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119-416: LLDC may refer to: Landlocked developing countries Least developed countries London Legacy Development Corporation Lancashire Learning Disability Consortium Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title LLDC . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

238-513: A League of Nations mandate called Ruanda-Urundi and started a period of more direct colonial rule. The Belgians simplified and centralised the power structure, introduced large-scale projects in education, health, public works, and agricultural supervision, including new crops and improved agricultural techniques to try to reduce the incidence of famine. Both the Germans and the Belgians, in

357-772: A civil war in 1990. Habyarimana was assassinated in April 1994. Social tensions erupted in the Rwandan genocide that spanned one hundred days. The RPF ended the genocide with a military victory in July 1994. Rwanda has been governed by the RPF as a de facto one-party state since 1994 with former commander Paul Kagame as President since 2000. The country has been governed by a series of centralized authoritarian governments since precolonial times. Although Rwanda has low levels of corruption compared with neighbouring countries, it ranks among

476-759: A landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa , where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator , Rwanda is bordered by Uganda , Tanzania , Burundi , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . It is highly elevated, giving it the sobriquet "land of a thousand hills" ( French : pays des mille collines ), with its geography dominated by mountains in

595-517: A proportional representation system. Rwanda's legal system is largely based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law . The judiciary is independent of the executive branch, although the president and the Senate are involved in the appointment of Supreme Court judges. Human Rights Watch has praised the Rwandan government for progress made in the delivery of justice including

714-474: A 1999 clash between the two countries' armies as they backed opposing rebel groups in the Second Congo War, but improved significantly in the early 2010s. In 2019, relations between the two countries deteriorated, with Rwanda closing its borders with Uganda. Before western colonization, the Rwandan government system had a quasi-system of political pluralism and power sharing. Despite there being

833-582: A 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 3.85/10, ranking it 139th globally out of 172 countries. Rwanda's economy suffered heavily during the 1994 genocide, with widespread loss of life, failure to maintain infrastructure, looting, and neglect of important cash crops. This caused a large drop in GDP and destroyed the country's ability to attract private and external investment. The economy has since strengthened, with per-capita nominal GDP estimated at $ 909.9 in 2022, compared with $ 127 in 1994. As of

952-532: A 4500 km route, crossing several borders and changing transport modes, to reach the port of Durban in South Africa . The mineral resource-rich countries of Central Asia and Mongolia offer a unique set of landlocked cases to explore in more depth, as these are nations where economic growth has grown exceptionally in recent years. In Central Asia, oil and coal deposits have influenced development: Kazakhstan ’s GDI per capita in purchasing power parity

1071-483: A coalition with the domestic opposition and eventually to sign the 1993 Arusha Accords with the RPF. The cease-fire ended on 6 April 1994 when Habyarimana's plane was shot down near Kigali Airport, killing him. The shooting down of the plane served as the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide , which began within a few hours. Over the course of approximately 100 days, between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu were killed in well-planned attacks on

1190-503: A fast warming country, with an increase in average temperature of between 0.7 °C to 0.9 °C over fifty years. In prehistoric times, montane forest occupied one-third of the territory of present-day Rwanda. Naturally occurring vegetation is now mostly restricted to the three national parks , with terraced agriculture dominating the rest of the country. Nyungwe , the largest remaining tract of forest, contains 200 species of tree as well as orchids and begonias . Vegetation in

1309-420: A few large towns; dwellings are evenly spread throughout the country. The only sparsely populated area of the country is the savanna land in the former province of Umutara and Akagera National Park in the east. Kigali is the largest city, with a population of around one million. Its rapidly increasing population challenges its infrastructural development. According to the 2012 census, the second largest city

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1428-419: A military coup . Pro-Hutu discrimination continued, but there was greater economic prosperity and a reduced amount of violence against Tutsi. The Twa remained marginalised, and by 1990 were almost entirely forced out of the forests by the government; many became beggars. Rwanda's population had increased from 1.6 million people in 1934 to 7.1 million in 1989, leading to competition for land. In 1990,

1547-398: A multi-party system of government, with politics based on democracy and elections. However, the constitution places conditions on how political parties may operate. Article 54 states that "political organizations are prohibited from basing themselves on race, ethnic group, tribe, clan, region, sex, religion or any other division which may give rise to discrimination". The president of Rwanda

1666-485: A population of 10,515,973. The population is young: in the 2012 census, 43.3% of the population were aged 15 and under, and 53.4% were between 16 and 64. According to the CIA World Factbook , the annual birth rate is estimated at 40.2 births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2015, and the death rate at 14.9. The life expectancy is 67.67 years (69.27 years for females and 67.11 years for males), which

1785-439: A strict hierarchy, the pre-colonial system achieved an established, combined system of "centralized power and decentralized autonomous units." Under the monarch, the elected Chief governed a province that was divided into multiple districts. Two other officials appointed by head Chief governed the districts; one official was allocated power over the land while the other oversaw cattle. The king ( mwami ) exercised control through

1904-584: A supplier of raw materials. Because of these problems, and Nepal's inability to develop its own infant industries (as it could not compete with Indian manufactures) treaties were drafted in 1960 and 1971, with amendments to the equal tariffs conditions, and terms of trade have since progressed. In August, 2003, the International Ministerial Conference of Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries and Donor Countries on Transit Transport Cooperation (Almaty Ministerial Conference)

