The president, Paul Kagame, is expected to win re-election in August 2010 by a massive majority and there will be little real political opposition to the governing Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be warmer but it is increasingly unlikely that the Congolese government will invite the Rwandan army back into eastern DRC to combat the Forces democratiques de liberation du Rwanda (FDLR; an anti-Rwandan government militia), which will slowly rebuild its strength. Real GDP growth is forecast at 6% in 2010, picking up to 7.5% in 2011 on the back of increased agricultural production and higher external demand. The inflation rate is forecast to average 8.5% in 2010-11 but this remains vulnerable to changing weather patterns and the risk is on the upside. Trade, particularly with the East African Community, will pick up and the current-account deficit is forecast to remain at around 6% of GDP in 2010-11. |
 |
 |
| Key Reports Available for Rwanda |
|
 |
| Land area | | 26,338 sq km | | Population | | 9.2m (World Bank estimate, 2006) | | Population density | | 349 people per sq km | | Main town | | Kigali (capital), population 750,000 (2001 estimate) | | Climate | | Tropical, moderated by altitude | | Weather in Kigali | | Average annual temperature, 19°C; average monthly rainfall, 85 mm | | Languages | | English, French and Kinyarwanda | | Religion | | Catholic (56.5% in 2001); Protestant (26%); Adventist (11.1%); Muslim (4.6%); indigenous beliefs (0.1%); none (1.7%) | | Measures | | Metric system | | Currency | | Rwandan franc (Rwfr). Average exchange rate in 2007: Rwfr551.7:US$1; exchange rate on March 7th 2008: Rwfr54.4:US$1 | | Fiscal Year | | January-December | | Time | | 2 hours ahead of GMT | | Public holidays | | Fixed: January 1st (New Year's Day), Jan 28th (Democracy Day), April 7th (Genocide Memorial Day), May 1st (Labour Day), July 1st (Independence Day), July 4th (Liberation Day), August 15th (Assumption), September 25th (Kamarampaka/Republic Day), October 1st (Patriotism Day), November 1st (All Saints' Day), December 25th-26th (Christmas) | | Moveable: March 21st-24th 2008 (Easter) | | SOURCE: Country Profile |
|