Population Census
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The Rwanda 2002 Census of Population and Housing
INTRODUCTION
(Note: text taken from the report "Census 2002 in Brief - the full text is available via the hyperlink "Publications")
The General Census of Population and Housing held in August 2002, which was the third in Rwanda, after those of 1978 and 1991, was organized at a particularly crucial period in the history of the country.
It was carried out some eight years after the war and the genocide which took away the lives of a large number of Rwandans and caused the displacement of several others both within and outside the national territory. Substantial return migration was recorded immediately after the end of these tragic events and during the years that followed and prior to the third census.
All these factors mentioned above contributed to the profound modifications in the size and composition of the population, as well as in its structure and spatial distribution over the national territory and in the main determinants of its internal dynamics. The demographic landscape of Rwanda thus underwent obvious modifications during the decade of the 1990s and the impact of these mutations could no longer be measured using data collected in 1991 nor through projections using such data which had, inevitably become outdated and useless.
The main objective of the 2002 census was thus to fill this gap by providing updated data of good quality and within a reasonably short time, for use in the process of reconstruction of the country, but also for the planning towards a coherent and sustainable socio-economic development in the future.
The National Census Service has the pleasure to make available to the public, this document which represents the first among a series of publications which have been designed to disseminate the final results of the third General Census of Population and Housing which it conducted between the 16th and 30th of August 2002.
The present report is designed to respond to the most urgent needs of users, without necessarily covering all areas they may be interested in. More detailed and comprehensive analyses are in progress and shall be completed within the first semester of 2004.
This report employs both summary tables and illustrations, accompanied by synoptic commentaries, to bring out the main consolidated findings from the third Census of Rwanda relating to most of the key variables covered except those relating to the dynamics of the population (fertility, mortality and migration). The statistical processing of information relating to these latter variables is in progress and details shall soon be made public.
Issues covered in this report include information on the size and various characteristics of the population and its living conditions disaggregated by urban/rural residence and by Province of residence. Details relating to smaller administrative units of the country (Districts, Secteurs and Cellules) are not treated in this report. They shall subsequently be made available to the various regional planning services and to the general public in the form of special publications and through other channels of dissemination.
Essentially, this report presents three basic categories of information. The first section covers information relating to the size and spatial distribution of the population as well as to details on its basic demographic characteristics (age, sex and marital status). The second section provides details on the socio-cultural and socio-economic characteristics of the population (languages spoken, religious affiliation, literacy and educational characteristics, disability and economic activity). Finally, the last section attempts a summary analysis of the size and structure of households, their housing and other living conditions as well as details relating to access by the population to some basic modern facilities within all households in Rwanda.
Done in Kigali, in January 2004.
The National Coordination of the third General Census of Population and Housing
This document has been produced with financial assistance from the European Union, the Govern-ments of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and from the UNFPA.
The ideas which are expressed herein reflect the opinion of the National Census Service, as such, do not necessarily represent the official opinion of the European Union or of the other funding bodies.