Rwanda << roo WAHN duh >> is a small country in east-central Africa, just south of the equator. It is the most crowded country in Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world. It has little industry and more people than the land can support. Kigali is Rwanda’s capital and largest city.
Although Rwanda is near the equator, it has a cool, pleasant climate. It has cool weather because it lies on a high plateau along the western edge of the Great Rift Valley. Rwanda’s landscape ranges from volcanic mountains to winding river valleys, and from beautiful lakes to grassy plains. Volcanoes National Park in the Virunga Mountains of northwestern Rwanda is a refuge for mountain gorillas, an endangered species.
Ethnic conflict has been a major part of Rwandan life. A large majority of Rwandans belong to the Hutu (also called Bahutu) ethnic group. The Tutsi (also called the Batutsi or Watusi) form a minority of the population. Before European colonization, the two groups lived together in relative peace. From the late 1890’s until 1962, first Germany and then Belgium ruled Rwanda. Tensions between the Hutu and the Tutsi intensified because the colonial governments favored the Tutsi and helped them acquire power and wealth. In 1959, the Hutu rebelled against the Tutsi. After Rwanda became independent in 1962, the Hutu controlled the government. Ethnic violence and discrimination in the 1960’s drove many Tutsi to flee into exile.
Rwanda gained international attention in 1994, when a bloody conflict between the two groups broke out. During this conflict, government-backed Hutu extremists massacred at least 500,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu. The conflict ended after a Tutsi-controlled rebel group gained control of the government. See the History section of this article and Rwandan Genocide for details.
Government.
In 2003, voters approved a new constitution for Rwanda. According to the Constitution, the people elect a president to serve a five-year term, and the president may be reelected once. The president is the country’s most powerful official. The president appoints a prime minister and Cabinet that help carry out government operations. Rwanda’s legislature consists of an 80-member Chamber of Deputies and a 26-member Senate. Deputies serve five-year terms, and senators serve eight-year terms. Rwanda’s main political party is the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). The RPF, originally made up mainly of Tutsi, overthrew a Hutu-controlled government in 1994. The Constitution reserves seats in the legislature for women, representatives of a youth organization, and a representative for people with disabilities.
People.
About 85 percent of the people of Rwanda are Hutu, and about 15 percent are Tutsi. Historically, the Hutu have been farmers who raise crops to feed their families, and the Tutsi have raised cattle and goats and served as chiefs in business or government. Today, however, few obvious lifestyle differences exist between the Hutu and Tutsi. The groups generally share a common culture and live in integrated communities. Both groups speak Kinyarwanda, a Bantu language.
The Twa, a Pygmy group, make up less than 1 percent of Rwanda’s population. They once made their living by hunting, but some now live and work in towns.
Kinyarwanda, English, and French are Rwanda’s official languages. Most people speak Kinyarwanda. Over half of the people are Roman Catholics, and about a third are Protestants. Many Christians also follow some traditional African religious practices. About 5 percent of Rwanda’s people are Muslims. The Roman Catholic and Protestant churches operate most elementary and high schools. The National University of Rwanda operates in Butare, and several newer universities now operate in Kigali. Public education is free and compulsory for children from ages 7 through 15. The majority of adult Rwandans can read and write.
Land.
Much of Rwanda’s land is rugged and mountainous. The country’s highest mountains, in the northwest, were formed by volcanic activity. Lake Kivu and the Rusizi River form Rwanda’s western border and are part of Africa’s Great Rift Valley. The Kagera River forms the eastern border, and the Akanyaru River forms part of the southern border. The land rises sharply from Lake Kivu to about 9,000 feet (2,700 meters) above sea level, forming the continental divide between the Nile and Congo river valleys. The Virunga Mountains rise to 14,800 feet (4,510 meters) in the northwest. Heavy rainfall in western Rwanda has leached (washed away) chemicals that enrich soil.
A series of plateaus in eastern Rwanda range from 5,000 to 7,000 feet (1,500 to 2,100 meters) above sea level and slope down toward the east. Each one is bounded on the east by an escarpment (steep edge) with a marsh at its foot. Forests once covered the plateaus, but most of this land has been cleared for farming. Rwanda has preserved three natural areas as wildlife refuges. These areas are popular tourist destinations. Volcanoes National Park in the northwest is home to endangered mountain gorillas. Many large mammals inhabit Akagera National Park in the east. Nyungwe Forest National Park in the southwest has large troops of monkeys.
The high-altitude areas in the west have an average annual temperature of 73 °F (23 °C) and an average annual rainfall of 30 inches (76 centimeters). The mountainous areas in the northwest have an average annual temperature of 63 °F (17 °C) and an average annual rainfall of 58 inches (147 centimeters). On the plateaus, the temperature averages 68 °F (20 °C) annually. Annual rainfall is about 47 inches (119 centimeters). Rwanda has two dry seasons and two rainy seasons.
Economy.
Rwanda is a poor country, and many of its people live in poverty. Foreign aid is a helpful source of national income. Agriculture is the main economic activity in Rwanda. Many Rwandans are farmers who work their own land. Because the plots of land are small, many farmers grow only enough food to feed their families. Food crops include bananas, beans, cassava, corn, potatoes, sorghum, and sweet potatoes. Some rural people also raise beef and dairy cattle and goats.
