Social conditions
Prior to the civil war and the 1994 genocide, Rwanda had a range of social services that were broadly in line with the average level of sub-Saharan African countries. To see related acronyms about this country, please check AbbreviationFinder to see the definitions of RWA and acronym for Rwanda. A large part of health care was provided by foreign missionary communities. The war caused the worst refugee disaster in modern times, social services were paralyzed and most of the NGOs left the country. One of the major social problems in the late 1990s was the large number of orphans with war psychoses.
Of the young children, 18% were underweight in 2005. At half of the births, qualified staff are available. Maternal mortality was estimated in 2008 at 540 per 100,000 descendants. In 2009, 17 percent of government expenditure went to health care. There are 16 hospital beds per 10,000 residents (2007) and two doctors per 100,000 residents (2005). Rwanda is severely affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and although the proportion of infected persons has fallen since the 1990s, 3 percent of the population aged 15-49 are estimated to carry the virus (2009). Other common causes of death are lung and diarrhea and tuberculosis. Check to see Rwanda population.
Poverty is still widespread; four out of five Rwandans live on less than $ 2 a day. Almost 2/3 of the population has access to clean water.
The Constitution prohibits gender discrimination and after 1994 women have come to play a more important role in society. In parliament, women are in the majority with 56 percent of the mandate. As many girls as boys go to school. However, violence against women, especially in the home, is still a major problem.
Contrary to the situation in many other African countries, the Rwanda trade unions made no major progress after independence, and the period has been characterized by stagnation. During the 1990s, trade union activity was largely down due to the political situation.
Population
Thanks to a very high annual growth coefficient (3.5% in the period 1986-91), the population of the Rwanda has increased from 4,819,317 residents of the 1978 census to 7,164,994 residents of the 1991 census; the density is equal to 272 residents / km 2. Regarding the ethnic composition, the Hutus are the numerically strongest group (85%), followed by the Tutsis (14%) and the Twa (1%). For many years the region, including Burundi as well as Rwanda, has been pervaded by very serious forms of racial intolerance, a legacy of ancestral tribal rivalries, which on several occasions have resulted in tragic armed opposition between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority. At the end of 1993, ethnic conflicts erupted in Burundi, killing 150,000 people and causing the exodus of over half a million people. In Rwanda the hostilities, which began in the last months of 1990, reached their peak in the spring-summer of 1994, causing – also in this case – tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of refugees. The civil war between the Hutu government forces and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (made up of the Tutsi minority) has mainly affected the northern section of the country and the capital Kigali, killing military personnel and militias, but especially among the civilian population. especially women and children. Hundreds of thousands of people fled their lands and flocked to the borders with Zaire and Uganda. Refugee camps have been set up but these temporary shelters have also been severely affected: serious epidemics (cholera) have claimed other victims and severely tested the ability of international health organizations to intervene.
The population is concentrated above all in the highlands close to the western mountain range, where densities well above 300 residents / km 2 are recorded. The only center to have a demographic consistency of a certain importance and urban functions (at least up to the bloodiest phase of the civil war) is the capital Kigali (234,472 residents In 1991). From an economic point of view, Rwanda continues to be one of the poorest countries on the African continent, with a per capita income less than 300 US dollars. The major obstacles to development are represented by the very high demographic load and by the isolation of the settlements: railways are lacking, and roads are limited to a few arteries for a total of 13,000 km (1990). For maritime connections with foreign countries, the Rwanda depends almost entirely on the distant port of Mombasa (Kenya), to reach which it is necessary to cross Ugandan territory. The situation of air transport is better thanks to the two international airports of Kigali and Kamembe.
Kigali
Kigali, the capital of Rwanda in Central Africa; 1.13 million residents (2012). The city is in the middle of the country on several highs for approximately 1500 m height. It is home to the country’s administration and industry and is a lively trading town. The city has a Muslim neighborhood. Rapid urban growth has resulted in large slums.
History
The city was founded in 1908 as the administrative and military center of the German colonial power. Under the Belgian rule of 1916-62, Kigali lost its political significance but served as a trading town. At Rwanda’s independence in 1962, the city was designated as the capital with only 6,000 houses, and a rapid development began. The city has been marked by the genocide in 1994, when Hutu extremists murdered thousands of Tutsis. The rebuilding after the riots was only slow, but the majority of the population has returned.