2023-565: A system of commercial courts created in 2011 to expedite commercial litigations. Between 2004 and 2012, a system of Gacaca courts was in operation. Gacaca , a Rwandan traditional court operated by villages and communities, was revived to expedite the trials of genocide suspects. The court succeeded in clearing the backlog of genocide cases, but was criticised by human rights groups as not meeting legal fair standard. Rwanda has low corruption levels relative to most other African countries; in 2014, Transparency International ranked Rwanda as

2142-585: A system of provinces, districts, hills, and neighbourhoods. As of 2003, the constitution divided Rwanda into provinces ( intara ), districts ( uturere ), cities, municipalities, towns, sectors ( imirenge ), cells ( utugari ), and villages ( imidugudu ); the larger divisions, and their borders, are established by Parliament. In January 2006, Rwanda was reorganized such that twelve provinces were merged to create five, and 106 districts were merged into thirty. The present borders drawn in 2006 aimed at decentralising power and removing associations with

2261-600: A third of the country's farmland, potatoes , beans , sweet potatoes , cassava , wheat and maize . Coffee and tea are the major cash crops for export, with the high altitudes, steep slopes and volcanic soils providing favourable conditions. Reports have established that more than 400,000 Rwandans make their living from coffee plantation. Reliance on agricultural exports makes Rwanda vulnerable to shifts in their prices. Animals raised in Rwanda include cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chicken, and rabbits, with geographical variation in

2380-476: A two- to three-week wait due to border customs between Uganda and Kenya makes it impossible to book ships ahead of time in Mombasa , furthering delivery contract delays. Despite these explanations, it is also important to consider the transit countries that neighbour LLDCs, from whose ports the goods of LLDCs are exported. Although Adam Smith and traditional thought hold that geography and transportation are

2499-486: Is Gisenyi , which lies adjacent to Lake Kivu and the Congolese city of Goma , and has a population of 126,000. Other major towns include Ruhengeri , Butare , and Muhanga , all with populations below 100,000. The urban population rose from 6% of the population in 1990, to 16.6% in 2006; by 2011, however, the proportion had dropped slightly, to 14.8%. Rwanda has been a unified state since pre-colonial times, and

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2618-457: Is a provincial-level authority, which coordinates urban planning within the city. At 26,338 square kilometres (10,169 sq mi), Rwanda is the world's 149th-largest country, and the fourth smallest on the African mainland after Gambia , Eswatini , and Djibouti . It is comparable in size to Burundi , Haiti and Albania . The entire country is at a high altitude: the lowest point

2737-535: Is empowered by the constitution to oversee the activities of the president and the Cabinet. The lower chamber is the Chamber of Deputies , which has 80 members serving five-year terms. Twenty-four of these seats are reserved for women, elected through a joint assembly of local government officials; another three seats are reserved for youth and disabled members; the remaining 53 are elected by universal suffrage under

2856-580: Is home to an estimated one-third of the worldwide mountain gorilla population. Nyungwe Forest boasts thirteen primate species including common chimpanzees and Ruwenzori colobus arboreal monkeys; the Ruwenzori colobus move in groups of up to 400 individuals, the largest troop size of any primate in Africa. Rwanda's population of lions was destroyed in the aftermath of the genocide of 1994, as national parks were turned into camps for displaced people and

2975-428: Is low but rising rapidly; in 2015 there were 12.8 internet users per 100 people, up from 2.1 in 2007. In 2011, a 2,300-kilometre (1,400 mi) fibre-optic telecommunications network was completed, intended to provide broadband services and facilitate electronic commerce. This network is connected to SEACOM , a submarine fibre-optic cable connecting communication carriers in southern and eastern Africa. Within Rwanda

3094-626: Is no discernible physical difference and the categories were not historically rigid. In precolonial Rwanda the Tutsi were the ruling class, from whom the kings and the majority of chiefs were derived, while the Hutu were agriculturalists. The current government discourages the Hutu/Tutsi/Twa distinction, and has removed such classification from identity cards. The 2002 census was the first since 1933 which did not categorise Rwandan population into

3213-433: Is nominally democratic, elections are manipulated in various ways, which include banning opposition parties, arresting or assassinating critics, and electoral fraud . The RPF is a Tutsi-dominated party but receives support from other communities as well. The constitution was adopted following a national referendum in 2003, replacing the transitional constitution which had been in place since 1994. The constitution mandates

3332-499: Is now Rwanda dates from, at the latest, the last glacial period , either in the Neolithic period around 8000 BC, or in the long humid period which followed, up to around 3000 BC. Archaeological excavations have revealed evidence of sparse settlement by hunter-gatherers in the late Stone Age , followed by a larger population of early Iron Age settlers, who produced dimpled pottery and iron tools. These early inhabitants were

3451-400: Is one of the cleanest cities in Africa. Government policy measures to improve sanitation are limited, focusing only on urban areas. The majority of the population, both urban and rural, use public shared pit latrines . Rwanda's electricity supply was, until the early 2000s, generated almost entirely from hydroelectric sources; power stations on Lakes Burera and Ruhondo provided 90% of

3570-449: Is one of the fastest-growing economic resources and became the country's leading foreign exchange earner in 2007. In spite of the genocide's legacy, the country is increasingly perceived internationally as a safe destination. The number of tourist arrivals in 2013 was 864,000 people, up from 504,000 in 2010. Revenue from tourism was US$ 303 million in 2014, up from just US$ 62 million in 2000. The largest contributor to this revenue