Coffee and tea are among the country’s chief exports. Rwandan farmers grow both of the two main types of coffee plants, Coffea arabica and Coffea robusta. Most farmers in Rwanda have at least a few coffee trees. Tea is grown on large plantations.
Mined products, including niobium, tin, and tungsten, are some of Rwanda’s other exports. Most manufacturing in Rwanda is for domestic consumption. Rwanda has no railroads. The country’s main highways are paved, but many other roads are dirt. Kigali has an international airport.
Rwanda’s chief trading partners include China, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates. Rwanda imports much more than it exports. Because the country is landlocked, it must transport goods over land, which increases their cost. The country’s imports include food, machinery, petroleum products, and vehicles. Many of Rwanda’s exports are shipped through Uganda to the port of Mombasa in Kenya, or through Burundi or Tanzania to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.
History.
Twa hunters were the original inhabitants of what is now Rwanda. Small groups of farmers and cattle herders migrated into the area nearly 2,000 years ago. The ancestors of the Hutu and the Tutsi developed a common language and culture. Around the 1500’s, the Tutsi established themselves as the elite, those who owned cattle and held political power in the Rwandan kingdom. Many Hutu farmers gave labor and military services to Tutsi landowners in return for cattle. Intermarriage between the groups was common, however, and people could change economic and social status.
Germany colonized the area that is now Rwanda and Burundi in the 1890’s and ruled it as part of German East Africa. During World War I (1914-1918), Belgian troops occupied the area. After the war, the area, then called Ruanda-Urundi, became a mandated territory of Belgium—that is, a colony or territory placed under Belgium’s administration. Under Belgian colonial rule, inequalities between the Hutu and Tutsi intensified. The Belgians favored the Tutsi, who received greater employment and educational opportunities than the Hutu or Twa. The Belgians also formalized the ethnic divisions by requiring all people to carry passes identifying themselves as Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa. In 1946, Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations (UN) trust territory administered by Belgium.
The Tutsi King Mutara III died in 1959, and political unrest followed. Mutara’s half-brother succeeded him as King Kigeli V (also spelled Kigeri), but the Belgian-controlled government overthrew Kigeli while he was out of the country. The Hutu rebelled against the Tutsi, and several thousand Tutsi died. Attacks against Tutsi continued until 1965. During this period, about 150,000 Tutsi fled to Burundi, Uganda, and what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Elections held in 1960 gave the Hutu control of the government. Ruanda-Urundi became independent as two countries, Rwanda and Burundi, on July 1, 1962. The people of Rwanda elected Grégoire Kayibanda, a Hutu from the south of the country, as the first president.
In 1973, military leaders led by Major General Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu from northern Rwanda, overthrew Kayibanda. Habyarimana then became president. During the next several years, he established a single political party and imposed a new constitution.
In 1990, a growing number of Rwandans protested the Habyarimana regime and demanded democracy. Also in 1990, a rebel group called the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) began launching attacks against Rwanda’s government. Most of the rebels were Tutsi who had been living in exile in Uganda. In 1993, the government and the RPF signed a peace agreement in which they agreed to share power in a democratic regime.
In April 1994, Habyarimana died after his airplane was shot down near Kigali. Hutu extremists in Rwanda’s government immediately began a campaign of violence against people they viewed as political opponents. As part of this campaign, Hutu militias, known as the Interahamwe, massacred thousands of Tutsi and moderate Hutu. From April to July, at least 500,000 people, mostly Tutsi, were brutally slaughtered. In response, the RPF launched military attacks against government forces. More than 2 million refugees, mostly Hutu, left Rwanda to escape RPF forces. Many refugees fled to Zaire (now the DRC). 
The RPF defeated the Hutu forces by mid-July and took control of Rwanda’s government. The RPF established a multiparty system that included some moderate Hutu officials. Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu from the RPF, was appointed president. In November 1994, the UN created a special court of justice to prosecute the organizers of the genocide (systematic killing) of Tutsi and moderate Hutu. The RPF government emphasized building the economy and promoting reconciliation. However, ethnic tensions in Rwanda remained high.
From 1994 to 1996, the former Hutu army remained just across Rwanda’s borders in Zaire. Many Hutu soldiers lived in refugee camps. In 1996, the RPF began attacking the refugee camps. Rwanda then aided rebels in the overthrow of the Zairian government in 1997. The fighting forced many Hutu refugees back to Rwanda. In 1998, Rwandan troops backed another group of Congolese rebels in a war against the new government of the DRC.
Bizimungu resigned as president in 2000. Members of Rwanda’s government soon installed Vice President Paul Kagame, a Tutsi and the head of the RPF, as president. In 2002, the DRC and Rwanda signed a peace agreement. In 2003, Rwandan voters approved a new constitution. Later that year, the people of Rwanda elected Kagame as president. The RPF also won the most seats in the Chamber of Deputies in a legislative election. Kagame was reelected as president in 2010, 2017, and 2024. The RPF maintained control of the Chamber of Deputies following legislative elections in 2008, 2013, 2018, and 2024.
In 2007, Rwanda joined the East African Community (EAC). The EAC aims to promote economic and political cooperation among its members. Member countries include Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi.
