Rwanda is the African country with Kigali as its capital and the nickname “Land of a Thousand Hills.”
Rwanda is a small, landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of central Africa. Its terrain is marked by rolling hills and highlands, which inspired the widely used nickname. Kigali, located near the country’s geographic centre, is the capital and largest city.
Rwanda borders Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its western edge includes Lake Kivu and the volcanic Virunga Mountains, home to the endangered mountain gorilla. The country’s official languages include Kinyarwanda, English, French, and Swahili.
Rwanda’s recent history includes the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, during which hundreds of thousands of people were killed. The country has since pursued reconstruction and reconciliation. Burundi is sometimes confused with Rwanda because both share closely related languages, similar highland landscapes, and a border, but Kigali is specifically Rwanda’s capital.