatest extent during the nineteenth century under the reign of King Kigeli Rwabugiri<\/a>. Rwabugiri conquered several smaller states, expanded the kingdom west and north, and initiated administrative reforms; these included ubuhake<\/a>, in which Tutsi patrons ceded cattle, and therefore privileged status, to Hutu or Tutsi clients in exchange for economic and personal service, and uburetwa, a corv\u00e9e<\/a> system in which Hutu were forced to work for Tutsi chiefs. Rwabugiri’s changes caused a rift to grow between the Hutu and Tutsi populations. The Twa were better off than in pre-Kingdom days, with some becoming dancers in the royal court, but their numbers continued to decline.<\/p>\n The Berlin Conference of 1884<\/a> assigned the territory to Germany as part of German East Africa, marking the beginning of the colonial era. The explorer Gustav Adolf von G\u00f6tzen<\/a> was the first European to significantly explore the country in 1894; he crossed from the south-east to Lake Kivu and met the king. The Germans did not significantly alter the social structure of the country, but exerted influence by supporting the king and the existing hierarchy and delegating power to local chiefs. Belgian forces took control of Rwanda and Burundi in 1916, during World War I, beginning a period of more direct colonial rule. Belgium ruled both Rwanda and Burundi as a League of Nations mandate<\/a> called Ruanda-Urundi<\/a>. The Belgians also simplified and centralized the power structure, and introduced large-scale projects in education, health, public works, and agricultural supervision, including new crops and improved agricultural techniques to try to reduce the incidence of famine. Both the Germans and the Belgians promoted Tutsi supremacy, considering the Hutu and Tutsi different races. In 1935, Belgium introduced identity cards labelling each individual as either Tutsi, Hutu, Twa or Naturalised. While it had previously been possible for particularly wealthy Hutu to become honorary Tutsi, the identity cards prevented any further movement between the classes.<\/p>\n Belgium continued to rule Ruanda-Urundi (of which Rwanda formed the northern part) as a UN Trust Territory<\/a> after the Second World War<\/a>, with a mandate to oversee eventual independence. Tensions escalated between the Tutsi, who favored early independence, and the Hutu emancipation movement, culminating in the 1959 Rwandan Revolution: Hutu activists began killing Tutsi and destroying their houses, forcing more than 100,000 people to seek refuge in neighboring countries. In 1961, the suddenly pro-Hutu Belgians held a referendum in which the country voted to abolish the monarchy. Rwanda was separated from Burundi and gained independence on 1 July 1962, which is commemorated as Independence Day, a national holiday. Cycles of violence followed, with exiled Tutsi attacking from neighboring countries and the Hutu retaliating with large-scale slaughter and repression of the Tutsi. In 1973, Juv\u00e9nal Habyarimana<\/a> took power in a military coup. Pro-Hutu discrimination continued, but there was greater economic prosperity and a reduced amount of violence against Tutsi. The Twa remained marginalized, and by 1990 were almost entirely forced out of the forests by the government; many became beggars. Rwanda’s population had increased from 1.6 million people in 1934 to 7.1 million in 1989, leading to competition for land.<\/p>\n In 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group composed of nearly 500,000 Tutsi refugees, invaded northern Rwanda from their base in Uganda, initiating the Rwandan Civil War. The group condemned the Hutu-dominated government for failing to democratize and confront the problems facing these refugees. Neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage in the war, but by 1992 it had weakened Habyarimana’s authority; mass demonstrations forced him into a coalition with the domestic opposition and eventually to sign the 1993 Arusha Accords<\/a> with the RPF. The cease-fire ended on 6 April 1994 when Habyarimana’s plane was shot down<\/a> near Kigali Airport, killing him. The shooting down of the plane served as the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide, which began within a few hours. Over the course of approximately 100 days, between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu were killed in well-planned attacks on the orders of the interim government. Many Twa were also killed, despite not being directly targeted.<\/p>\n The Tutsi RPF restarted their offensive, and took control of the country methodically, gaining control of the whole country by mid-July. The international response to the genocide was limited, with major powers reluctant to strengthen the already overstretched UN peacekeeping force<\/a>. When the RPF took over, approximately two million Hutu fled to neighboring countries<\/a>, in particular Za\u00efre<\/a>, fearing reprisals; additionally, the RPF-led army was a key belligerent in the First<\/a> and Second Congo Wars<\/a>. Within Rwanda, a period of reconciliation and justice began, with the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)<\/a> and the reintroduction of Gacaca<\/a>, a traditional village court system. Since 2000 Rwanda’s economy, tourist numbers, and Human Development Index have grown rapidly; between 2006 and 2011 the poverty rate reduced from 57% to 45%, while life expectancy rose from 46.6 years in 2000 to 65.4 years in 2021.