Rwanda is an agricultural economy and is making a shift towards supply economy. The major exports of Rwanda include coffee, tea, tin cassiterite, wolframite and pyrethrum. Coffee makes more than 50% of the total export value, while the mountain grown tea is considered to be amongst the finest in the world.

(Source: parliament.gov)

Gross domestic product (GDP)

GDP at current prices in the year 2010 was recorded at RWF 3,282 billion as compared to RWF 2,990 billion in 2009.

(Source: National Statistics)

(Source: National Statistics)

The country’s GDP grew at 7.5% in 2010 as compared to 6.1% in the previous year.

The GDP at constant prices in 2010 was recorded at RWF 2,351 billion as compared to RWF 2,187 billion in 2009.

(Source: National Statistics)

The GDP per capita in the year 2010 was RWF 315,000 whereas the GDP per capita (at current USD) was USD 540.

(Source: National Statistics)

Gross national income (GNI)

The GNI in the year 2010 was RWF 3,255 billion as compared to the previous year which recorded RWD 2,969 billion in 2009.

The GNI per capita at PPP in the year 2010 was USD 1,190 as compared to USD 852 in 2005.

(Source: National Statistics, UNDP)

Trade balance

Trade balance for the year was a deficit of RWF 648 billion in 2010. Total exports of goods and services in 2010 were RWF 356 billion and total imports for the same period was RWF 1,004 billion.

(Source: National Statistics)

Income tax

Individual income is taxed progressively up to 30%.

Corporate income is charged progressively up to 30%. The sales tax/ VAT rate is 18%.

(Source: taxrates.cc)

Inflation rate

Inflation rate in Rwanda for the year 2010 was 2.3% as compared to 10.3% in 2009.

(Source: Central Bank of Rwanda)

FDI inflow

In 2009, net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow was USD 118.67 as compared to USD 103.35 in 2008.

(Source: worldbank)

Banking sector assets

The table below displays the assets of the Central Bank of Rwanda.

Currency Unit: RWF thousands

Balance Sheet – Assets of Central Bank of Rwanda (RWF ‘000)
	2009	2008
Cash balances	1,156,033	662,091
Foreign assets	423,581,976	333,892,454
International Monetary Fund Quota	71,470,465	69,291,925
Due from Government of Rwanda	50,159,887	39,737,444
Loans and advances to Banks and other financial institutions	12,140,913	2,863,804
Staff loans	4,059,673	3,687,280
Investment in associate	219,374	219,374
Investment property	134,966	166,315
Other assets	1,790,838	890,414
Property and equipment	3,326,576	3,548,441
Intangible assets	6,963	10,885
Total Assets	568,047,664	454,970,427

(Source: CentralBank of Rwanda) pg 113

Consumer price index

(Source: CentralBank of Rwanda)

Base, February 2009 = 100

Interest rates

(Source: Central Bank of Rwanda)

Money supply

(Source: Central Bank of Rwanda)

Government expenditure

The government expenditure in 2009 was RWF 719.6 billion as compared to RWF 636.2 billion in 2008.

(Source: Central Bank of Rwanda)

Exchange rate

(Source: National Statistics)

Government finances

Fiscal balance

In 2009, the government deficit was RWF 373.8 billion which was 12.4% of the GDP which increased from 10.4% in the previous year.

 (Source: Central Bank of Rwanda) pg 37

Total revenue

Government revenue in 2009 was RWF 380.5 billion as compared to RWF 381 billion in 2008.

Revenues of Government of Rwanda (RWF billion)
	2009	2008
Tax revenue	364.0	328.7
Nontax revenue	16.5	52.3
Total revenue	380.5	381.0
Total revenue as percentage of GDP	12.7%	14.8%

(Source: Central Bank of Rwanda)

Tax revenue

The tax revenue in 2009 was RWF 364 billion as compared to RWF 328.7 billion of 2008.

(Source: Central Bank of Rwanda)

Total grants

 

(Source: Central Bank of Rwanda)

Current account balance

Rwanda’s current account deficit in 2009 was RWF 378.56 billion as compared to RWF 230.15 billion in previous year.

(Source: Central Bank of Rwanda)

Balance of payments

Balance of Payments (USD million)
	2009	2008
Trade balance	-768.08	-613.05
Services (net)	-177.70	-100.60
Income (net)	-36.79	-35.06
Current transfers net	604.0	518.57
Current account	-378.56	-230.15
Capital and Financial account balance	433.5	316.12
Errors and Omissions	2.05	-27.97
Overall balance	57.05	58.01

 

(Source: Central Bank of Rwanda) pg 50

The labour force in Rwanda was recorded at 4.96 million individuals as compared to 4.8 million in 2008.

(Source: World Bank)

Total labour force participation rate in Rwanda was 86% for the year 2008. For females, the participation rate was 87% while for males it was 85%.

(Source: World Bank)

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate in the country is about 8%.

(Source: newtimes.co.rw)

Minimum wage

There is no uniform minimum wage in Rwanda. The daily minimum wage ranges from USD 0.90 to USD 1.35 in the tea industry and USD 1.80 to USD 2.70 in the construction industry.

(Source: estandardsforum.org)

Level of unionisation

The major labour unions active in Rwanda include:

·         Centrale des Syndicats des Travailleurs du Rwanda (CESTRAR)

·         Congrès du Travail et de la Fraternité au Rwanda (COTRAF)

(Source: ITUC)

Rwanda has a republic form of government. The president is the head of the state and the Prime Minister is the head of the government.

