Trivia, Because I Like It

Since we all know I love trivia, here's some facts on Rwanda to throw randomly into conversation*:

• 147th smallest country on Earth, 2nd smallest in Africa (only the Gambia is smaller).
• Slightly smaller than Maryland, but with nearly double the population (10.4 million compared to 5.6 million).
• Most densely populated country in Africa. (However, only the 32nd most densely populated in the world. Asian countries dominate that list.)
• First country in the world to have a majority of women in Parliament, with 56%. (This is also the highest rate of any country currently.)
• Kigali has been named one of the safest and cleanest cities in Africa.
• Plastic bags have been banned outright in Rwanda, making it one of the few countries (and the only developing country besides Bangladesh) to do so.
• On January 1, 2002 Rwanda adopted a new flag (see sidebar), coat of arms and national anthem. The colors of the flag represent peace and tranquility (blue), wealth (yellow), and prosperity, work, and productivity (green). The new coat of arms contains the new motto "Unity, Work, Patriotism."
• Known as "the land of a thousand hills" because of its rolling terrain.
• 3/4 of the population lives below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day.
• 90% of the working population are farmers.
• Approximately 56% of the population is Catholic, 37% Protestant, 5% Muslim, and the remainder are athesist/agnostic or hold animist beliefs.
• About half the world's 700 remaining mountain gorillas live in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, also home to Dian Fossey's research.
• The real GDP growth rate last year was 11.2%.
• 44% of the population is under the age of 16.
• Has an annual population growth rate of 2.78%, making it the 17th fastest growing country in the world.
• Life expectancy is 47.3 years.
• Total fertility rate is 5.43 children per woman.
• 70% of the adult population can read and write.
• Of the 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Rwanda was ranked 5th on the World Bank's 'Ease of Doing Business' index (so invest here!!).

With that, I wish you success in Trivial Pursuit, trivia nights, and Jeopardy! May there be a category on 'Minutiae of Tiny African Countries.'

*Speaking of random facts sprinkled into conversation, my new favorite, highly-recommended, non-fiction book is "The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World". Plenty of good examples of awkward, trivia-laden conversations.