Rwanda

Where the name comes from

Rwanda is linked to Kinyarwanda kwanda, “expand”, recalling how the old kingdom grew outward from Gasabo near Lake Muhazi.

First people

Twa forest people lived here first, and a Kinyarwanda-speaking kingdom later grew outward from Gasabo.¹

Known for

Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills and for its mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park.²

Outside rule

German colonial rule began in 1897 and Belgian occupation in 1916; Belgium ruled under a mandate from 1922 and a trusteeship from 1946, and colonial racial labels hardened Hutu and Tutsi identities.³

The modern country

Independence came in 1962. After the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda rebuilt, and in 2008 became the first country where women held most seats in parliament’s lower house.^4,5