Largest Cities in Rwanda
Facts about Rwanda
Official languages: Ruanij, English, French, Swahili
Capital: Kigali
Area: 26,338 km²
Population: 11.1 million residents
Population density: 419.77 residents per km²
Currency: RWF
Internet TLD: .rw
ISO codes: RW , RWA, 646
The prefix for Rwanda is +250
Rwanda is a densely populated landlocked country in East Africa. It borders on Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Tanzania. Because of its largely hilly landscape, it is also known as the “land of a thousand hills”. The main African watershed runs on its territory between the catchment areas of the Nile and the Congo. Rwanda was a German colony from 1884 to 1916, and in 1962 it gained independence from the UN mandate of Belgium.
Not least because of the conflicts between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups – which culminated in the Tutsi genocide in 1994 – the country is one of the poorest in Africa, although progress has been made in recent years.
Biggest Cities of Rwanda by Population
# | City | Population | Latitude | Longitude |
1 | Kigali, Rwanda | 745,372 | -1.94995 | 30.0588 |
2 | Butare, Rwanda | 89,711 | -2.59667 | 29.7394 |
3 | Gitarama, Rwanda | 87,724 | -2.07444 | 29.7567 |
4 | Musanze, Rwanda | 86,796 | -1.49984 | 29.635 |
5 | Gisenyi, Rwanda | 83,734 | -1.70278 | 29.2564 |
6 | Byumba, Rwanda | 70,704 | -1.5763 | 30.0675 |
7 | Cyangugu, Rwanda | 63,994 | -2.4846 | 28.9075 |
8 | Kibuye, Rwanda | 48,135 | -2.06028 | 29.3478 |
9 | Rwamagana, Rwanda | 47,314 | -1.9487 | 30.4347 |
10 | Kibungo, Rwanda | 46,351 | -2.1597 | 30.5427 |
11 | Nzega, Rwanda | 33,943 | -2.479 | 29.5564 |
Rwanda: Kigali
The capital of the country is called Kigali. By the way, “Ki” is pronounced like “Tschi”, so it sounds like Tschigali. Kigali lies at an altitude of 1540 meters between Mount Kigali and Mount Jali. The city is spread over many small hills within a green landscape. Kigali is also known as the “garden city”.
1.16 million people live in Kigali. There is a market here and also an old Muslim quarter that is well worth seeing. Kigali was founded by a German named Richart Kandt. Other large cities in Rwanda are Ruhengeri, Gisenyi and Butare.