Africa > Rwanda > Economy

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Agriculture > products coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock
Aid as % of GDP	17.9%		[13th of 129]
Debt > External	$1,400,000,000.00		[10th of 136]
Distribution of family income > Gini index	46.8		[8th of 43]
Economic freedom	1.35		[136th of 156]
Economy > Overview Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa and is landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded the country's ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels, although poverty levels are higher now. GDP has rebounded and inflation has been curbed. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, requiring food imports. Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid money and obtained IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in 2005-06. Rwanda also received Millennium Challenge Account Threshold status in 2006. The government has embraced an expansionary fiscal policy to reduce poverty by improving education, infrastructure, and foreign and domestic investment and pursuing market-oriented reforms, although energy shortages, instability in neighboring states, and lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries continue to handicap growth.
Exports	$184,000,000.00		[146th of 189]
GDP	$2,493,538,000.00		[135th of 203]
GDP > PPP	$11,155,000,000.00		[121st of 163]
GDP > Real growth rate	6%		[76th of 198]
GINI index	46.79		[8th of 40]
Gross National Income	$1,888,830,000.00		[127th of 172]
Human Development Index	0.45		[160th of 178]
Income category	Low income
Income distribution > Poorest 10%	4.2%		[8th of 114]
Income distribution > Richest 10%	24.2%		[96th of 114]
Population below poverty line	60%		[6th of 46]
Population under $1 a day	35.7		[16th of 59]
Poverty > Share of all poor people	0.27 % of world's poor		[27th of 80]
Tourist arrivals	1,000		[153rd of 152]

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