Relief in Rwanda
Senior 2 · Geography and Environment
Relief in Rwanda
Lesson 1 of 3
20 min
A bag of cement shipped to Kigali from overseas lands at a port on the Indian Ocean, then travels by lorry for well over 1,000 km through one or two other countries before it reaches a building site. That journey is added to the price. Where a country lies, how big it is and whether it touches the sea shape its costs, its trade and its plans. This lesson sets out Rwanda's basic geography before you study its relief.
Rwanda lies in east-central Africa, in the Great Lakes region, just south of the Equator. Its territory stretches between latitudes 1°03′ S and 2°50′ S and longitudes 28°52′ E and 30°54′ E.
It has four neighbours, and its land borders total about 930 km:
| Neighbour | Direction | Border length |
|---|---|---|
| Uganda | North | 172 km |
| Tanzania | East | 222 km |
| Burundi | South | 315 km |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | West | 221 km |
Rwanda covers 26,338 km², of which about 94% is land and about 6% is water (mainly lakes). It is one of the smallest countries on the African mainland.
Rwanda is divided into four provinces (Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western) and the City of Kigali. Below them are 30 districts, then 416 sectors, 2,148 cells and 14,837 villages (imidugudu).
The 2022 Population and Housing Census counted 13,246,394 people. Population density is the number of people per square kilometre.
Worked example
Calculate Rwanda's population density in 2022.
High density on a small, hilly territory is the background to many topics in this course: pressure on land, soil erosion, and the need for terraces and planned villages.
A landlocked country has no coastline of its own. Rwanda's nearest seaports are Mombasa in Kenya (the Northern Corridor, through Uganda and Kenya) and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania (the Central Corridor).
Tip
Exam technique. For a "challenges and solutions" question, pair each challenge with its solution (high cost → two corridors and air freight; delays → one-stop border posts). A matched pair shows understanding; two separate lists do not.
Solution: Uganda (north), Tanzania (east), Burundi (south), DRC (west).
Solution: Burundi, 315 km.
Solution: 400,000 ÷ 800 = 500 people per km².
Solution: Mombasa (Kenya) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania).
Solution: light, high-value or perishable exports (flowers, vegetables) reach overseas markets quickly without passing through a neighbour's port.
Summary
Sources and credits
The 2022 census total is from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (a reported figure). The landlocked section, worked example and practice items are written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
