Rwanda - Balance of payments
The current account balance in relation to GDP was consistently negative through the 1990s, not only because of the 1994 genocide. Although the economy improved dramatically post-1994, export earnings in the early 2000s were hindered by low international coffee prices, depriving the country of hard currency. Rwanda's external debt stood at $1.3 billion in 2000. In the same year, Rwanda became eligible for $810 million in debt service relief from the IMF/World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. In 2002, the IMF approved a three-year $5 million loan to Rwanda.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2001 the purchasing power parity of Rwanda's exports was $61 million while imports totaled $248 million resulting in a trade deficit of $187 million.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports that in 2001 Rwanda had exports of goods totaling $93 million and imports totaling $245 million. The services credit totaled $50 million and debit $189 million. The following table summarizes Rwanda's balance of payments as reported by the IMF for 2001 in millions of US dollars.
| Current Account | -118 |
| Balance on goods | -152 |
| Balance on services | -139 |
| Balance on income | -20 |
| Current transfers | 193 |
| Capital Account | 50 |
| Financial Account | -44 |
| Direct investment abroad | … |
| Direct investment in Rwanda | 5 |
| Portfolio investment assets | … |
| Portfolio investment liabilities | … |
| Other investment assets | -1 |
| Other investment liabilities | -48 |
| Net Errors and Omissions | 42 |
| Reserves and Related Items | 70 |