Rwanda:
Economy

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Other pages in this profile of Rwanda:
Geography, People, Government, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Economy - overview	Definition Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa and is landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded 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, although poverty levels are higher now. GDP has rebounded and inflation has been curbed. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, 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 Millennium Challenge Account Threshold status in 2006. 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.
GDP (purchasing power parity)	Definition - World rank and map $8.44 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)	Definition $3.32 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	Definition - World rank and map 6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita	Definition - World rank and map $900 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	Definition agriculture: 36.9% industry: 21.7% services: 41.4% (2007 est.)
Labor force	Definition 4.6 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation	Definition agriculture: 90% industry and services: 10% (2000)
Unemployment rate	Definition - World rank and map NA%
Population below poverty line	Definition 60% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	Definition lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 38.2% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index	Definition - World rank and map 46.8 (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	Definition - World rank and map 9.4% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)	Definition - World rank and map 22.1% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget	Definition revenues: $797 million expenditures: $873.1 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	Definition coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock
Industries	Definition cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes
Industrial production growth rate	Definition - World rank and map 13.1% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production	Definition - World rank and map 95 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 198.4 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 19.5 kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	Definition 10 million kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - imports	Definition 120 million kWh (2005)
Oil - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 5,300 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption per 1,000 people	Definition - World rank and map 0.5 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports	Definition - World rank and map 5,165 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 54.32 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance	Definition - World rank and map -$161 million (2007 est.)
Exports	Definition - World rank and map $167 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities	Definition coffee, tea, hides, tin ore
Exports - partners	Definition China 9.3%, Germany 7%, US 5.1% (2006)
Imports	Definition - World rank and map $585 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities	Definition foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material
Imports - partners	Definition Kenya 19.6%, Uganda 6.9%, Germany 6.2%, Belgium 6.2%, China 5.2% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	Definition - World rank and map $517 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external	Definition - World rank and map $1.4 billion (2004 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares	Definition $NA
Economic aid - recipient	Definition $576 million (2005)
Currency (code)	Definition Rwandan franc (RWF)
Exchange rates	Definition Rwandan francs per US dollar - 585 (2007), 560 (2006), 610 (2005), 574.62 (2004), 537.66 (2003)
Fiscal year	Definition calendar year

Rwanda: Economy

Rwanda:
Economy