A population explosion
In 1962, when it was promoted to capital, the city of Kigali was only a small town of 5,000 inhabitants, but its population quickly exploded. By 1970, the population had increased tenfold. Twenty years later, it had reached 235,000 inhabitants. During the 1994 genocide, Kigali was emptied, but gradually the exiles returned home. Year after year, the city's population has grown and grown until today it is close to 1.2 million. This meteoric growth has brought many inconveniences, such as a significant increase in traffic jams and pollution. Although this demographic explosion is most visible in Kigali, the countryside is not spared. The general population of the country is increasing by 2.3% each year. The Rwandan territory is not extensible and space is already running out. While four-fifths of the population live from agriculture, all the land is almost cultivated, and there is almost no wasteland left in the country. In the spirit of preserving biodiversity and therefore tourism, the government is opposed to the deforestation of new plots of land to make crops. It is thus obliged to import foodstuffs to feed its population. This problem is expected to become even more acute as, according to UN forecasts, the population density is expected to almost double by 2050. In the near future, this overpopulation could be a source of conflict.
Great ethnic diversity
The Banyarwanda population is composed of three ethnic groups. The Hutus, who are in the majority, make up 83% of the population, while the Tutsis, who were decimated during the genocide, make up only 16%. There is also a 1% Twa population, the pygmy hunter-gatherers who were the original inhabitants of the Great Lakes region of Africa. According to some ethnographic accounts from the 1920s, they were considered subhuman at the time. Victims of discrimination, violence and land deprivation, their population almost became extinct in the 1960s. At the time of the monarchy, they were often allied with the Tutsis, for whom they acted as scouts, spies, jugglers at the king's court and, above all, musicians. As collateral damage of the genocide, the Twas are still threatened with extinction today. Not only is their territory too small to support them, but their birth rate is incredibly low. Rwanda also has a small minority of Himas, a nomadic people from the Nile Valley who live in the north and northeast of the country. Hutus, Tutsis, Twas, Himas - all these distinctions have been broken since the end of the genocide. Today, ethnic differentiation is outlawed and unwelcome. According to the national constitution of 2003, there is only one valid identity in the whole country and it is Rwandan. In fact, everyone shares the same culture and language.
A common language
The national language is Kinyarwanda. It is spoken by over 99% of the population and is also spoken in the border region of Uganda and in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. During the Belgian colonial era, French was introduced in Rwanda and became the country's second official language. Until 2010, all school instruction was in French. After the 1994 genocide, relations between the Rwandan and French governments became strained. Gradually, the language of Molière was abandoned in favor of Shakespeare's language, which also became the official language. It must be said that a large number of exiles found refuge in Uganda where the most widely spoken language is English. Today, it is estimated that 15% of Rwandans speak English compared to only 11% of French speakers. In the countryside, only Kinyarwanda is spoken. English and French are only spoken in large cities such as Kigali and Butare. Even there, don't expect to have a smooth conversation. Rwandans tend to confuse and mix the two languages, which makes communication very difficult. Swahili is the country's last official language. Spoken by about 3% of the population, it is a Bantu language originating from Tanzania and is mostly spoken in the border area.
High life expectancy
The average life expectancy of Rwandans is particularly high for an African country. It is 68.3 years for all sexes. This is eight years longer than in the neighboring states of Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2000, life expectancy in Rwanda was only 48 years. This dramatic increase is the result of the government's extensive health access policy. According to the World Health Organization, 98% of the population has been covered by mandatory health insurance since 2006. Thanks to this improvement in the health care system and an increase in the number of medical facilities, infant mortality has also fallen by almost 50% in the last ten years.
The importance of education
In Rwanda, school is compulsory for six years. All children in the country, boys and girls, are required to attend school five times a week between the ages of 7 and 12. Higher education is also on the rise and more and more young people are heading to university. The result is a significant increase in the literacy rate. It is now 85% among 15-25 year olds, while it is only 28% among those over 65. Young Rwandans are driven by the desire to be entrepreneurial. Freshly graduated, they willingly leave the countryside to become managers in the big cities.
An improvement in women's rights
Gender equality is progressing and is enshrined in the constitution. Rwanda is the only country in the world with a majority of women in the National Assembly. In Kigali, more and more women are obtaining key positions. However, in the countryside, traditions remain strong and some women are still denied access to land ownership or education by their families.
