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Rwanda

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Republic of Rwanda
Repubulika y'u Rwanda  (Kinyarwanda)
République du Rwanda  (French)
Jamhuri ya Rwanda  (Swahili)
The seal of Rwanda: central tribal devices, surmounted on a cog wheel and encircled by a square knot
Coat of arms
Motto: 
  • Ubumwe, Umurimo, Gukunda Igihugu  (Kinyarwanda)
  • Unity, Work, Patriotism  (English)
  • Unité, Travail, Patriotisme  (French)
  • Umoja, Kazi, Uzalendo  (Swahili)
Anthem: "Rwanda nziza"
(English:"Beautiful Rwanda")
Show globe
Show map of Africa
Capital
and largest city
Kigali
1°56′38″S30°3′34″E /1.94389°S 30.05944°E /-1.94389; 30.05944
Official languages
National languageKinyarwanda[2]
Working languageEnglish[3][4]
Ethnic groups
(1994)
Religion
Demonym(s)
  • Rwandan
  • Rwandese
GovernmentUnitarysemi-presidential republic under anauthoritariandictatorship[7]
Paul Kagame
Justin Nsengiyumva
Gertrude Kazarwa[8]
LegislatureParliament
Senate
Chamber of Deputies
Formation
15th century
• Part ofGerman East Africa
1897–1916
• Part ofRuanda-Urundi
1916–1962
1959–1961
28 January 1961
• Independence fromBelgium
1 July 1962
• Admitted to theUN
18 September 1962
26 May 2003
Area
• Total
26,338[1][9] km2 (10,169 sq mi)(144th)
• Water (%)
6.3
Population
• 2025 estimate
Neutral increase 14,104,969[10](76th)
• 2022 census
13,206,731[11]
• Density
578/km2 (1,497.0/sq mi)(21st)
GDP (PPP)2025 estimate
• Total
Increase $58.120 billion[12](129th)
• Per capita
Increase $4,100[12](159th)
GDP (nominal)2025 estimate
• Total
Increase $14.770 billion[12](144th)
• Per capita
Increase $1,040[12](170th)
Gini (2023)Positive decrease 39.4[13]
medium
HDI (2023)Increase 0.578[14]
medium · 159th
CurrencyRwandan franc (RWF)
Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Driving sideright
Calling code+250
ISO 3166 codeRW
Internet TLD.rw
Website
www.gov.rw

Rwanda is acountry inEast Africa. It islandlocked, meaning it has noocean coast. Rwanda is sometimes called the “Land of a Thousand Hills” because it has manymountains andhills. Itscapital city isKigali.

Rwanda is bordered byUganda to the north,Tanzania to the east,Burundi to the south, and theDemocratic Republic of the Congo to the west. The country is about the size of theU.S. state ofMassachusetts, but it has more people. More than 14 million people live there.

In theRwandan genocide of 1994, over one million (1,000,000) people were killed. Since then, Rwanda has rebuilt itseconomy and society. Today it is known for its clean cities,national parks withmountain gorillas, and fast economic growth.

History

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Colonialism

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During theScramble for Africa,Belgium conquered Rwanda. The Belgians then began to divide Rwandans into groups:Hutu andTutsi. The Belgians picked people that they thought looked more European to be Tutsi. The rest became Hutu. The Belgians told Rwandans that Tutsi were superior to Hutu. They helped Tutsi rule over Hutu using their army.[15]

After independence

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On July 1, 1962, Rwanda becameindependent and Hutu were given power. Thus, anti-Tutsipurges occurred frequently. Many Tutsi fled toUganda, where they formed theRwandan Patriotic Front, or RPF, which tried toinvade Rwanda in 1990.

See the main article:Rwandan genocide

On the night of April 6, 1994,dictatorJuvénal Habyarimana'splane was shot down, but it is still not clear who did it. Within half an hour,roadblocks manned by theInterahamwemilitia were seen all over the capital,Kigali. A genocide against the Tutsi people began.

The Rwandan genocide lasted for about 100 days, and it left over onemillion (1,000,000) Tutsi and moderate Hutu dead. The mainweapon used was themachete, orumupanga. Other countries paid little attention to the killings.

On July 2, 1994, the RPF captured Kigali.[16]

Geography

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Photograph showing the confluence of the Kagera and Ruvubu rivers with the Rwanda–Tanzania border post in the foreground, taken from a nearby hilltop
TheKagera River andRuvubu River, part of the upperNile system

Size and location

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Rwanda is a small country inEast Africa. It isbordered byUganda to the north,Tanzania to the east,Burundi to the south, and theDemocratic Republic of the Congo to the west. It lies a few degrees south of theEquator and islandlocked, meaning it has no coastline. Thecapital city isKigali, which is near the centre of the country.

Rwanda has a total area of26,338 km2 (10,169 sq mi), making it the world's 144th largest country. The entire country is at a highaltitude; its lowest point is theRusizi River (sometimes spelledRuzizi) at950 metres (3,117 ft) abovesea level.