3689-458: Is one of the twenty deepest lakes in the world . Other sizeable lakes include Burera , Ruhondo , Muhazi , Rweru , and Ihema , the last being the largest of a string of lakes in the eastern plains of Akagera National Park . Mountains dominate central and western Rwanda and the country is sometimes called " Pays des mille collines " in French ("Land of a thousand hills"). They are part of

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3808-549: Is the Rusizi River at 950 metres (3,117 ft) above sea level. Rwanda is located in Central/Eastern Africa, and is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, Uganda to the north, Tanzania to the east, and Burundi to the south. It lies a few degrees south of the equator and is landlocked . The capital, Kigali, is located near the centre of Rwanda. The watershed between

3927-504: Is the head of state , and has broad powers including creating policy in conjunction with the Cabinet of Rwanda , commanding the armed forces , negotiating and ratifying treaties, signing presidential orders, and declaring war or a state of emergency. The president is elected every seven years , and appoints the prime minister and all other members of the Cabinet. The Parliament consists of two chambers . It makes legislation and

4046-417: Is the 26th lowest out of 224 countries and territories. The overall sex ratio of the country is 95.9 males per 100 females. At 445 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,150/sq mi), Rwanda's population density is amongst the highest in Africa. Historians such as Gérard Prunier believe that the 1994 genocide can be partly attributed to the population density. The population is predominantly rural, with

4165-430: Is the largest religion in the country; the principal and national language is Kinyarwanda , spoken by native Rwandans, with English, French and Swahili serving as additional official foreign languages. Rwanda's economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture . Coffee and tea are the major cash crops that it exports. Tourism is a fast-growing sector and is now the country's leading foreign exchange earner. As of

4284-536: Is the road to the port of Mombasa via Kampala and Nairobi , which is known as the Northern Corridor . The principal form of public transport in the country is the minibus , accounting for more than half of all passenger carrying capacity. Some minibuses, particularly in Kigali, operate an unscheduled service, under a shared taxi system, while others run to a schedule, offering express routes between

4403-617: Is used in the manufacture of electronic and communication devices such as mobile phones. Rwanda's service sector suffered during the late-2000s recession as bank lending, foreign aid projects and investment were reduced. The sector rebounded in 2010, becoming the country's largest sector by economic output and contributing 43.6% of the country's GDP. Key tertiary contributors include banking and finance, wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage, communication, insurance, real estate, business services and public administration including education and health. Tourism

4522-621: The Democratic Republic of the Congo were tense following Rwanda's involvement in the First and Second Congo Wars ; the Congolese army alleged Rwandan attacks on their troops, while Rwanda blamed the Congolese government for failing to suppress Hutu rebels in North and South Kivu provinces. In 2010, the United Nations released a report accusing the Rwandan army of committing wide scale human rights violations and crimes against humanity in

4641-599: The East African Community in 2007, and has ratified a plan for monetary union amongst the seven member nations, which could eventually lead to a common East African shilling . Rwanda is a country of few natural resources, and the economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture by local farmers using simple tools. An estimated 90% of the working population farms, and agriculture constituted an estimated 32.5% of GDP in 2014. Farming techniques are basic, with small plots of land and steep slopes. Since

4760-517: The Kingdom of Rwanda . By 1700, around eight kingdoms had existed in the present-day Rwanda. One of these, the Kingdom of Rwanda ruled by the Tutsi Nyiginya clan, became increasingly dominant from the mid-eighteenth century. The kingdom reached its greatest extent during the nineteenth century under the reign of King Kigeli Rwabugiri . Rwabugiri conquered several smaller states, expanded

4879-704: The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group composed of Tutsi refugees, invaded northern Rwanda from their base in Uganda, initiating the Rwandan Civil War . The group condemned the Hutu-dominated government for failing to democratize and confront the problems facing these refugees. Neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage in the war, but by 1992 it had weakened Habyarimana's authority; mass demonstrations forced him into

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4998-627: The Rwenzori turaco and handsome spurfowl . Eastern Rwanda, by contrast, features savanna birds such as the black-headed gonolek and those associated with swamps and lakes, including storks and cranes . Recent entomological work in the country has revealed a rich diversity of praying mantises , including a new species Dystacta tigrifrutex , dubbed the "bush tiger mantis". Rwanda contains three terrestrial ecoregions: Albertine Rift montane forests , Victoria Basin forest-savanna mosaic , and Ruwenzori-Virunga montane moorlands . The country had

5117-643: The Volcanoes National Park is mostly bamboo and moorland, with small areas of forest. By contrast, Akagera has a savanna ecosystem in which acacia dominates the flora. There are several rare or endangered plant species in Akagera, including Markhamia lutea and Eulophia guineensis . The greatest diversity of large mammals is found in the three national parks, which are designated conservation areas. Akagera contains typical savanna animals such as giraffes and elephants, while Volcanoes

5236-433: The government of India on Nepal – the official 1989 blockade and the unofficial 2015 blockade – both of which left the nation in severe economic crisis. In the 1970s, Nepal suffered from large commodity concentration and a high geographic centralization in its export trade: over 98% of its exports were to India, and 90% of its imports came from India. As a result of all this, Nepal had a poor trade bargaining position. In

