Kigali
Kigali is the capital of Rwanda and also its most populous city. It is located in the geographic center of the country and belongs to the homonymous province.
History
Founded in 1907 during German rule, the city became the country's capital upon independence in 1962.
Before independence, in 1962, Belgium administered the country from Burundi's former capital, Bujumbura. The traditional capital of Rwanda was the seat of the Mwami king at Nyanza and the colonial power was based at Butare, then called Astrida. With independence, Kigali was chosen instead of Butare as the capital, due to its position in the geographical center of the country. Since it became the capital of Rwanda, the population of Kigali has increased remarkably. The figure in the 1960s was 5000 inhabitants.
The scene from April 7, 1994 of the murder of thousands of Hutus and Tutsis, as well as fighting between the government army and the militias of the Rwandan Patriotic Front.
It is built in a hilly area, with an altitude that varies between 1,433 and 1,645 meters, which makes it have a fairly rugged relief. The landscape that Kigali shows is with a great variety of trees and plants.
Important buildings include the airport building and the Chinese embassy. In the Artisans Market you can admire how they make the different typical utensils. Another place of importance is the Episcopal Church.
It has various hotels, some of them luxury, and restaurants where you can appreciate Rwandan, French, Indian and many more food. Its cultural offer includes art galleries, live music venues, the Rwanda National Ballet and other cultural activities.
Demographics
According to the 2012 Rwandan census, the population of Kigali was 1,132,686, of whom 859,332 were urban residents. The population density was 1,552 inhabitants per square kilometer (4,020/square mile). At the time of independence in 1962, Kigali had 6,000 inhabitants, mainly those associated with the Belgian colonial residence. It grew considerably after being named the independent nation's capital, although it remained a relatively small city until the 1970s due to government policies that restricted migration from rural to urban areas. The population reached 115,000 in 1978 and 235,000 in 1991. The city lost a large part of its population during the 1994 genocide,] including those killed and those who fled to neighboring countries. Starting in 1995, the economy began to recover and large numbers of long-term Tutsi refugees returned from Uganda. Many of these refugees settled in Kigali and other urban areas, due to the difficulty of obtaining land in other parts of the country. This phenomenon, along with a high birth rate and increased migration from rural to urban areas, meant that Kigali regained its previous size quite quickly, beginning to grow even faster than before. The population exceeded 600,000 in 2002, and at the 2012 census it had nearly doubled to 1.13 million, although this was partly because the city's administrative boundaries had been expanded.
According to the 2012 census, 51.7% of residents were men. The Rwandan Environmental Management Authority hypothesized that the high male-female ratio was due to the tendency of men to migrate to the city looking for work outside the city. the agricultural sector, while their wives stayed in a rural house. The population is young, with 73% of residents under 30 years of age and 94% under 50 years of age. The city has a higher proportion of people between the ages of 14 and 35 than Rwanda as a whole, at 50.3% versus 39.6 percent nationally. Children between birth and seventeen (ie, < 18) years of age have a below-average share of the total, at 39.6% versus 47.7% nationally. The Rwanda National Institute of Statistics (NISR) attributes these differences to the migration of working-age Rwandans from rural to urban areas. Similarly, Kigali has a lower level of people aged 60 and over, at 2.6%, than the Rwandan average of 4.9%, which probably also reflects the trend of under-aged inhabitants. from working to living in rural areas. In 2014, the proportion of people classified as living in poverty within Kigali was 15%, compared to 37% for Rwanda as a whole. The 2012 census recorded a labor force of 487,000 in Kigali. The city's largest employment sector is agriculture, fishing, and forestry, covering 24% of the workforce; public and financial services with 21%; trade 20% and government 12%.
| Kigali Development Graphic between 1978 and 2012 |
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In 2018, Kigali scored 0.632 on the Human Development Index (HDI), a composite measure of life expectancy and health, education, and standard of living. This figure had risen or remained the same every year since 1992, during the civil war, when the figure was 0.223. It is also the highest of Rwanda's five provinces and the next highest, Northern Province, has an HDI of 0.531. World Bank analysts attribute the HDI gains seen in Rwanda as a whole to a "strong focus on local policies and initiatives," which have accompanied economic growth.
As with Rwanda as a whole, Christianity is the dominant religion in Kigali. In the 2012 census, 42.1 percent of the city's inhabitants identified as Protestants and an additional 9.1 percent as Adventists, who classified themselves separately. Catholics made up 36.8% of the population. Islam is more prevalent in Kigali than anywhere else in Rwanda, with 5.7% of people following the faith compared to 2.0% nationwide. Jehovah's Witnesses make up 1.2 percent and other religions 0.3 percent, while those of no religion make up 3.0 percent.
Sports
The largest sports venue in the city is the Amahoro Stadium, in the Remera area, which was built in the 1980s with a capacity for 30,000. It is mainly used to play soccer matches, where the Rwandan national team plays, as well as other national league matches. It was one of the four stadiums used during the 2016 African Nations Championship, including the final between Congo and Mali. The stadium has also hosted rugby matches, the national team, as well as concerts and other mass events. The complex includes a small indoor arena for other sporting activities known by the French name Petit stade.
The Kigali Arena, with a capacity for 10,000 spectators, was inaugurated in 2019. Basketball events such as AfroBasket 2021 and the first season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) will be held there, as well as handball, volleyball, and tennis.
Other arenas in the city are the Nyamirambo Regional Stadium for 22,000 spectators and the Rwanda Cricket Stadium (known as Kicukiro Oval and officially Gahanga International Cricket Stadium), opened in 2017. Also a golf course, the Kigali Golf Club, with 18 holes for regional competitions.
Football
Seven of the sixteen teams in the Rwandan First Division are based in the city of Kigali.
Most of them do not have their own stadium and play in various venues such as Amahoro Stadium, Nyamirambo Regional Stadium or other small fields.
The most successful team in the city is: APR FC, which has won 18 championships from 1994 to 2020; and then Rayon Sports, which has won 9 in the same period.
Basketball
In 2020, ten of the fourteen teams that make up the Rwanda National Basketball League are in the city of Kigali.
They play their matches in different pavilions such as the Rafiki Club and the Integrated Polytechnic Regional College Kigali, and others in the Kigali Arena.
The two biggest clubs in the city are BBC Patriots and BBC Espoir, who have won five and four league titles respectively.
Twinned cities
Kampala, Uganda
San Bernardino, United States
Tepic, Mexico
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