The country’s parliament is bicameral and includes the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber of Deputies has 80 members, of whom 53 are directly elected and 27 are indirectly elected for a term of five years. The 27 members include 24 women elected by electoral colleges from Provinces and the City of Kigali; two members elected by the National Youth Council; and two members elected by the Federation of the Associations of the Disabled.

The Senate has 26 members, of whom 14 are indirectly elected and 12 are appointed (eight members appointed by the President and four by the Forum of Political Organisations). The members of Senate have a term of eight years.

The major political parties in the country include:

·         Front Patriotique Rwandais (FPR)

·         Parti Social Démocrate (PSD)

·         Parti Libéral (PL)

·         Parti Démocrate Centriste (PDC)

·         Parti Démocratique Idéal (PDI)

·         Parti Socialiste Rwandais (PSR)

·         Union Démocratique du Peuple Rwandais (UDPR)

(Source: state.gov, IPU)

Regulatory environment

(Source:Heritage.org)

The country’s economic freedom score is 62.7, making its economy the 75^th freest in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom. In the Sub-Saharan Africa region, Rwanda ranks 6^th out of 46 countries.

Corruption perception

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a survey to measure the perceived level of corruption across countries worldwide. Rwanda is ranked 66^th on this list which indicates that the corruption levels in the public departments in the country is moderately high.

Rwanda was ranked 89^th with a score of 3.3 in 2009, which indicates the perceived levels of corruption have decreased in the country since 2009.

(Source:transparency.org)

Freedom of information

World Press Freedom Index 2010 ranks Rwanda at 169^th rank with a score of 81.00, which indicates that media in Rwanda is restricted.

(Source: rsf.org)

Newspapers

·         The New Times

·         Rwanda Herald

·         Rwanda Newsline

·         Umuseso

(Source: BBC)

Judicial system

The Judicial system in Rwanda is under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice. The Supreme Court is the highest court of order in the country. The courts system in the country according to hierarchy is as follows:

·         The Supreme Court

·         The High Court

·         The High Commercial Court

·         The Commercial Tribunals

·         The High Instance Tribunals

·         The Grass-roots Tribunals

(Source: supremecourt.gov)

The total population of Rwanda for the year 2009 was 10.4 million with a population density of 384 per sq.km.

(Source: National Statistics)

The gender ratio in the country is unbalanced i.e. there are about 93.9 males for every 100 females in the country.

(Source: UN)

Population below 14 years of age in the country is 42.3% of the total population as of 2009. In 2009, 4.4% women and 3.2% men (% of total population) were aged above 60 years of age.

(Source: UN)

Total number of births recorded in 2009 was 429,065 as compared to 417,171 in 2008. Total number of deaths was 143,538 in 2009 as compared to 142,339 of 2008.

(Source: National Statistics)

The mortality rate of infants (per 1,000 live births) was registered at 62 in the year 2008. The crude birth rate is recorded at 41 births (per thousands) and crude death rate is 14 deaths (per thousands) in 2009.

The average life expectancy in Rwanda for males is 51.6 years and for females it is 48.1 years.

(Source: UN, World Bank, National Statistics)

International migrant stock till mid 2010 was recorded at 465,500 people. This was approximately 4.5% of the entire population.

(Source: UN)

Of the total population, only 18% were urban residents. The urban population grew at a rate of 4.2% as compared to the rural population growth rate of 2.4%.

(Source: UN)

Ethnic groups in Rwanda are:

·         Hutu

·         Tutsi          

·         Twa

(Source: nationsencyclopedia.org)

The country ranks 152^nd out of 169 countries on the Human Development index 2010 conducted by the United Nations. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income).

(Source: UNDP)

Education

The literacy rate in the country is 70.4% for the population aged 15 years and older.

The minimum age of entry in primary school is 7 years and is compulsory until the age of 13 years.

Only 31% children enrolled in primary school reach the last grade. The student teacher ratio in primary school is 62 students per teacher.

(Source: estatndardsforum.org)

As of 2009, there were 2,469 primary schools and 686 secondary schools.

(Source: National Statistics)

Health care

Health care in Rwanda is of very poor quality. The ambulance service availability is scarce and merely used for the purpose of transportation. The country has National Health Insurance, covering approximately 92% of Rwandans with a premium of USD 2.

(Source: healthcare-economist)

Health expenditure as percentage of GDP in 2006 was 11%. The public expenditure on health care was 9.1% of the total budgetary expenditure. Public Health expenditure per capita was USD 11 in 2008.

(Source: National Statistics)

The major causes of morbidity in health care centres include Acute Respiratory infections, malaria, intestinal parasites, diseases of bones and joints among others.

(Source: National Statistics)

The country has 14,008 km of road network of which only 19.0% are paved roads. There is no railway system. Being a land locked country, it has no ports but uses the Dar es Salaam port and Mombassa port of Kenya for trade.

(Source: estandardsforum.org)

Airports

There are 9 airports of which only 4 have paved runways.The Kigali International Airport is the main international airport in Rwanda.

(Source: Air charter world)

Telecommunications networks

Total internet users in 2009 were 4.5 million with an internet penetration of 4.50%. The country had 33,451 fixed telephone line users in 2009 i.e. 0.33 (per 100). The total mobile users in the country were 2,429,252 i.e. 24.30 (per 100).

 (Source: ITU)