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Population

Rwanda’s population has traditionally been composed of Hutu,Tusi and Twa peoples.
however, civil stife at independence and genocidal civil warin 1994 have altered these
percentages.   the 1991 offical cenus estimated the country’s population at 7,164,995.   Talking
into consideration Rwanda’s growth rate, the population in 1996 should have been between 7.8
and 8 million people, but it is estimated that less than 5.5 to 6 million people were living in
Rwanda in late 1995.
Rwanda’s people speak a common language, Kinyarwanda, and share many cultural
traditions.   More than half of the population is estimated to be Roman Catholic and another 5 to
10% Protestant Crisitan.   Probaly 30% or more hold traditional beliefs.   There is a small Muslium
minority.
Traditionally, Rwanda has been Africa’s least urban country ,although migration to the
capital, Kigali,and provincial towns such as Ruhengeri,Butare,and Gisenyi incerased thoughout
the 1980s and the early1990s.   Prior to 1994 it eas also the most densly populated rural county in
the world, with more than 2,110 persons per sq./km.
Education is free and officially compulsory for childern between ages 7 to 15, but
Rwanda’s school system was virtually destroyed during the civil war .   Most hospitals, including
the university of Rwanda, remained closed in 1995.   Most hospitals were ethier closed or without
adequate supplies or medical personnel.

History

Hutu agriculturalists migrated into what is now Rwanda during the 7th to 10th centuries
AD, followed by pastoral Tutsi between the 14th nd 16th centuries.   A feudal monarchy
developed that remained in existence for centuries before Rwanda was absorbed into German east
Africa in 1899.   Belgium occupied the area in 1916 and controlled what are now Rwanda and
Burundi until Rwanda gained its independence.
Before European occupation, the kingdom of Rwanda was a somewhat flexible hierarchy
with a tutsi...