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Rwanda
Population in Provinces affected by internal displacement crisis in 1997-1998
- Province of Gisenyi is the most densely populated Province of the country with an average of 547 persons/km2
- All the Districts of this Province have densities that are double, even triple the national average
- As in most of the other Provinces, females outnumber males (54% of the population)
- With a population of almost 900,000 inhabitants, Ruhengeri is the most populous Province in Rwanda as of February 2003
- The sex ratios in the Ruhengeri Province are equally low, with an average of 88 males to every 100 female citizens
Gisenyi
The Province of Gisenyi, with a population of over 860,000 inhabitants at the moment, is among those Provinces which registered significant gains in size during the past intercensal period. As a consequence, it has moved from the 6th rank it occupied among the major administrative units of the country in 1991 to the 2nd position today. With 10.6% of the country's population, this province occupies 6.5% of its total land area. Some 462 km2 of its surface area is covered by the Lake Kivu.
The population of this Province is rather unevenly distributed among its 10 Districts whose land areas also vary widely. It is thus that the Gisenyi municipality and the District of Nyamyumba, both of which constitute only 7% of the land area of the Province situated along the Lake Kivu, are home to 23% of its population. On the other hand, the three Districts of Kanama, Gaseke and Nyagisagara, to the southeast of the Province make up 37% of its land area but have only 27% of its population. This is largely attributable to the hilly nature of the terrain here, part of which is covered by the Gishwati forest reserve. When its population density is expressed in relation to the total land surface area alone, Province of Gisenyi comes out as the most densely populated Province of the country with an average of 547 persons/km2. Besides, all the Districts of this Province have densities that are double, even triple the national average. Compared to its population density of 1991, it becomes clear that each km2 of land in this Province has had to carry the burden of 80 more persons during the past 11 years. Such relatively high growth rates may be attributed to the following factors
- An influx of repatriated Rwandan refugees into the Province
as from 1994;
- The relatively higher fertility levels that have been found to prevail
in this region, thus contributing to a sustained natural increase of
the population (See the 2000 Demographic and Health Survey
results)
It must also be recalled that the fertile volcanic soils that are found in most of the northern parts of this Province, provide heavy agricultural yields and are thus capable of carrying a relatively heavier population load. However, the question still remains, for how much longer these lands could go on receiving such an ever increasing population ? As in most of the other Provinces, females outnumber males (54% of the population)
in this Province. The only exception is in the Gisenyi municipality. Among the various reasons that could be advanced to explain this situation, one may mention the possibility of greater male outmigration to other Provinces, higher male mortality during the period of the war and the genocide and a higher proportion of females among the repatriated Rwandan refugees. Further in-depth analyses using the more exhaustive final results shall help to through more light on these issues
Ruhengeri
With a population of almost 900,000 inhabitants, Ruhengeri is the most populous Province in Rwanda today. Growing at an average annual rate of 1.4% (above the national average), this Province has evolved from the 4th position it occupied in 1991 to become the most populous of the major administrative units of the country today. Though its surface area is just about 7% of the national territory, it is home to 11% of the country's population. Since much of the northern parts of this Province is hilly
terrain with volcanic peaks and barrier lakes, the total habitable land surface area is much smaller and the real densities for this Province should have been higher than shown on table 15 below. In fact, the Districts of Buhoma, Kinigi and Butaro, situated in this area, along with that of Cyeru to their south constitute 42% of the surface area of the Province but are home to barely 35% of its population. The highest concentrations of the population are toward the center of the Province, particularly, in the Districts of the Ruhengeri municipality (1102 persons/km2), Mutobo (718 persons/km2) and Bugarura (651 persons/km2) as well as toward the north, in the District of Bukamba (663 persons/km2).
As in Gisenyi Province, all the Districts in the Ruhengeri Province record, population densities well above the national average. In fact, the both Provinces fail within the same geo-ecological environment and are inhabited by peoples who have identical traditions and socio-demographic behaviour and who lived through the events of the 1990s and their aftermath, in the same way. Compared with its population density in 1991, it transpires that each km2 of land in the Ruhengeri Province has had to carry an extra burden of 70 more persons over the past 11 years.
As was the case in Gisenyi again, the sex ratios in the Ruhengeri Province are
equally low, with an average of 88 males to every 100 female citizens for reasons amply explained earlier. This deficit of males is felt even at the level of the Ruhengeri municipality because, during the recent administrative reforms which adjusted its boundaries to cover the present land area of 60 km2, several hectares of essentially rural surrounding land along its residents was demarcated as urban domain.(GoR, February 2003)
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