Rwanda is a poor African nation suffering bitterly from ethnic-based civil war. The amount of fertile land is limited, however, and deforestation and soil erosion continue to reduce the production potential.
Manufacturing focuses mainly on the processing of agricultural products.
A structural adjustment program with the World Bank began in October 1990. Ethnic-based insurgency since 1990 has devastated wide areas, especially in the north, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Plentiful rains helped agriculture in 1996, and outside aid continued to support this desperately poor economy. The economy continues to suffer massively from failure to maintain the infrastructure, looting, neglect of important cash crops, and lack of health care facilities. Because of the accumulated damage to capital plant and the decline in public discipline, recovery of domestic production will proceed slowly.