Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is highly elevated, giving it the soubriquet "land of a thousand hills", with its geography dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the southeast, with numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. It is the most densely populated mainland African country; among countries larger than 10,000 km2, it is the fifth most densely populated country in the world. Its capital and largest city is Kigali.
Kigali is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relatively new city. It has been Rwanda's economic, cultural, and transport hub since it was founded as an administrative outpost in 1907, and became the capital of the country at independence in 1962, shifting focus away from Huye.
Education in Rwanda has undergone considerable changes throughout Rwanda's recent history, and has faced major disruptions due to periods of conflict. Education was divided by gender whereby women and men had a different education relevant to their responsibilities in day-to-day life. Women were mostly taught housekeeping while men were mainly taught how to hunt, raise animals, and fish. This is because Rwanda was a community-based society where every member had a specific contribution to the overall development of the community. Older family members like grandparents usually took on the role of educators.
Kigali International Airport, formerly known as Kanombe International Airport, is the primary international airport serving Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Currently, there is an ongoing project to build another mega-airport in Bugesera District, Eastern Province, which will be the biggest and the main air gateway for all destinations in the country, in addition to serving as a transit airport for Goma and Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are 4 airlines based in Kigali: RwandAir, the flag carrier airline of Rwanda; Akagera Aviation, a Rwandan heli-company; Tempus Jet, an American airline providing charter flights; and Nexus Aero, a Saudi VIP airline.
The five provinces of Rwanda are divided into 30 districts. Each district is in turn divided into sectors, which are in turn divided into cells, which are in turn divided into villages.
Tourism in Rwanda is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings in Rwanda and was projected to grow at a rate of 25% every year from 2013-2018. The sector is the biggest contributor to the national export strategy. Total revenues generated from the sector in 2014 alone were USD 305 million. The sector has also attracted direct foreign investments with major international hotel brands setting up shop in the country including Marriot Hotels & Resorts, Radisson Blu, Park Inn by Radisson, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Protea Hotels by Marriott, Golden Tulip Hotels, and Zinc. With its new world-class convention center, Rwanda is set to become a regional and international conference hub owing to ever-improving conference facilities, an excellent and expanding transportation network, and straightforward immigration procedures such as the ability for online visa applications, visa-free for all Africans, and a one-tourist visa policy for the EAC.
Nyagatare is the largest and second most populous district (akarere) in Rwanda. Located in Eastern Province, Rwanda, it occupies the northeastern extremity of Rwanda. Its capital is Nyagatare City, the former capital of the now defunct Umutara province. Nyagatare District borders Uganda in the North, Tanzania in the East, Gatsibo District of the in the South, and Gicumbi District of the Northern Province in the West. Nyagatare has an area of 1741 km2, what makes it the largest district in Rwanda. With a population of 466,944 in 2012, and 653,861 in 2023, Nyagatare is the second most populated district of Rwanda only after Gasabo District of Kigali City with 879,505 inhabitants. This is a 156% increase from 2002 when the population was only 255,104. This sharp rise in the population is mainly due to the major movement of the population from other parts of the country in search of land.
Muhanga is a district (akarere) in Rwanda. It is found in southern province and its administrative centre is located in the city of Muhanga.
Gasabo is a district (akarere) in Kigali city, the capital of Rwanda. The headquarter of Gasabo is located in Remera Sector. The district also includes large areas of the city itself, including Kacyiru, Kimironko, Remera, Nyarutarama and Kimihurura.
Rubavu District is one of the seven districts (akarere) in Western Province, Rwanda, with a total surface area of 388.4 km2. Its capital is Gisenyi, a large beach resort and border city. The Rubavu Urban area, which includes Gisenyi, Rugerero and other nearby localities, had a 2012 population of 149,209, the second most populous urban area in Rwanda.
Rwanda Cricket Association is the official governing body of cricket sports in Rwanda. Its current headquarters is located in kicukiro district in Kigali city.
Gatsibo is a district (akarere) in Eastern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Kabarore. It lies in the sectors of Gatsibo and Kageyo. It’s at about 1 hour and 50 minutes drive from Kigali city.
Lake Muhazi is a long thin shallow lake in the east of Rwanda. The bulk of the lake lies in the Eastern Province, with the western end forming the border between the Northern and Kigali Provinces. It is a flooded valley lake, lying predominantly in an east to west direction, but with numerous offshoots in a north to south direction, formerly the location of tributaries. The lake has a concrete dam at the western end, constructed in 1999 to replace an earth dam which had existed since time immemorial. The lake empties into the Nyabugogo River, which flows southwards to Kigali where it meets the Nyabarongo River, part of the upper Nile.
The culture of Rwanda is varied. Unlike many other countries in Africa, Rwanda has been a unified state since precolonial times, populated by the Banyarwanda people who share a single language and cultural heritage. Eleven regular national holidays are observed throughout the year, with others occasionally inserted by the government.
Nyamata is a town in the Bugesera District, southeastern Rwanda. Nyamata literally means 'place of milk' from the two Kinyarwanda words nya- 'of' and amata 'milk'. It is the location of the Nyamata Genocide Memorial, commemorating the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Kigali, Rwanda.
Masaka is a populated neighborhood within the city of Kigali, the capital and largest city of Rwanda.
Masaka Hospital, Rwanda, commonly known as Masaka Hospital, is a hospital in Rwanda. It is an urban, general hospital built between 2008 and 2011, with funding from the Government of China, as a gift to the Government of Rwanda.
The University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) is a 519 beds teaching hospital located in Kigali City, Rwanda. Founded in 1918 by Belgian colonialists, CHUK is the first and the biggest healthcare institution in Rwanda. CHUK has played a role in rebuilding Rwanda's healthcare after the genocide against Tutsi of 1994.
Kagarama is a sector (umurenge) in the Kigali Province, Kicukiro District, Rwanda. It is located in the south part of the city of Kigali.
