Rwanda borders DR Congo, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi
Overview
Rwanda is approximately the size of Wales and has a population of approximately eight million people, making it one of the most densly populated countries in the World. It has three official languages: Kinyarwanda (the second most widely spoken African language, after Swahili), French and English. Whilst most people who have grown up in Rwanda speak at least some French and very little English, those long-term exiles who returned after the Genocide speak English but no French. The population has traditionally been divided into three groups: 84% Hutu, 15% Tutsi and 1% Twa. Whether these are really 'ethnic' groups is debatable however, and increasingly people consider themselves to be 'Rwandan' only: current government policy stresses that the distinction no longer exists.
Officially granted independence from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship in 1962 the history of Rwanda has been marred by violence between the groups mentioned above, culminating in 1994's genocide in which up to one million people died. Since then, despite considerable challenges, Rwanda has rebuilt itself and is fast becoming one of Africa's great success stories.
A common misconception, which hampered the involvment of the international community at the time of the genocide, is that the violence erupted spontaneously in a lawless region. The opposite is true: violence on the scale of the genocide was only possible because Rwanda has always had a highly organised and disciplined society where the rule of law is highly respected and people are used to obeying the orders of local officials. This makes Rwanda today a safe and relatively efficient nation, just as it contributed to the horrors of the past.