<\/p>\n At 26,338 square kilometers (10,169 sq mi), Rwanda is the world’s 149th-largest country, and the fourth smallest on the African mainland after Gambia<\/a>, Eswatini<\/a>, and Djibouti<\/a>. It is comparable in size to Burundi<\/a>, Haiti<\/a> and Albania<\/a>. The entire country is at a high altitude: the lowest point is the Rusizi River<\/a> at 950 meters (3,117 ft) above sea level. Rwanda is located in Central\/Eastern Africa, and is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/a> to the west, Uganda<\/a> to the north, Tanzania<\/a> to the east, and Burundi to the south. It lies a few degrees south of the equator and is landlocked. The capital, Kigali, is located near the center of Rwanda.<\/p>\n The watershed between the major Congo<\/a> and Nile<\/a> drainage basins runs from north to south through Rwanda, with around 80% of the country’s area draining into the Nile and 20% into the Congo via the Rusizi River and Lake Tanganyika<\/a>. The country’s longest river is the Nyabarongo<\/a>, which rises in the south-west, flows north, east, and southeast before merging with the Ruvubu<\/a> to form the Kagera; the Kagera then flows due north along the eastern border with Tanzania. The Nyabarongo-Kagera eventually drains into Lake Victoria<\/a>, and its source in Nyungwe Forest is a contender for the as-yet undetermined overall source of the Nile. Rwanda has many lakes, the largest being Lake Kivu<\/a>. This lake occupies the floor of the Albertine Rift<\/a> along most of the length of Rwanda’s western border, and with a maximum depth of 480 meters (1,575 ft), it is one of the twenty deepest lakes in the world. Other sizeable lakes include Burera<\/a>, Ruhondo<\/a>, Muhazi<\/a>, Rweru<\/a>, and Ihema<\/a>, the last being the largest of a string of lakes in the eastern plains of Akagera National Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mountains dominate central and western Rwanda and the country is sometimes called “Pays des mille collines” in French (“Land of a thousand hills”). They are part of the Albertine Rift Mountains that flank the Albertine branch of the East African Rift<\/a>, which runs from north to south along Rwanda’s western border. The highest peaks are found in the Virunga<\/a> volcano chain in the northwest; this includes Mount Karisimbi<\/a>, Rwanda’s highest point, at 4,507 meters (14,787 ft). This western section of the country lies within the Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion<\/a>. It has an elevation of 1,500 to 2,500 meters (4,921 to 8,202 ft). The center of the country is predominantly rolling hills, while the eastern border region consists of savanna, plains and swamps.<\/p>\n Rwanda’s economy suffered heavily during the 1994 genocide, with widespread loss of life, failure to maintain infrastructure, looting, and neglect of important cash crops. This caused a large drop in GDP and destroyed the country’s ability to attract private and external investment. The economy has since strengthened, with per-capita GDP (PPP) estimated at $2,444 in 2019, compared with $416 in 1994. Major export markets include China, Germany, and the United States. The economy is managed by the central National Bank of Rwanda<\/a> and the currency is the Rwandan franc<\/a>; in December 2019, the exchange rate was 910 francs to one United States dollar. Rwanda joined the East African Community in 2007, and has ratified a plan for monetary union amongst the five member nations, which could eventually lead to a common East African shilling.<\/p>\n Rwanda is a country of few natural resources, and the economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture by local farmers using simple tools. An estimated 90% of the working population farms, and agriculture constituted an estimated 32.5% of GDP in 2014. Farming techniques are basic, with small plots of land and steep slopes. Since the mid-1980s, farm sizes and food production have been decreasing, due in part to the resettlement of displaced people. Despite Rwanda’s fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, and food imports are required, but in recent years, with the growth of agriculture, the situation has improved.<\/p>\n Subsistence crops grown in the country include matoke (green bananas), which occupy more than a third of the country’s farmland, potatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, cassava, wheat and maize. Coffee and tea are the major cash crops for export, with the high altitudes, steep slopes and volcanic soils providing favorable conditions. Reports have established that more than 400,000 Rwandans make their living from coffee plantation. Reliance on agricultural exports makes Rwanda vulnerable to shifts in their prices. Animals raised in Rwanda include cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chicken, and rabbits, with geographical variation in the numbers of each. Production systems are mostly traditional, although there are a few intensive dairy farms around Kigali. Shortages of land and water, insufficient and poor-quality feed, and regular disease epidemics with insufficient veterinary services are major constraints that restrict output. Fishing takes place on the country’s lakes, but stocks are very depleted, and live fish are being imported in an attempt to revive the industry.<\/p>\n The industrial sector is small, contributing 14.8% of GDP in 2014. Products manufactured include cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles and cigarettes. Rwanda’s mining industry is an important contributor, generating US$93 million in 2008. Minerals mined include cassiterite<\/a>, wolframite<\/a>, gold, and coltan<\/a>, which is used in the manufacture of electronic and communication devices such as mobile phones.