Rivers & lakes

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The country's longest river is theNyabarongo. The Nyabarongo-Kagera eventually drains intoLake Victoria.

Rwanda has many lakes, the largest beingLake Kivu. It is one of the twenty deepest lakes in the world. Other sizeable lakes includeBurera,Ruhondo,Muhazi,Rweru, andIhema. Ihema is the largest of a string of lakes in the eastern plains ofAkagera National Park.

Photograph of a lake with one of the Virunga mountains behind, partially in cloud
Lake and volcano in theVirunga Mountains

Mountains

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There are manymountains in central and western Rwanda. The highest peaks are found in theVirungavolcano chain in the northwest. This includesMount Karisimbi, Rwanda's highest point, at4,507 metres (14,787 ft).

The centre of the country is mostly rolling hills. The eastern border area hassavanna, plains and swamps.

Climate

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Rwanda has atemperatetropical highland climate. It has lower temperatures than equatorial countries usually do because of its highelevation. Kigali, in the centre of the country, has a typical daily temperature range between12 °C (54 °F) and27 °C (81 °F). There is little change through the year.

There are two rainy seasons in the year. The first runs fromFebruary toJune and the second fromSeptember toDecember. These are separated by twodry seasons. The major one is from June to September, during which there is often no rain at all. There is a shorter and less severe one from December to February.

Biodiversity

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Photograph depicting four Topis on a hillside in Akagera, with another hill and a lake visible in the background
Topis in Akagera National Park

Inprehistoric times,montane forest covered one third of the land of present-day Rwanda. Naturally occurringvegetation is now mostly in the threenational parks, withterraced agriculture in the rest of the country.

Nyungwe, Rwanda's largest remainingforest, has 200species of trees as well asorchids andbegonias. Vegetation in theVolcanoes National Park is mostlybamboo and moorland, with small areas of forest.

Akagera has asavanna ecosystem. Here there are mostlyacacia. There are several rare or endangered plant species in Akagera, includingMarkhamia lutea andEulophia guineensis.

The greatest diversity of largemammals is found in the three National Parks. Akagera has typicalsavanna animals such asgiraffes andelephants, while Volcanoes is home to about one third of the worldwidemountain gorilla population.

Nyungwe Forest has thirteenprimate species includingchimpanzees andColobusmonkeys. The Ruwenzori colobus move in groups of up to 400, the largest troop size of any primate in Africa.

There are 670bird species in Rwanda. There is a difference between the east and the west.

Nyungwe Forest, in the west, has 280 recorded species. Species include theRuwenzori Turaco andHandsome Francolin.

Eastern Rwanda, by contrast, has savanna birds such as theBlack-headed Gonolek, and birds who live nearswamps and lakes (likestorks andcranes).

Related pages

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References

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  1. 12"About Rwanda". Government of Rwanda. Retrieved2 December 2025.
  2. ↑"Rwanda's Constitution of 2003 with Amendments through 2015".Constitute Project. Comparative Constitutions Project. Retrieved21 September 2025.
  3. ↑"Official Gazette no. Special of 20 October 2021"(PDF).Gazettes.Africa. Government of Rwanda. 20 October 2021. Retrieved21 September 2025.
  4. ↑"All schools to use English as medium of instruction". Ministry of Education (Rwanda). 2 December 2019. Retrieved5 November 2025.
  5. ↑"Rwanda: A Brief History of the Country".United Nations.Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved4 April 2018.By 1994, Rwanda's population stood at more than 7 million people comprising 3 ethnic groups: the Hutu (who made up roughly 85% of the population), the Tutsi (14%), and the Twa (1%).
  6. ↑"Religions in Rwanda| PEW-GRF".globalreligiousfutures.org.Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved23 May 2021.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑"Bureau".Home. 2024-08-14. Retrieved2025-12-09.
  9. ↑"Rwanda – Country Profile".UN Data. Retrieved6 November 2025.Surface area (km²): 26 338 [b]
  10. ↑"Resident Population".www.statistics.gov.rw.National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). Retrieved1 July 2025.
  11. ↑"Fifth Population and Housing Census 2022: Thematic Report on Population Projections".National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. Retrieved29 November 2025.
  12. 1234"World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025".
  13. ↑World Bank (XII). sfn error: no target: CITEREFWorld_Bank_(XII) (help)
  14. ↑Human Development Report 2025(PDF) (Report).United Nations Development Programme. 2025.Archived(PDF) from the original on 9 May 2025. Retrieved9 May 2025.
  15. ↑Steven Skok."What Impact Did the Belgian Presence in Rwanda Have to Spark Further Conflict?".Education - Seattle PI. Archived fromthe original on 2020-10-31. Retrieved2020-10-24.Allowing the existing Tutsi monarchs to exhibit control over the Hutu proved immediately effective, allowing for colonization without a large force of European troops. The Belgians further exploited the Tutsi-Hutu division, lending military and political support to Tutsi leaders who maintained the policies of their colonial rulers.
  16. ↑"Education – Kigali Genocide Memorial". Archived fromthe original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved2020-02-22.

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