Rwanda
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Rwanda -- Demography

Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. The average population density is estimated at 274.6 people per square kilometer. But Rwanda's demographic profile was seriously affected by the events of 1994. Up to one million of the country's estimated 7.6 million inhabitants were killed and another two million forced to flee in the violent exchanges between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples. Since then, there have been further large-scale population movements. Nearly two million refugees have returned, including 700,000 "old refugees" from Uganda and Burundi. Some 220,000 orphans have either joined, or are seeking to join, other families. At least 110,000 people are in prison on suspicion of contributing to the genocide.

The Hutu comprise more than 80% of the population. The only other major ethnic group is the Tutsi, whose numbers have markedly declined because of the massacres of 1959-61, 1964, and 1990-1994. At the 1978 census, the male/female ratio was 48.9:51.1. The median age of the population was 15.5 years. The largest age group was that of persons under 30 years of age, constituting 74.2% of the population. A total of 24.3% were between 30 and 64, and 0.9 were 75 or over.

Other demographic data
Population: 7,956,172 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 1,785,650; female 1,772,609)
15-64 years: 53% (male 2,070,401; female 2,106,809)
65 years and over: 2% (male 90,941; female 129,762) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.5% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 38.99 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 19 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 113.31 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 41.93 years
male: 41.49 years
female: 42.4 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.86 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Source: CIA World Fact Book 1999

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