about rwanda

Here is a good map of Africa showing Rwanda.  Also, here is what America World says about Rwanda.

Rwanda is a verdant and beautiful country, often referred to as "the Land of a Thousand Hills" and "the Switzerland of Africa."  Rwanda is about the size of Vermont, but hosts a population of about 10 million; its population density is the highest of any country in Africa and currently has one of the world's highest birth rates.  Unfortunately, UNICEF estimates that there are nearly one million orphans and vulnerable children:  children are primarily orphaned due to poverty.

Originally, Rwanda was colonized by Germany in the 1880's and fell to Belgian rule after World War I.  The primary educational force in the country was the Roman Catholic Church throughout the Belgian rule, which came to a peaceful, but rather abrupt end when independence was declared in 1962.  Landlocked and bordered by Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the majority of its inhabitants are subsistence farmers.  

As with all African nations, Rwanda has diversity in languages and cultures, yet unlike its neighbors it is primarily home to only two ethnic groups (Tutsi and Hutu).  The national language of Rwanda is Kinyarwanda.  

Rwanda is well known to many Americans because of the tragic events that unfolded there in the spring of 1994.  Rwandans today struggle to recover not just from that singular event, but from a legacy of 60 years of intermittent war.

Life expectancy in years: 45

Annual per capita GNI U.S. dollars: $250.00

Total number of orphans: 820,000

Education:
Children completing primary school: Male – 43%; Female – 49% 
Children enrolled in secondary school: Male – 15%; Female – 13%

Number of physicians per 100,000 people: 5