5355-474: The 1950s, Nepal was forced to comply with India's external tariffs as well as the prices of India's exports. This was problematic since the two countries have different levels of development, resulting in greater gains for India which was larger, more advanced and with more resources. It was feared that a parasitic relationship might emerge, since India had a head start in industrialization, and dominated Nepal in manufacturing, which could reduce Nepal to being just

5474-821: The Albertine Rift Mountains that flank the Albertine branch of the East African Rift , which runs from north to south along Rwanda's western border. The highest peaks are found in the Virunga volcano chain in the northwest; this includes Mount Karisimbi , Rwanda's highest point, at 4,507 metres (14,787 ft). This western section of the country lies within the Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion. It has an elevation of 1,500 to 2,500 metres (4,921 to 8,202 ft). The centre of

5593-527: The Democratic Republic of the Congo during the First and Second Congo Wars , charges denied by the Rwandan government. Relations soured further in 2012, as Kinshasa accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebellion , an insurgency in the eastern Congo. As of 2015 , peace has been restored and relations are improving. Rwanda's relationship with Uganda was also tense for much of the 2000s following

5712-552: The European Union is Armenia's third-biggest export market, with a 17% share of total Armenian exports, and the second largest source of Armenian imports, with an 18.6% share in total Armenian imports. Nepal is another landlocked country with extreme dependency on its transit neighbour India. India does not have poor relations with Nepal, nor does it lack relevant transport infrastructure or internal stability. However, there have been two cases of economic blockades imposed by

5831-541: The Georgian railway system to participate in international trade. Armenia also shares a short border with neighboring Iran, through which it trades despite American sanctions. Armenia remains heavily dependent on imports from Russia and exports of moderately unsophisticated goods to Russia. While Russia remained Armenia's dominant trade partner, trade with the EU in 2020 accounted for around 18% of Armenia's total trade. As of 2020,

5950-562: The RPF-led army was a key belligerent in the First and Second Congo Wars . Within Rwanda, a period of reconciliation and justice began, with the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the reintroduction of Gacaca , a traditional village court system. Since 2000 Rwanda's economy, tourist numbers, and Human Development Index have grown rapidly; between 2006 and 2011

6069-412: The Rwandan king and perpetuated a pro-Tutsi policy. The Hutu population revolted in 1959. They massacred numerous Tutsi and ultimately established an independent, Hutu-dominated republic in 1962 led by President Grégoire Kayibanda . A 1973 military coup overthrew Kayibanda and brought Juvénal Habyarimana to power, who retained the pro-Hutu policy. The Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) launched

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6188-570: The United States, European Union , Japan, and others. The transport system consists primarily of the road network, with paved roads between Kigali and most other major cities and towns in the country. Rwanda is linked by road to other countries in the East African Community, namely Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Kenya , as well as to the eastern Congolese cities of Goma and Bukavu ; the country's most important trade route

6307-589: The abolition of the death penalty, but also alleges interference in the judicial system by members of the government, such as the politically motivated appointment of judges, misuse of prosecutorial power, and pressure on judges to make particular decisions. The constitution provides for two types of courts: ordinary and specialised. Ordinary courts are the Supreme Court , the High Court , and regional courts, while specialised courts are military courts and

6426-542: The ancestors of the Twa , aboriginal pygmy hunter-gatherers who remain in Rwanda today. Then by 3,000BC, Central Sudanic and Kuliak farmers and herders began settling into Rwanda, followed by South Cushitic speaking herders in 2,000BC. The forest-dwelling Twa lost much of their habitat and moved to the mountain slopes. Between 800 BC and 1500 AD, a number of Bantu groups migrated into Rwanda, clearing forest land for agriculture. Historians have several theories regarding

6545-422: The bottom of HDI rankings in terms of region, suggesting a correlated dependency relationship of development for landlocked countries with their respective regions. In fact, HDI levels decrease as one moves inland along the major transit route that runs from the coast of Kenya, across the country before going through Uganda, Rwanda and then finally Burundi . Just recently, it has been economically modeled that if

6664-520: The busiest routes being those to Nairobi and Entebbe ; there is one domestic route, between Kigali and Kamembe Airport near Cyangugu . In 2017, construction began on the Bugesera International Airport , to the south of Kigali, which will become the country's largest when it opens, complementing the existing Kigali airport. The national carrier is RwandAir , and the country is served by seven foreign airlines. As of 2015

6783-413: The cables run along major roads, linking towns around the country. Mobile provider MTN also runs a wireless internet service accessible in most areas of Kigali via pre-paid subscription. In October 2019, Mara Corporation launched the first African-made smartphone in Rwanda. The Rwandan government prioritised funding of water supply development during the 2000s, significantly increasing its share of

6902-572: The conference was a direct call for donor countries to step in to direct aid into setting up suitable infrastructure of transit countries to alleviate the burden of supporting LLDCs in regions of poor development in general. The general objectives of the Almaty Program of Action is as follows: Rwanda in Africa  (light blue) Rwanda , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is

7021-481: The country had no railways, but there is a project underway, in conjunction with Burundi and Tanzania, to extend the Tanzanian Central Line into Rwanda; the three countries have invited expressions of interest from private firms to form a public private partnership for the scheme. There is no public water transport between the port cities on Lake Kivu, although a limited private service exists and

