Rwanda

Geography

Rwanda is a landlocked country a little bit south of the equator in East Africa. The land has a total area of 26,340 km² (10,170 mi²). This land area is approximately 105% of the area of Maryland. Rwanda is thus one of the smallest countries in Africa by area and ranked 149th worldwide. With 504 inhabitants per km², it is also one of the most densely populated countries. A considerable share of the inhabitants (82%) belongs to the rural population.

Rwanda lies at an average elevation of 1598 m above sea level and is therefore one of the highest countries in the world. The highest mountain peak (Karisimbi) is at 4,519 meters. There is no access to the open sea. There are direct national borders with the 4 neighbouring countries Burundi, Congo (Dem. Republic), Tanzania and Uganda. The distance between New York City and the Capital Kigali is about 11,340 km (7,046 mi).

The climate in Rwanda

In Rwanda, as in all equatorial countries, there is a tropical climate. Unlike in Europe or the USA, there is almost no difference between the seasons. The daylight hours vary little, and the temperature differences between summer and winter are also lesser. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between 26 and 28 degrees. In some parts of the country the temperature raises up to 29 °C. In the colder months and depending in the region, the temperature lowers down to 15°C in a month's average.

• Detailed climate data for Rwanda and 4 individual regions
• Earthquakes

Languages

mother tongue	distribution
› Kinyarwanda	93.2 %
› English	0.1 %
› French	0.1 %
other	6.6 %

Religions

Branch	distribution
Adventists	12.2%
Roman Catholics	49.5%
other Protestants	27.2%
other Christs	4.5%
Muslims	1.8%
nondenominational	3.6%
other	1.2%

more...

Economy

GDP:	11.07 bn $
Exportations:	1,929.0 M $
Importations:	3,577.6 M $
› Tourism receipts:	212.00 M $
› Unemployment rate:	1.6 %
› Inflation rate:	-0.39 %
› corruption index:	53 (moderate)
› Energy consumption:	527.3 M kWh

Due to its political and financial situation, Rwanda is considered one of the least developed countries in the world and is also one of the heavily indebted poor countries.

Land use

73% Agricultural areas:	19,344 km²
11% Forest:	2,947 km²
6% Water areas:	1,670 km²
15% Others:	4,048 km²

Transport

Roadways:	4,700 km
› Airports:	2