Provinces of Rwanda



The provinces of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: intara) are divided into districts (akarere) and municipalities (umujyi). Prior to January 1, 2006, Rwanda was composed of 12 provinces. The Rwandan government decided to establish new provinces in an attempt to address issues that arose from the Rwandan genocide. The new provinces were to be "ethnically-diverse administrative areas".

Until 2002, the provinces were called prefectures (perefegitura).

Provinces
As of January 1, 2006 the five provinces of Rwanda are:

Former provinces
Prior to 2006 the provinces were:


 * Butare Province
 * Byumba Province
 * Cyangugu Province
 * Gikongoro Province
 * Gisenyi Province
 * Gitarama Province
 * Kibungo Province
 * Kibuye Province
 * Kigali City (Established as a province in 1990 )
 * Kigali-Rural Province (Kigali Ngali)
 * Ruhengeri Province
 * Umutara Province (Established in August 1996)