7140-400: The country is 72.6%, up from 41.6% in 2011. MTN Rwanda is the leading provider, with 3,957,986 subscribers, followed by Tigo with 2,887,328, and Bharti Airtel with 1,336,679. Rwandatel has also previously operated a mobile phone network, but the industry regulator revoked its licence in April 2011, following the company's failure to meet agreed investment commitments. Internet penetration

7259-425: The country is predominantly rolling hills, while the eastern border region consists of savanna , plains and swamps. Rwanda has a temperate tropical highland climate, with lower temperatures than are typical for equatorial countries because of its high elevation. Kigali, in the centre of the country, has a typical daily temperature range between 15 and 28 °C (59 and 82 °F), with little variation through

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7378-521: The country's electricity. A combination of below average rainfall and human activity, including the draining of the Rugezi wetlands for cultivation and grazing, caused the two lakes' water levels to fall from 1990 onwards; by 2004 levels were reduced by 50%, leading to a sharp drop in output from the power stations. This, coupled with increased demand as the economy grew, precipitated a shortfall in 2004 and widespread loadshedding . As an emergency measure,

7497-420: The country's power generation by 40%. Only 18% of the population had access to electricity in 2012, though this had risen from 10.8% in 2009. The government's Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy for 2013–18 aims to increase access to electricity to 70% of households by 2017. The government has increased investment in the transport infrastructure of Rwanda since the 1994 genocide, with aid from

7616-422: The country, little use is made of rainwater harvesting , and residents are forced to use water very sparingly, relative to usage in other African countries. Access to sanitation remains low; the United Nations estimates that in 2006, 34% of urban and 20% of rural dwellers had access to improved sanitation , with this statistic increasing to 92% for the total population (95% urban and 91% urban) in 2022. Kigali

7735-635: The country, including illegal and arbitrary detention, threats or other forms of intimidation, disappearances, politically motivated trials, and the massacre of peacefully protesting civilians. Rwanda is a member of the United Nations , African Union , Francophonie , East African Community , and the Commonwealth of Nations . For many years during the Habyarimana regime, the country maintained close ties with France, as well as Belgium,

7854-448: The culprits for keeping LLDCs from realizing development gains, Faye, Sachs and Snow hold the argument that no matter the advancement of infrastructure or lack of geographic distance to a port, landlocked nations are still dependent on their neighbouring transit nations. Outlying this specific relationship of dependency, Faye et al. insist that though LLDCs vary across the board in terms of HDI index scores, LLDCs almost uniformly straddle at

7973-428: The delivery of public services as mandated by the districts. Districts and sectors have directly elected councils, and are run by an executive committee selected by that council. The cells and villages are the smallest political units, providing a link between the people and the sectors. All adult resident citizens are members of their local cell council, from which an executive committee is elected. The city of Kigali

8092-607: The district level. The Rwanda Decentralisation Strategic Framework developed by the Ministry of Local Government assigns to provinces the responsibility for "coordinating governance issues in the Province, as well as monitoring and evaluation". Each province is headed by a governor, appointed by the president and approved by the Senate. The districts are responsible for coordinating public service delivery and economic development. They are divided into sectors, which are responsible for

8211-520: The east of the country. Rwanda was ranked 104th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024. The largest radio and television stations are state-run, and the majority of newspapers are owned by the government. Most Rwandans have access to radio; during the 1994 genocide, the radio station Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines broadcast across the country, and helped to fuel the killings through anti-Tutsi propaganda. As of 2015 ,

8330-538: The eastern border with Tanzania. The Nyabarongo-Kagera eventually drains into Lake Victoria , and its source in Nyungwe Forest is a contender for the as-yet undetermined overall source of the Nile . Rwanda has many lakes, the largest being Lake Kivu . This lake occupies the floor of the Albertine Rift along most of the length of Rwanda's western border, and with a maximum depth of 480 metres (1,575 ft), it

8449-502: The economic size of a transit country is increased by just 1%, a subsequent increase of at least 2% is experienced by the landlocked country, which shows that there is hope for LLDCs if the conditions of their transit neighbours are addressed. In fact, some LLDCs are seeing the brighter side of such a relationship, with the Central Asian nations geographic location between three BRIC nations (China, Russia and India ) hungry for

8568-552: The fifth-cleanest out of 47 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and 55th-cleanest out of 175 in the world. The constitution provides for an ombudsman , whose duties include prevention and fighting of corruption. Public officials (including the president) are required by the constitution to declare their wealth to the ombudsman and to the public; those who do not comply are suspended from office. Despite this, Human Rights Watch notes extensive political repression throughout

8687-407: The formation of an alliance with the king, beginning the colonial era. The Germans did not significantly alter the social structure of the country, but exerted influence by supporting the king and the existing hierarchy, and delegating power to local chiefs. Belgian forces invaded Rwanda and Burundi in 1916, during World War I , and later, in 1922, they started to rule both Rwanda and Burundi as

8806-492: The former colonial power. Under the RPF government, however, Rwanda has sought closer ties with neighbouring countries in the East African Community and with the English-speaking world. Diplomatic relations with France were suspended in 2006 following the indictment of Rwandan officials by a French judge, and despite their restoration in 2010, as of 2015 relations between the countries remain strained. Relations with

