Rwanda is a low-income, food-deficit and least developed country, and ranks 166 out of 187 countries based on the 2011 UNDP Human Development Index. Rwanda has one of the highest population densities in Africa, with 390 people living per square kilometer. Its population increases at an annual rate of 2.7 percent, currently standing at 11 million. The country has limited natural resources, and the main development component is agriculture which contributes to over 33 percent of the national GDP and generates 80 percent of total export revenues. Agricultural transformation has been identified as the main pillar for achieving food security and attaining a per capita income of US$900 by the year 2020. The actual per capita GDP is US$520 and despite an impressive economic recovery with an annual GDP growth of 5.8 percent since 1998, household food insecurity continues to be a challenge. Twenty-two percent of Rwandan households, or 2.2 million Rwandans, are food-insecure, while another 24 percent are highly vulnerable to food insecurity.
Poverty remains largely rural-based. Levels of maternal and child malnutrition have slightly improved compared to 2009 data. According to the 2011 food and nutrition security monitoring survey, levels of stunting, wasting and underweight reduced from 52 percent to 42 percent, 5 percent to 2.1 percent and 16 percent to 13.8 percent respectively. HIV prevalence is at 3 percent. Life expectancy in the country is 51 years, and households headed by women or orphans account for 36 percent of the population. Currently Rwanda is home to over 71,000 refugees, hosted in four camps and two transit centres. Security in the region remains precarious, particularly in some neighbouring countries, thus reducing the possibility of any repatriation in the near future. In addition, 70,000 Rwandans still live as refugees and asylum seekers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and other African countries. Since the 1994 genocide and total collapse of Rwanda's economy and social services, the country has embarked on rebuilding itself and improving the quality of life of its population. Good governance, productive and market-oriented agriculture and regional and international economic integration are three of the six pillars of the Rwanda Vision 2020. Rwanda was also the first country to sign the "Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme" compact, thus addressing malnutrition and food insecurity as one of the Government's key priorities.
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