Rwanda/

Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture and some mineral and agro-processing. In 2008, minerals overtook coffee and tea as Rwanda’s primary foreign exchange earner. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda’s fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and temporarily stalled the country’s ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels. GDP has rebounded and inflation has been curbed. Nonetheless, a majority still live below the poverty line of 250 Rwandan francs per day (about US$0.43). Despite Rwanda’s fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with demand, requiring food imports. Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid money and obtained IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in 2005-06. Rwanda also received a Millennium Challenge Account Compact in 2008. Africa’s most densely populated country is trying to overcome the limitations of its small, landlocked economy by leveraging regional trade. Rwanda joined the East African Community and is aligning its budget, trade, and immigration policies with its regional partners. The government has embraced an expansionary fiscal policy to reduce poverty by improving education, infrastructure, and foreign and domestic investment and pursuing market-oriented reforms, although energy shortages, instability in neighboring states, and lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries continue to handicap growth. The global downturn hurt export demand and tourism, but economic growth is recovering, driven in large part by the services sector, and inflation has been contained. On the back of this growth, government is gradually ending its fiscal stimulus policy while protecting aid to the poor.

$11.84 billion (2010 est.)

$11.17 billion (2009 est.)

$10.69 billion (2008 est.)

$5.693 billion (2010 est.)

6% (2010 est.)

4.5% (2009 est.)

11.2% (2008 est.)

$1,100 (2010 est.)

$1,000 (2009 est.)

$1,000 (2008 est.)

4.446 million (2007)

NA%

60% (2001 est.)

46.8 (2000)

28.9 (1985)

20% of GDP (2010 est.)

6.4% (2010 est.)

10.4% (2009 est.)

11.25% (31 December 2008)

12.5% (31 December 2007)

NA% (31 December 2009 est.)

16.51% (31 December 2008 est.)

$602.3 million (31 December 2010 est)

$537.6 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.243 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.068 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$600.4 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$515.5 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA

coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock

cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes

7.5% (2010 est.)

120 million kWh (2007 est.)

231.6 million kWh (2007 est.)

10 million kWh (2007)

130 million kWh (2007 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

6,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

5,623 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

56.63 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

-$489 million (2010 est.)

-$379 million (2009 est.)

$226 million (2010 est.)

$193 million (2009 est.)

coffee, tea, hides, tin ore

Kenya 33.88%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 13.56%, Thailand 6.22%, China 5.49%, US 5.47%, Swaziland 5.43%, Belgium 5.19% (2009)

$1.047 billion (2010 est.)

$961 million (2009 est.)

foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material

Kenya 16.53%, Uganda 14.92%, China 7.92%, UAE 6.89%, Belgium 5.54%, Germany 5.19%, Tanzania 4.81%, Sweden 4% (2009)

$816 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$742.7 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA

Rwandan francs (RWF) per US dollar - 586.25 (2010), 568.176 (2009), 550 (2008), 585 (2007), 560 (2006)