national disputes: none

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

Natural resources: gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite
(tungsten ore), natural gas, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 29%
permanent crops: 11%
meadows and pastures: 18%
forest and woodland: 10%
other: 32%

Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of
trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion
natural hazards: periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains
are in the northwest along the border with Zaire
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear
Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked; predominantly rural population

People
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Population: 6,853,359 (July 1996 est.)
note: genocide and civil war in 1994 killed more than 1 million
Rwandans and forced more than 2 million to flee to neighboring
countries

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (male 1,582,928; female 1,573,536)
15-64 years: 51% (male 1,734,716; female 1,772,722)
65 years and over: 3% (male 78,854; female 110,603) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 16.49% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 38.83 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 20.33 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 146.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
note: since April 1994, more than two million refugees have fled the
civil strife between the Hutu and Tutsi factions in Rwanda and
crossed into Zaire, Burundi, and Tanzania; close to 800,000 Rwandan
Tutsis who fled civil strife in earlier years have returned to
Rwanda, and 90,000 of the Hutu refugees are going home despite the
perceived danger of doing so; the ethnic violence continues and in
1996 could produce further refugee flows as well as discourage
returns

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 118.8