Provinces of Rwanda

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Northern Province, Rwanda Eastern Province, Rwanda Kigali Province, Rwanda Western Province, Rwanda Southern Province, RwandaRwanda Provinces 2006.png

The Provinces of Rwanda, called intara, are further divided into districts (akarere) and municipalities (umujyi). Prior to January 1, 2006, Rwanda was composed of twelve provinces; however, the Rwandan Government decided to establish new provinces in an attempt to address issues that arose from the Rwandan Genocide of 1994.

The first goal was to decentralise power, since it was felt Rwanda's centralised governing system was a contributing factor in aiding the genocide. Second, the new provinces are more multiethnic than the previous twelve, helping to weaken ethnic divisions. Finally, the new provinces will not have the associations the previous twelve did with events from the genocide.

Until 2002, the provinces were called prefectures (perefegitura).[1]

Provinces

Since January 1, 2006, the five provinces of Rwanda are:

Province Kinyarwanda name Capital Area
(km2) [2]
Population
(2012 census)
Kigali Umujyi wa Kigali Kigali City 730 1,132,686
Southern Amajyepfo Nyanza 5,963 2,589,975
Western Iburengerazuba Kibuye 5,883 2,471,239
Northern Amajyaruguru Byumba 3,276 1,726,370
Eastern Iburasirazuba Rwamagana 9,458 2,595,703

Former provinces

Prior to 2006 the provinces were:

See also

References

  1. "Provinces of Rwanda". Statoids. Gwillim Law. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  2. Rwanda at GeoHive

External links

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