8925-482: The government are widely available in Kigali. Restrictions were increased in the run-up to the Rwandan presidential election of 2010, with two independent newspapers, Umuseso and Umuvugizi , being suspended for six months by the High Media Council . The country's oldest telecommunications group, Rwandatel , went into liquidation in 2011, having been 80% owned by Libyan company LAP Green . The company

9044-529: The government has initiated a programme to develop a full service. The Ministry of Infrastructure is also investigating the feasibility of linking Rwanda to Lake Victoria via shipping on the Akagera River . As of 2015 , the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda estimated Rwanda's population to be 11,262,564, while the projection for 2022 was 13,246,394. The 2012 census recorded

9163-463: The government installed diesel generators north of Kigali; by 2006 these were providing 56% of the country's electricity, but were very costly. The government enacted a number of measures to alleviate this problem, including rehabilitating the Rugezi wetlands, which supply water to Burera and Ruhondo and investing in a scheme to extract methane gas from Lake Kivu, expected in its first phase to increase

9282-483: The government of Mongolia to concede unfair terms for license grants of coal, copper, and gold mines. Thus, it can be argued that these nations with extraordinary mineral wealth should pursue economic diversification. All of these nations possess education qualifications, as they are inheritors of the Soviet Union 's social education system. This implies that it is due to poor economic policies that more than 40% of

9401-405: The industry. The industrial sector is small, contributing 14.8% of GDP in 2014. Products manufactured include cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles and cigarettes. Rwanda's mining industry is an important contributor, generating US$ 93 million in 2008. Minerals mined include cassiterite , wolframite , gold, and coltan , which

9520-494: The kingdom west and north, and initiated administrative reforms; these included ubuhake , in which Tutsi patrons ceded cattle, and therefore privileged status, to Hutu or Tutsi clients in exchange for economic and personal service, and uburetwa , a corvée system in which Hutu were forced to work for Tutsi chiefs. Rwabugiri's changes caused a rift to grow between the Hutu and Tutsi populations. The Twa were better off than in pre-Kingdom days, with some becoming dancers in

9639-617: The labour force is bogged down in the agricultural sector instead of being diverted into secondary or tertiary economic activity. Yet it cannot be ignored that Mongolia benefits exceptionally from its proximity to two giant BRIC nations, resulting in a rapid development of railway ports along its borders, especially along the Chinese border, as the Chinese seek to direct coking coal from Mongolia to China's northwestern industrial core, and, as well as for transportation southeast towards Japan and South Korea , resulting in revenue generation through

9758-653: The landlocked countries in Africa , Asia , and South America , have been classified as the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) by the United Nations . As of 2012, about 442.8 million people lived in these LLDCs. The United Nations has an Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS). It mainly holds

9877-438: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=LLDC&oldid=1152876401 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Landlocked developing countries 32 out of the world's 44 landlocked countries, including all

9996-619: The lowest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties and quality of life. The population is young and predominantly rural; Rwanda has one of the youngest populations in the world. Rwandans are drawn from just one cultural and linguistic group, the Banyarwanda . However, within this group there are three subgroups: the Hutu , Tutsi and Twa . The Twa are a forest-dwelling pygmy people and are often considered descendants of Rwanda's earliest inhabitants. Christianity

10115-690: The major Congo and Nile drainage basins runs from north to south through Rwanda, with around 80% of the country's area draining into the Nile and 20% into the Congo via the Rusizi River and Lake Tanganyika . The country's longest river is the Nyabarongo , which rises in the south-west, flows north, east, and southeast before merging with the Ruvubu to form the Kagera ; the Kagera then flows due north along

10234-459: The major cities. There are a smaller number of large buses, which operate a scheduled service around the country. The principal private hire vehicle is the motorcycle taxi ; in 2013 there were 9,609 registered motorcycle taxis in Rwanda, compared with just 579 taxicabs . Coach services are available to various destinations in neighbouring countries. The country has an international airport at Kigali that serves several international destinations,

10353-439: The mid-1980s, farm sizes and food production have been decreasing, due in part to the resettlement of displaced people. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, and food imports are required. However, in recent years with the growth of agriculture, the situation has improved. Subsistence crops grown in the country include matoke (green bananas), which occupy more than

10472-527: The most direct route to the sea since the inland infrastructure of Tanzania is poorly connected to the port of Dar es Salaam . Thus Burundi relies on Kenya 's port of Mombasa for export; but this route was severed briefly in the 1990s when political relations with Kenya deteriorated. Further, Burundi's exports could not pass through Mozambique around the same time due to the Mozambican civil war (1977–1992). Thus, Burundi had to export its goods using

10591-482: The most recent survey in 2019/20, 48.8% of the population continues to be affected by multidimensional poverty and an additional 22.7% vulnerable to it. Major export markets include China, Germany, and the United States. The economy is managed by the central National Bank of Rwanda and the currency is the Rwandan franc ; in December 2023, the exchange rate was 1250 francs to one United States dollar. Rwanda joined

10710-545: The most recent survey in 2019/20, 48.8% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty and an additional 22.7% vulnerable to it. The country is a member of the African Union , the United Nations , the Commonwealth of Nations (one of few member states that does not have any historical links with the British Empire ), COMESA , OIF and the East African Community . Modern human settlement of what

