What is Rwanda?

Rwanda, a small landlocked country in east-central Africa, is trying to recover from the ethnic strife that culminated in government-sponsored genocide in the mid-1990s. In the genocide, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by dominant Hutu forces in 100 days. read more

Rwanda (/ruːˈɑːndə/ or /ruːˈændə/ ( listen); Kinyarwanda: U Rwanda ( listen)), officially the Republic of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: Repubulika y'u Rwanda; French: République du Rwanda), is a sovereign state in Central and East Africa and one of the smallest countries on the African mainland. read more

The Rwandan genocide occurred in 1994, as members of the Hutu ethnic majority in Rwanda massacred up to 800,000 people, mostly of the Tutsi minority. By the time the Rwandese Patriotic Front gained control, the violence had created millions of refugees and left the country in ruins. read more

Rwanda became an independent state in 1962, after gaining its sovereignty from Belgium. The population of Rwanda is 11,689,696 (2012) and the nation has a density of 474 people per square kilometer. The currency of Rwanda is the Rwanda Franc (RWF). read more

Rwanda is one of only two countries with a female majority in the national parliament. Hunter gatherers settled the territory in the stone and iron ages, followed later by Bantu peoples. The population coalesced first into clans and then into kingdoms. read more