Rwanda (continued)
chrysanthemums); main food crops—bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; stock raising; self-sufficiency declining; country imports foodstuffs as farm production fails to keep up with a 3.8% annual growth in population
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $118 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.7 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $45 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $58 million
Currency: Rwandan franc (plural—francs); 1 Rwandan franc (RF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Rwandan francs (RF) per US$1—78.99 (December 1989), 79.98 (1989), 76.45 (1988), 79.67 (1987), 87.64 (1986), 101.26 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Highways: 4,885 km total; 460 km paved,
1,725 km gravel and/or improved earth,
2,700 km unimproved
Inland waterways: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft
Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft
Airports: 8 total, 8 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair system with low-capacity radio relay system centered on Kigali; 6,600 telephones; stations—2 AM, 5 FM, no TV; satellite earth stations—1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 SYMPHONIE
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, paramilitary,
Gendarmerie
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,586,989; 810,560 fit for military service; no conscription
Defense expenditures: 2.1% of GDP (1987)
St. Helena (dependent territory of the UK)
See regional map VII
Geography
Total area: 410 km²; land area: 410 km²;
includes Ascension, Gough Island,
Inaccessible Island, Nightingale Island, and
Tristan da Cunha
Comparative area: slightly more than 2.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 60 km
Maritime claims:
- Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Terrain: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
Natural resources: fish; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns; no minerals
Land use: 7% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures; 3% forest and woodland; 83% other
Environment: very few perennial streams
Note: Napoleon Bonaparte's place of exile and burial; the remains were taken to Paris in 1840
People
Population: 6,657 (July 1990), growth rate
0.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: NEGl migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 46 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 75 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—St. Helenian(s); adjective—St. Helenian
Ethnic divisions: NA
Religion: Anglican majority; also Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, and Roman Catholic
Language: English
Literacy: NA%, but probably high
Labor force: NA
Organized labor: St. Helena General Workers' Union, 472 members; 17% crafts, 10% professional and technical, 10% service, 9% management and clerical, 9% farming and fishing, 6% transport, 5% sales, 1% security, and 33% other
Government
Long-form name: none
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: Jamestown
Administrative divisions: 2 dependencies and 1 administrative area*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Constitution: 1 January 1967
Legal system: NA
National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second Saturday in June), 10 June 1989
Executive branch: British monarch, governor, Executive Council (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: Chief of State—Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
Head of Government—Governor and Commander in Chief Robert F. STIMSON (since 1987)
Political parties and leaders: St. Helena Labor Party, G. A. O. Thornton; St. Helena Progressive Party, leader unknown; note—both political parties inactive since 1976
Suffrage: NA
Elections: Legislative Council—last held October 1984 (next to be held NA); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(15 total, 12 elected) number of seats by party NA
Communists: probably none
Diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the St. Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship