Provinces of Rwanda

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).

Provinces

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

Province	Kinyarwanda name	Capital	Area (km2)	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:

Administrative division before 2006.

• Butare Province
• Byumba Province
• Cyangugu Province
• Gikongoro Province
• Gisenyi Province
• Gitarama Province
• Kibungo Province
• Kibuye Province
• Kigali City
• Kigali-Rural Province (Kigali Ngali)
• Ruhengeri Province
• Umutara Province

See also

• Districts of Rwanda
• ISO 3166-2:RW

External links

• Ministry of Local Government, Community Development and Social Affairs
• Rwanda redrawn to reflect compass, BBC News, 3 January 2006