Rwanda is a small country in the heart of Africa, with a total area of about 26,338 sq km; it is about 10 times smaller than Uganda . Kigali is the capital city and Kanombe airport is the major international gateway to and outside the country.

It lies at 2 00 S, 30 00 E, bordered by Uganda to the North, DR Congo to the West, Burundi to the South and Tanzania to the East

Population : 8,440,820 million.
Annual growth rate: (August 2002 census) Mean of 1.2% between 1991-2002.
Ethnic groups: Hutu 85%, Tutsi 14%, Twa 1%.

Religions: Christian 93.5%, traditional African 0.1%, Muslim 4.6%, 1.7% claim no religious beliefs.
Languages: French, English, Kinyarwanda.
Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--75% (prewar). Literacy--64%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--107/1,000. Life expectancy--40 yrs.

Work force: Agriculture--92%; industry and commerce, services, and government--8%. Rwanda 's population density, even after the 1994 genocide, is among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa (230 per sq. km.--590 per sq. mi.). Nearly every family in this country with few villages lives in a self-contained compound on a hillside. The urban concentrations are grouped around administrative centers. The indigenous population consists of three ethnic groups. The Hutus, who comprise the majority of the population (85%), are farmers of Bantu origin. The Tutsis (14%) are a pastoral people who arrived in the area in the 15th century. Until 1959, they formed the dominant caste under a feudal system based on cattleholding. The Twa (1%) are thought to be the remnants of the earliest settlers of the region.

To the outside world, Rwanda is known for the genocide of 1994,where the plane carrying Habyarimana and his Burundi counterpart Cyprian Ntaryamira was shot down on April 6, 1994. Two French pilots died in the accident. Habyarimana's death sparked off the organised slaughter of an estimated 800, 000 -1, 000, 000 Rwandese mainly minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The country has three (3) national parks - Nyungwe Forest Park known for its large size and a vast army of chimps and monkeys; Akagera National park for game, including zebra, giraffe, antelope, buffalo; and Parc National des Volcans where Dian Fossey dedicated her life researching the gorillas of which Rwanda boosts as the major tourist attraction today.

Rwanda is literally "green" in the potential tourism industry with an array of products that have yet to be exploited and exposed to the world.
Spectacular landscapes, majestic volcanoes, mosaic tea plantations, numerous picturesque lakes, winding rivers, mysterious and spectacular forests are few of the attractions that this small yet diverse country can offer to the visitors and nationals alike.

Currently the country is advocating tourism as a primary source in poverty reduction, peace and reconciliation and community based activities, and this focus has put active and passive members to play an important role in this untapped resource in Rwanda and the neighboring regions.

Rwanda and Uganda combined together offer the best complimentary market in Africa in terms of tourism.

SOURCE:www.cia.gov/rwanda