10829-544: The most significant reasons why developing landlocked nations cannot alleviate themselves, while European landlocked cases are mostly developed because of short distances to the sea through well-developed countries. One other commonly cited factor is the administrative burdens associated with border crossings, as there is a heavy load of bureaucratic procedures, paperwork, custom charges, and most importantly, traffic delay due to border wait times, which affect delivery contracts. Delays and inefficiency compound geographically: thus

10948-604: The national budget. This funding, along with donor support, caused a rapid increase in access to safe water; in 2015, 74% of the population had access to safe water, up from about 55% in 2005; the government has committed to increasing this to 100% by 2017. The country's water infrastructure consists of urban and rural systems that deliver water to the public, mainly through standpipes in rural areas and private connections in urban areas. In areas not served by these systems, hand pumps and managed springs are used. Despite rainfall exceeding 750 millimetres (30 in) annually in most of

11067-505: The nature of the Bantu migrations; one theory is that the first settlers were Hutu , while the Tutsi migrated later to form a distinct racial group, possibly of Nilo-hamitic origin. An alternative theory is that the migration was slow and steady, with incoming groups integrating into rather than conquering the existing society. Under this theory, the Hutu and Tutsi distinction arose later and

11186-497: The northern part) as a UN trust territory after the Second World War , with a mandate to oversee eventual independence . Tensions escalated between the Tutsi, who favoured early independence, and the Hutu emancipation movement, culminating in the 1959 Rwandan Revolution : Hutu activists began killing Tutsi and destroying their houses, forcing more than 100,000 people to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. In 1961,

11305-435: The numbers of each. Production systems are mostly traditional, although there are a few intensive dairy farms around Kigali. Shortages of land and water, insufficient and poor-quality feed, and regular disease epidemics with insufficient veterinary services are major constraints that restrict output. Fishing takes place on the country's lakes, but stocks are very depleted, and live fish are being imported in an attempt to revive

11424-532: The old system and the genocide. The previous structure of twelve provinces associated with the largest cities was replaced with five provinces based primarily on geography. These are Northern Province , Southern Province , Eastern Province , Western Province , and the Municipality of Kigali in the centre. The five provinces act as intermediaries between the national government and their constituent districts to ensure that national policies are implemented at

11543-539: The orders of the interim government. Many Twa were also killed, despite not being directly targeted. The Tutsi RPF restarted their offensive, and took control of the country methodically, gaining control of the whole country by mid-July. The international response to the genocide was limited, with major powers reluctant to strengthen the already overstretched UN peacekeeping force . When the RPF took over, approximately two million Hutu fled to neighbouring countries , in particular Zaïre , fearing reprisals; additionally,

11662-404: The population in 2009, the Tutsi 15% and Twa 1%. The Twa are a pygmy people who descend from Rwanda's earliest inhabitants, but scholars do not agree on the origins of and differences between the Hutu and Tutsi. Anthropologist Jean Hiernaux contends that the Tutsi are a separate race, with a tendency towards "long and narrow heads, faces and noses"; others, such as Villia Jefremovas, believe there

11781-473: The population is drawn from just one cultural and linguistic group, the Banyarwanda ; this contrasts with most modern African states, whose borders were drawn by colonial powers and did not correspond to ethnic boundaries or pre-colonial kingdoms. Within the Banyarwanda people, there are three separate groups, the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. The CIA World Factbook gives estimates that the Hutu made up 84% of

11900-433: The poverty rate reduced from 57% to 45%, while life expectancy rose from 46.6 years in 2000 to 65.4 years in 2021. In 2009, Rwanda joined the Commonwealth of Nations , although the country was never part of the British Empire . Rwanda is a de facto one-party state ruled by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and its leader Paul Kagame continuously since the end of the civil war in 1994. Although Rwanda

12019-413: The region's oil and mineral wealth serving to boost economic development. The three major factors that LLDCs are dependent on their transit neighbours are dependence on transit infrastructure, dependence on political relations with neighbours, and dependence on internal peace and stability within transit neighbours. Burundi has relatively good internal road networks, but it cannot export its goods using

12138-532: The remaining animals were poisoned by cattle herders. In June 2015, two South African parks donated seven lions to Akagera National Park , reestablishing a lion population in Rwanda. The lions were held initially in a fenced-off area of the park, and then collared and released into the wild a month later. Eighteen endangered black rhinos were brought to Rwanda in 2017 from South Africa. After positive results, five more black rhinos were delivered to Akagera National Park from zoos all over Europe in 2019. Similarly,

12257-494: The risk of shocks due to variations in market prices. And though it is widely conceived that free trade can permit faster economic growth, Mongolia is now subjected to a new geopolitical game which concerns the traffic on its railway lines between China and Russia. Russian Railways now effectively owns 50% of Mongolia's rail infrastructure, which could mean more efficient modernization and the laying of new rail lines, but in reality also translates into powerful leverage to pressure

12376-539: The royal court, but their numbers continued to decline. The Berlin Conference of 1884 assigned the territory to the German Empire , who declared it to be part of German East Africa . In 1894, explorer Gustav Adolf von Götzen was the first European to cross the entire territory of Rwanda; he crossed from the south-east to Lake Kivu and met the king. In 1897, Germany established a presence in Rwanda with

12495-408: The seaport of Tianjin . The Republic of Armenia is a landlocked country with geographic disadvantages, and faces limitations on foreign policy options. It needs to transport its goods via coastal neighbors to access ports to participate in international trade, to which Azerbaijan and Turkey are hostile and deny its access. Therefore, Armenia mainly depends on the Georgian ports of Batumi and Poti and

