Essay About Page 1Demographics And History Of Rwanda

The Republic of Rwanda
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Table of ContentsBrief History of Country……………………………………………………….
Main Industries and GDPOur-africa.org reports that Rwanda’s economy is still largely based on agriculture, with more than four-fifths of the population involved in small-scale farming. Coffee and tea are among the main industries bringing in over 180 million dollars each year. The country is very dependent upon the profit from coffee and tea that people from across the world bring in. Coffee and tea profits do so much for the economy of Rwanda that if they were to lose money it might harm them. Many people are also self-employed or working in small cottage industries outside of farming. (OurAfrica.org) Although it may seem that Rwanda’s economy is doing great on its on, investment is needed from foreign sources because Rwanda spends more on buying what it needs than from selling its own goods. The Rwandan government plans to transform the country into a middle-income nation under its Vision 2020 act. They want to implement this by focusing on gender equality, anti-corruption measures, technological progress, private-led industry and regional economic integration. The gross domestic product for Rwanda in 2015 was worth 8.10 billion dollars and this represents 0.01% of the world economy.Educational SystemWhen it comes to the educational system, Rwanda has one of the highest repetition rates in Africa. They have 5 different levels of education which include, primary education, middle education, secondary, vocational, and tertiary education. the period for primary school is normally 6 years and for students who are fortunate enough to make it to middle education spend 3 years at junior secondary school. Once done there, students must take and pass an exam that focuses on 9 different subjects if they want to move on to the next level. Many of the students who pass this exam are not admitted into the schools because there is a shortage of facilities, but, on a brighter side there are about 50,000 students enrolled in Rwanda’s tertiary schools. While at these institutions, the students study for certificates, diplomas, and degrees as admission into these schools are very competitive. ReligionThe most recent statistics on Rwandan religion were updated in 2006 by nationmaster and it states that 56.5% of Rwandans are Roman Catholic, 26% are Protestant, 11.1% are Adventist, and 4.65% are Muslim. Many Rwandans practice their traditional religion and Christianity at the same time; traditional religion is simply a supreme being or spirit which is called “Imana”. (African Studies Center) SocioeconomicsFor the most part, Rwanda is a poor rural country. About 90% of the population is involved in agriculture and some mineral processing. Rwanda relies heavily on the profits that they make from their foreign exchange earner, coffee and tea, which has been their primary earner since 2008. After genocide, Rwanda’s already fragile economic system was plunging and left many of its people impoverished specifically women. In efforts to get their people out of poverty, the country has accepted aid money and debt relief for 2005-06. Rwanda’s government has also accepted an expanding fiscal policy to reduce poverty rates by improving education, infrastructure, and foreign and domestic investments. The Vision 2020 is a long-term strategy for the development of Rwandan economy. The main goal of the plan is to make Rwanda a middle income country by 2020 based on a thriving private sector. (Minecofin)