Rwanda

Background: In 1959, three years before independence, 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 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 Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda.
Location: Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo. Area: Total: 26,338 sq km land: 24,948 sq km water: 1,390 sq km. Area - comparative: Slightly smaller than Maryland. Land boundaries: Total: 893 km, border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km.
Climate and Terrain: Temperate; two rainy seasons; mild in mountains with frost and snow possible. Mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east.
People: Population: 7,312,756. Ethnic groups: Hutu 84%, Tutsi 15%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%. Religions: Roman Catholic 52.7%, Protestant 24%, Adventist 10.4%, Muslim 1.9%, indigenous beliefs and other 6.5%, none 4.5%. Languages: Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers.
Government: Government type: Republic; presidential, multiparty system Capital: Kigali
Economy overview: Rwanda is a rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa; is landlocked; and has few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary exports are coffee and tea. Labor force - by occupation: Agriculture 90% . Industries: Cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes. Agriculture - products: coffee, tea, pyrethrum, bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock.
Statistics: Telephones - main lines in use: 15,000 (1995) Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 3. Radios: 601,000. Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997) Televisions: less than 1,000. Highways: paved: 1,000 km, unpaved: 11,000. Airports - with paved runways: 4, with unpaved runways: 4.