12614-581: The state-run Radio Rwanda was the largest station and the main source of news throughout the country. Television access is limited, with most homes not having their own set. The government rolled out digital television in 2014, and a year later there were seven national stations operating, up from just one in the pre-2014 analogue era. The press is tightly restricted, and newspapers routinely self-censor to avoid government reprisals. Nonetheless, publications in Kinyarwanda, English, and French critical of

12733-453: The suddenly pro-Hutu Belgians held a referendum in which the country voted to abolish the monarchy. Rwanda was separated from Burundi and gained independence on 1 July 1962, which is commemorated as Independence Day, a national holiday. Cycles of violence followed, with exiled Tutsi attacking from neighbouring countries and the Hutu retaliating with large-scale slaughter and repression of the Tutsi. In 1973, Juvénal Habyarimana took power in

12852-702: The territory in the Stone and Iron Ages , followed later by Bantu peoples . The population coalesced first into clans , and then into kingdoms. In the 15th century, one kingdom, under King Gihanga, managed to incorporate several of its close neighbor territories establishing the Kingdom of Rwanda . The Kingdom of Rwanda dominated from the mid-eighteenth century, with the Tutsi kings conquering others militarily, centralising power, and enacting unifying policies. In 1897, Germany colonized Rwanda as part of German East Africa , followed by Belgium , which took control in 1916 during World War I . Both European nations ruled through

12971-408: The view that high transport costs due to distance and terrain result in the erosion of competitive edge for exports from landlocked countries. In addition, it recognizes the constraints on landlocked countries to be mainly physical, including lack of direct access to the sea, isolation from world markets and high transit costs due to physical distance. It also attributes geographic remoteness as one of

13090-468: The wake of New Imperialism , promoted Tutsi supremacy, considering the Hutu and Tutsi different races . In 1935, Belgium introduced an identity card system, which labelled each individual as either Tutsi, Hutu, Twa or Naturalised. While it had been previously possible for particularly wealthy Hutu to become honorary Tutsi, the identity cards prevented any further movement between the classes. Belgium continued to rule Ruanda-Urundi (of which Rwanda formed

13209-417: The west and savanna to the southeast, with numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. It is the most densely populated mainland African country; among countries larger than 10,000 km , it is the fifth-most densely populated country in the world. Its capital and largest city is Kigali . Hunter-gatherers settled

13328-592: The west and northwest of the country receiving more precipitation annually than the east and southeast. Global warming has caused a change in the pattern of the rainy seasons. According to a report by the Strategic Foresight Group, change in climate has reduced the number of rainy days experienced during a year, but has also caused an increase in frequency of torrential rains. Both changes have caused difficulty for farmers, decreasing their productivity. Strategic Foresight also characterise Rwanda as

13447-476: The white rhino population is growing in Rwanda. In 2021, Rwanda received 30 white rhinos from South Africa with the goal of Akagera being a safe breeding ground for the near-threatened species. There are 670 bird species in Rwanda , with variation between the east and the west. Nyungwe Forest, in the west, has 280 recorded species, of which 26 are endemic to the Albertine Rift; endemic species include

13566-492: The year. There are some temperature variations across the country; the mountainous west and north are generally cooler than the lower-lying east. There are two rainy seasons in the year; the first runs from February to June and the second from September to December. These are separated by two dry seasons : the major one from June to September, during which there is often no rain at all, and a shorter and less severe one from December to February. Rainfall varies geographically, with

13685-503: Was mountain gorilla tracking, in the Volcanoes National Park; Rwanda is one of only three countries in which mountain gorillas can be visited safely; the gorillas attract thousands of visitors per year, who are prepared to pay high prices for permits. Other attractions include Nyungwe Forest, home to chimpanzees, Ruwenzori colobus and other primates, the resorts of Lake Kivu, and Akagera, a small savanna reserve in

13804-424: Was a class distinction rather than a racial one. The earliest form of social organisation in the area was the clan ( ubwoko ). The clans were not limited to genealogical lineages or geographical area, and most included Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. From the 15th century, the clans began to merge into kingdoms. One kingdom, under King Gihanga, managed to incorporate several of its close neighbor territories establishing

13923-477: Was acquired in 2013 by Liquid Telecom , a company providing telecommunications and fibre optic networks across eastern and southern Africa. As of 2015 , Liquid Telecom provides landline service to 30,968 subscribers, with mobile operator MTN Rwanda serving an additional 15,497 fixed line subscribers. Landlines are mostly used by government institutions, banks, NGOs and embassies, with private subscription levels low. As of 2015 , mobile phone penetration in

14042-447: Was five times greater than Kyrgyzstan 's in 2009. Despite substantial development growth, these nations are not on a stable and destined path to being well developed, as the exploitation of their natural resources translates into an overall low average income and disparity of income, and because their limited deposits of resources allow growth only in the short term, and most importantly because dependence on unprocessed materials increases

14161-515: Was held in Almaty , Kazakhstan, setting the necessities of LLDCs in a universal document whereas there were no coordinated efforts on the global scale to serve the unique needs of LLDCs in the past. Other than acknowledging the main forms of dependency that must be addressed, it also acknowledged the additional dependency issue where neighbouring transit countries are often observed to export the same products as their landlocked neighbours. One result of

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