The Republic of Rwanda experienced what is probably Africa's worst genocide in modern times, sparked by ethnic tensions, and is currently striving to rebuild its economy. While the country has achieved growth of over 5% since 2001, poverty remains widespread. Rwanda gained independence in July 1962 from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship. The country's official languages are Kinyarwanda, French and English, and Swahili is widely spoken.

Leader: President Paul Kagame
Capital city: Kigali

Economic profile

Monetary unit: Rwandan franc
GDP per capita: $1 100 (2010) (CIA)
GDP composition by sector:
Agriculture: 42.1% (2010) (CIA)
Industry: 14.3% (2010) (CIA)
Services: 43.6% (2010) (CIA)
GDP growth rate: 6.5% (2010) (CIA)
Budget:
Government revenue, excluding grants: $1.169-billion (2010) (CIA)
Government expenditure: $1.366-billion (2010) (CIA)
Consumer price inflation: 6.4% (2010) (CIA)
Industries: Cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, and cigarettes
Exports of goods and services: $2.66-million (2010) (CIA)
Imports of goods and services: $1.047-billion (2010) (CIA)
Export commodities: Coffee, tea, hides, and tin ore
Import commodities: Foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material
Trade balance: -11.9% of GDP (2007) (IMF)
Reserves: $596-mil (2008) (World Bank)
Total investment: 22.5% of GDP (2008) (IMF)
Market capitalisation of listed companies: Figures not available

Social profile

Population: 9.98-million (2011) (World Bank)
Population growth: 2.8% (2011) (World Bank)
Life expectancy at birth: 50.6 years (2011) (World Bank)
Adult literacy: 71% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment primary: 151% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment secondary: 27% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment tertiary: 5% (2009) (World Bank)
Unemployment: 0.6% (1999)(UNStats)
Number of people living with HIV/Aids: 170 000 (2007) (Unicef)