<\/p>\n Rwanda’s service sector suffered during the late-2000s recession as bank lending, foreign aid projects and investment were reduced. The sector rebounded in 2010, becoming the country’s largest sector by economic output and contributing 43.6% of the country’s GDP. Key tertiary contributors include banking and finance, wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage, communication, insurance, real estate, business services and public administration including education and health. Tourism is one of the fastest-growing economic resources and became the country’s leading foreign exchange earner in 2007. In spite of the genocide’s legacy, the country is increasingly perceived internationally as a safe destination. The number of tourist arrivals in 2013 was 864,000 people, up from 504,000 in 2010.<\/p>\n Revenue from tourism was US$303 million in 2014, up from just US$62 million in 2000. The largest contributor to this revenue was mountain gorilla<\/a> tracking, in the Volcanoes National Park; Rwanda is one of only three countries in which mountain gorillas can be visited safely; the gorillas attract thousands of visitors per year, who are prepared to pay high prices for permits. Other attractions include Nyungwe Forest, home to chimpanzees, Ruwenzori colobus and other primates, the resorts of Lake Kivu, and Akagera, a small savanna reserve in the east of the country.<\/p>\n The government has increased investment in the transport infrastructure of Rwanda since the 1994 genocide, with aid from the United States, European Union, Japan, and others. The transport system consists primarily of the road network, with paved roads between Kigali and most other major cities and towns in the country. Rwanda is linked by road to other countries in the East African Community, namely Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Kenya<\/a>, as well as to the eastern Congolese cities of Goma<\/a> and Bukavu<\/a>; the country’s most important trade route is the road to the port of Mombasa<\/a> via Kampala<\/a> and Nairobi<\/a>, which is known as the Northern Corridor<\/a>.<\/p>\n The principal form of public transport in the country is the minibus, accounting for more than half of all passenger carrying capacity. Some minibuses, particularly in Kigali, operate an unscheduled service, under a shared taxi system, while others run to a schedule, offering express routes between the major cities. There are a smaller number of large buses, which operate a scheduled service around the country. The principal private hire vehicle is the motorcycle taxi; in 2013 there were 9,609 registered motorcycle taxis in Rwanda, compared with just 579 taxicabs. Coach services are available to various destinations in neighboring countries. The country has an international airport at Kigali<\/a> that serves several international destinations, the busiest routes being those to Nairobi<\/a> and Entebbe<\/a>; there is one domestic route, between Kigali and Kamembe<\/a> Airport near Cyangugu<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2017, construction began on the Bugesera International Airport<\/a>, to the south of Kigali, which will become the country’s largest when it opens, complementing the existing Kigali airport. The national carrier is RwandAir<\/a>, and the country is served by seven foreign airlines. As of 2015 the country has no railways, but there is a project underway, in conjunction with Burundi and Tanzania, to extend the Tanzanian Central Line<\/a> into Rwanda; the three countries have invited expressions of interest from private firms to form a public private partnership for the scheme. There is no public water transport between the port cities on Lake Kivu, although a limited private service exists and the government has initiated a program to develop a full service. The Ministry of Infrastructure is also investigating the feasibility of linking Rwanda to Lake Victoria<\/a> via shipping on the Akagera River.<\/a><\/p>\n The flag of Rwanda was adopted on October 25, 2001.<\/p>\n The flag has three colors: blue, green and yellow. The blue band represents happiness and peace, the yellow band symbolizes economic development, and the green band symbolizes the hope of prosperity. The yellow sun represents enlightenment.<\/p>\n The new flag represents national unity, respect for work, heroism, and confidence in the future. It was adopted to avoid connotations to the 1994 genocide. The flag was designed by Alphonse Kirimobenecyo.<\/p>\n Rwanda’s previous flag was a red-yellow-green tricolor with a large black letter “R” (to distinguish it from the otherwise identical flag of Guinea<\/a>, with the “R” standing for Rwanda). Derived from the flag of Ethiopia<\/a>, the colors green, yellow, and red represented peace, the nation’s hope for its development, and the people. The colors were associated with Pan-African colors<\/a>. The flag was changed because it became associated with the brutality of the 1994 genocide.<\/p>\n The flag of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: ibendera ry’Urwanda) was adopted on October 25, 2001.<\/p>\n The flag has three colours: blue, green and yellow. The blue band represents happiness and peace, the yellow band symbolizes economic development, and the green band symbolizes the hope of prosperity. The yellow sun represents enlightenment.<\/p>\n The new flag represents national unity, respect for work, heroism, and confidence in the future. It was adopted to avoid connotations to the 1994 genocide. The flag was designed by Alphonse Kirimobenecyo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[19,59,5,6,7,18,17,20,60],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8320"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Geography:<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a>Flag of Rwanda:<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a>