Located in Central Africa, Rwanda, also known as ‘œThe Land of a Thousand Hills’ is only 26,338 square kilometers. But this little country has a long history packed in, along with some interesting facts.
Fact 1: They speak Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili, English and French in Rwanda.
Fact 2: The first European to explore Rwanda was Gustav Adolf Von Gotzen in 1894.
Fact 3: Unlike most African countries, Rwandans do not form villages. Instead, communities consist of individual family farms surrounded by fields.
Fact 4: Rawanda was first colonized by Germany in the 1890s. In 1919, it was colonized by Belgium.
Fact 5: The movie ‘œGorilla’s in the Mist’, starring Sigourney Weaver is filmed in Rwanda and is based on the life of famed primatologist Diane Fossey.
Fact 6: The life expectancy of Rwandans is short ‘“ only 40 years.
Fact 7: The first peoples to settle in Rwanda were the Twa, a group of Pygmy people.
Fact 8: Rwanda has two ethic groups: The Hutus, who are the majority and the Tutsis, who are the minority. These groups were created by the Belgian colonists. If an individual had ten or more cows they were labeled a Tutsi. Fewer than ten cows and they were labeled a Hutu.
Fact 9: Rwanda gained its independence in 1962.
Fact 10: The first peoples to settle in Rwanda were the Twa, a group of Pygmy people.
Fact 11: Rwanda’s main exports are coffee, tea, tin ore and hides. Its main industry includes agricultural products, soaps, and beverages.
Fact 12: From April to July, 1994, 800,000 Tutsi men, women and children were massacred by Hutu soldiers and citizens. The international response to this genocide was shameful.
Fact 13: In 1994, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was created to try those who had a role in the Rwandan Genocide.
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