Rwanda - Public finance



Rwanda has both an ordinary budget for recurrent operations and a development budget for controlling development projects. In the 1960s and 1970s, prudent public finance management and generous foreign aid helped keep deficits and inflation low. With the fall of coffee prices during the 1980s, however, the government increased its control over the economy, and raised annual budget deficits to the equivalent of 11% of GDP by 1990. In 1998, Rwanda signed a structural adjustment facility with the IMF, and started privatization of state-owned enterprises with the World Bank.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimates that in 2001 Rwanda's central government took in revenues of approximately $199.3 million and had expenditures of $445 million. Overall, the government registered a deficit of approximately $245.7 million. External debt totaled $1.3 billion.

The following table shows an itemized breakdown of government revenues. The percentages were calculated from data reported by the International Monetary Fund. The dollar amounts (millions) are based on the CIA estimates provided above.

Rwanda

REVENUE AND GRANTS 100.0% 199
Tax revenue 64.0% 127
Non-tax revenue 8.7% 17
Grants 27.3% 54

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