Ruanda - MC Grecof

Introduction

Flag:

Card:

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, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions 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 (DROC). Since then most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output and to foster reconciliation. A series of massive population displacements, a nagging Hutu extremist insurgency, and Rwandan involvement in two wars over the past four years in the neighboring DROC continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts.

Geography

Location:

Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Coordinates:

20° 00' S, 30° 00' E

Zugehörigkeit:

Africa

Area:

total: 26,338 sq km
land: 24,948 sq km
water: 1,390 sq km

Coastline:

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:

none (landlocked)

Climate:

temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible

Terrain:

mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m

Geography - note:

landlocked; predominantly rural population

People

Population:

7,312,756    (Juli 2001 est.)

note:

estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan

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% (1996)

Languages:

Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers

Government

Country name:

conventional long form: Rwandese Republic
conventional short form: Rwanda
local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda
local short form: Rwanda
former: Ruanda

Government type:

republic; presidential, multiparty system

Capital:

Kigali

National holiday:

Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Flag description:

three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green with a large black letter R centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Guinea, which has a plain yellow band

Economy

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. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded the country's ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made significant progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy. GDP has rebounded, and inflation has been curbed. In June 1998, Rwanda signed an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) with the IMF. Rwanda has also embarked upon an ambitious privatization program with the World Bank. Continued growth in 2001 depends on the maintenance of international aid levels and the strengthening of world prices of coffee and tea.

Industries:

Agrarerzeugnisse, Seife, Möbel, Schuhe, Plastikwaren, Zigaretten

Landwirtschaft - Produkte:

coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock

Currency:

Rwandan Franc (RWF)

Currency code:

RWF

Transportation

Railways:

0 km

Highways:

total: 12,000 km
paved: 1,000 km
unpaved: 11,000 km (1997 est.)

Waterways:

Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft

Ports and harbors:

Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye

Coffee

Growing-areas:

throughout the entire country

Qualities:

mainly washed Arabicas classified as per size and defects

Altitude:

1.300 to 1.750 meter

Harvest:

May-July and Oct-Nov

Shippingperiod:

Arabica

November - June

Robusta

all year round

Port of Export:

Mombasa (Kenya)

Shipment:

In containern in bags (300 of each 60, - kos net)

Production:

298,000 bags

Port of Export:

250,500 bags

Classification:

washed Arabica

KIVU 3

Green to green blueish
flawless

54 % over screen 17
20 % over screen 16
Practically free from defective beans

KIVU 4

Fair, reflecting green,
lightly brownish  

54 % milled over screen 17
20 % milled over screen 16
Several defective beans, insect-damaged, immature or discoloured

KIVU 5

Gray-green to green-brownish  

54 % milled over screen 17
20 % milled over screen 16
Free from very defective beans, some broken, discoloured, foxy, many insect-damaged

KIVU 6

Dull, heterogeneous

Numerous defective beans

KIVU 7

Heterogeneous

Heterogeneous waste

washed Robusta

HTM / W / M

Hors Type Marchand
Washed Moyen

Greenish to yellowish
Uniform

30 / 45% over screen 17
40 / 50% over screen
Remainder passing screen 15
5.0% insect damaged beans
1.1% crushed beans
1.7% fragments
0.2% greyish beans
14 % blotchy beans
0.2% foreign matter (ie: hulls)

HTM / W / I

Hors Type Marchand
Washed Inferior

Greenish to yellowish
Uniform

30 / 45% over screen 17
40 / 50% over screen
Remainder passing screen 15
15 % insect damaged beans
1.1% crushed beans
1.7% fragments
0.2% greyish beans
14 % blotchy beans
0.2% foreign matter (ie: hulls)
Some defective beans present,
many brownish or discoloured beans.

natural Robusta

HTM / N / M

Hors Type Marchand
Natural Moyen

Yellow to brownish
heterogeneous

30 / 45% over screen 17
40 / 50% over screen
Remainder passing screen 15
5.0% insect damaged beans
1.3% fragments
0.2% black beans
0.5% greyish beans
0.2% foreign matter (ie: hulls)
Some defective beans present

HTM / N / I

Hors Type Marchand
Natural Inferior

Yellow to brownish
heterogeneous

30 / 45% over screen 17
40 / 50% over screen
Remainder passing screen 15
15 % insect damaged beans
1.3% fragments
0.4% black beans
3.0% greyish beans
0.2% foreign matter (ie: hulls)
Some defective beans present

HTC / M

Hors Type Courant Moyen

Yellowish,
greenish to brownish
heterogeneous

30 / 45% over screen 17
40 / 50% over screen
Remainder passing screen 15
20 % insect damaged beans
0.6% crushed beans
2.0% fragments
1.2% black beans
0.5% greyish beans
1.6% brownish beans
1.6% blotchy beans
1.7% discoloured beans.
0.2% foreign matter (ie: hulls)
Several defective beans.

HTC / I

Hors Type Courant Inferior

Yellowish,
greenish to brownish heterogeneous
heterogeneous

0 / 45% over screen 17
40 / 50% over screen
Remainder passing screen 15
20 % insect damaged beans
0.6% crushed beans
2.0% fragments
1.2% black beans
0.5% greyish beans
1.6% brownish beans
1.6% blotchy beans
1.7% discoloured beans.
0.2% foreign matter (ie: hulls)
Several defective beans

Caffeine content:

1.35 %