sy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with
altitude declining from west to east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m

Natural resources: gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten
ore), natural gas, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 35%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures: 18%
forests and woodland: 22%
other: 12% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are
in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the
Congo

Environment-current issues: deforestation results from uncontrolled
cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion

Environment-international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the
Sea

Geography-note: landlocked; predominantly rural population

@Rwanda:People

Population: 7,956,172 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 1,785,650; female 1,772,609)
15-64 years: 53% (male 2,070,401; female 2,106,809)
65 years and over: 2% (male 90,941; female 129,762) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.5% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 38.99 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 19 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 5.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
note: following the outbreak of genocidal strife in Rwanda in April
1994 between Tutsi and Hutu factions, more than 2 million refugees
fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Democratic Republic
of the Congo, formerly Zaire; according to the UN High Commission on
Refugees, in 1996 and early 1997 nearly 1,300,000 Hutus returned to
Rwanda; of these 720,000 returned from Democratic Republic of the
Congo, 480,000 from Tanzania, 88,000 from Burundi, and 10,000 from
Uganda; probably fewer than 100,000 Rwandans remained outside of
Rwanda at the end of 1997

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 113.31 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 41.93 years
male: 41.49 years
female: 42.4 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.86 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan