a republic in central Africa: part of German East Africa from 1899 until 1917, when Belgium took over the administration; became a republic in 1961 after a Hutu revolt against the Tutsi (1959); fighting between the ethnic groups broke out repeatedly after independence, culminating in the genocide of Tutsis by Hutus in 1994; member of the Commonwealth from 2009. Official languages: Kinyarwanda, English, and French; Swahili is used commercially. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: Rwanda franc. Capital: Kigali. Pop: 12 208 407 (2017 est). Area: 26 338 sq km (10 169 sq miles)
Former name (until 1962): Ruanda
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
Rwan•da
(ro̅o̅ än′də),USA pronunciation n.
- Place Namesa republic in central Africa, E of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: formerly comprising the N part of the Belgian trust territory of Ruanda-Urundi;
became independent 1962. 7,737,537;
10,169 sq. mi. (26,338 sq. km).Cap.: Kigali.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'Rwanda' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Burundi
- German East Africa
- Hutu
- Kagera
- Kayibanda
- Kigali
- Kinyarwanda
- Kivu
- Ruanda
- Ruanda-Urundi
- Rwandan
- Tutsi
- centime
- franc
- twa