From 1884 until 1916 Rwanda was a German colony, on July 1^st 1962 it received the status of independency by the UNO mandate power Belgium. Rwanda is today a presidential republic, Head of the State is Paul Kagame.

The capital of Rwanda is Kigali, the official languages are Kinyarwanda, French and English. The people of Rwanda counts about 8.9 mio. inhabitants (in 2004). With an average of 314 inhabitants per km2 it is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. The high population pressure is Rwanda's main structural problem, as the country does hardly have any industry or relevant ressources. The country is also charged with the high numbers of refugees that are coming above all from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Rwanda.

Only small part of the population lives in cities but the urbanisation increases. The biggest cities in Ruanda are Kigali, Butare, Gitarama, Ruhengeri and Gisenyi with inhabitant numbers of 746'000 to 83'000 (in 2005). Except for Kigali, which is developing a more urban character, the cities are of very rural character. They are most often the seat of the local government or of Christian centres (former missions). They serve as trading centres for the local economy and as traffic hubs.

Not least because of the conflicts between the tribes of the Hutu and the Tutsi - which culminated in the genocide of the Tutsi in 1994 - the country counts to the poorest in Africa. Over 60% of the population live under the poverty level, and 20% of those again under the limit of absolute poverty. The food production covers only 80% of the needs, which leads to regular regional and seasonal famines. There are regions in which the population has to deal with chronic undernourishment. Rwandas economy is largely of agricultural character. About 93% of the population work in this sector. A big part of the crops are however for self-supply. There is serious shortage of land; over 90% of the mostly family businesses work on areas of less than a hectare.