Page 3 - 2017 RWANDA

climate is created by altitude (average elevation is 5243 ft.) and two

rainy seasons, one from February to April and the other from

November to January. The highest point is Volcano Karisimbi at 14,826

ft and the lowest is on the Rusizi River at 3,119 ft.

The population is 11,901,484, composed chiefly of the Tutsi and Hutu

tribes. It is one of the most densely populated countries on the African

continent. Young people dominate the demographics with 41% of
children from birth to 14. Another 19% are between 15 and 24 years of

age. People from 25-54 make of 33% of the population while people 55-

to 64 make up only 5% and the older than 65 only 2%. Reasons for this

strange division become clear in Rwanda's tragic, horrific and highly

convoluted history.

Surprisingly, since Zambia (then called Northern Rhodesia) was a colony
of Belgium until 1962, French and English are two official languages

along with Kinyarwanda, the native tongue which about 93.2% of the

people speak. Only very small percentages speak either of the

European languages. 50% of the people are Catholics and 40%

Protestants, with local animist traditions claimed by the rest.

RWANDA'S HORRIBLE HISTORY

Even before the Belgians left the Rwandans to run their own affairs,

there was constant enmity between the two major tribes, with first one

and then the other wielding power and persecuting the other. Many

times there were emigration crises as one group or the other was
running away to neighboring countries. These conflicts continued after

independence until finally in l994 the ruling government orchestrated a

statewide genocidal program in which for 4 months Rwandans

murdered their fellow citizens in barbaric ways. Three-fourths of the