Rwanda

Key facts POPULATION (Census 2002)1: 8,128,553 AREA2: 26,338 sq km CAPITAL: Kigali LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTION TO GDP:  CURRENCY: Rwandan franc (RWF) HEAD OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT: President Paul Kagame FORM OF GOVERNMENT: democratic republic PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM: bicameral STATE STRUCTURE: unitary LANGUAGES: Kinyarwanda, English, French and Kiswahili (official) NATIONAL ELECTIONS: Presidential: last: 2010; turnout: 97.6%; next: 2017 Chamber of Deputies: last: 2008; turnout: 98.5% next: 2013 Chamber of Senators: last: 2003; turnout: 96.5% next: 2011 LOCAL ELECTIONS: last: 2011; turnout: 98.9%; next: 2016

Summary

Rwanda is a democratic republic with two spheres of government, national and local. Local government is enshrined in Chapter 1 of
the constitution and the main governing legislation is the Organic Law 2005. The Ministry of Local Government, Good Governance, Community Development and Social Affairs (MINALOC) oversees the local authorities, which are structured in four tiers: 30 districts (akarere), 416 sectors (imerenge), 2,148 cells (utugari) and 14,837 villages (imudungu). Local government can raise revenue through user fees and property taxes, and receives a core funding grant from central government as well as grants for specific services and one-off development projects. Many locally provided services are implemented in partnership with other government and non-government agencies including rural electrification, environmental management, primary health, water provision and sanitation services, local economic development and tourism, municipal planning and transport and social protection.