Rwanda

Why in news?

• French President Emmanuel Macron recently acknowledged his country’s “overwhelming responsibility” in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, but stopped short of a clear public apology.

About Rwanda:

• Rwanda is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley, where the African Great Lakes region and East Africa converge.
• One of the smallest countries on the African mainland, its capital city is Kigali.
• Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• It is highly elevated, with its geography dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the east, with numerous lakes throughout the country.
• It has a population of over 12.6 million living and is the most densely populated mainland African country.
• Rwandans are divided into three main tribal groups: the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa.
• Christianity is the largest religion in the country.
• Rwanda is one of only three countries in the world with a female majority in the national parliament, the two other countries being Bolivia and Cuba
• In 1994 Social tensions between Hutus and Tutsis erupted into a  genocide in which Hutu extremists killed an estimated 500,000–1,000,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu.
• The casualties of Genocide are estimated to amount up to 20% of Rwanda’s population.
• The economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture. Coffee and tea are the major cash crops for export. Tourism is a fast-growing sector and is now the country's leading foreign exchange earner.
• Rwanda is one of only two countries in which mountain gorillas can be visited safely, and visitors pay high prices for gorilla tracking permits.
• Rwanda has been governed as a unitary presidential system with a bicameral parliament ruled by the Rwandan Patriotic Front since 1994.
• The country is member of the African Union, the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, COMESA, OIF and the East African Community.

Prelims Question:

Hutus and Tutsis are two major tribal groups found in:
(a)Angola
(b)Indonesia
(c)Rwanda
(d)East Timor

Answer to Prelims question