50 free Rwanda trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Forty-four questions on Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills. Geography covers Kigali at 1,567 metres, Mount Karisimbi, Lake Kivu and its explosive methane, the Nyabarongo as a claimant to the source of the Nile, and the three national parks that hold a third of the world's mountain gorillas. History runs from the Nyiginya kings and King Rwabugiri, German and Belgian rule and the 1935 identity cards, the 1959 revolution and 1962 independence, through the civil war, the shooting down of Habyarimana's plane and the hundred days of genocide, to Gacaca courts, the RPF, Paul Kagame and the new flag of 2001. Culture and modern life cover Kinyarwanda, umuganda community mornings, the plastic-bag ban, Kwita Izina gorilla naming, the world-leading share of women in parliament, Visit Rwanda on Arsenal shirts, brochettes and imigongo cow-dung art. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the country, its parks, people and history, and the sentence that establishes it is quoted under each explanation. Suits a pub quiz, an African studies class or a gorilla-trekking trip.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the capital and largest city of Rwanda?
Kigali
It sits in the centre of the country at 1,567 metres and is regularly ranked among Africa's cleanest cities.
Q 02Rwanda borders Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and which large country to the west?
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lake Kivu forms much of that western frontier; relations have been repeatedly strained by the Congo wars and the M23 rebellion.
Q 03Rwanda's French nickname, borrowed by a famous hotel and a notorious radio station, means what?
Land of a thousand hills
Mountains dominate the centre and west; the whole country sits above 950 metres.
Q 04Rwanda's highest point, at 4,507 metres, is which volcano in the Virunga chain?
Mount Karisimbi
The Karisoke research camp took its name from it and neighbouring Visoke; the volcanoes straddle the borders with Uganda and the DRC.
Q 05Which lake on Rwanda's western border is one of three known to undergo limnic eruptions?
Lake Kivu
Like Cameroon's Nyos and Monoun it holds dissolved gas at depth; Rwanda extracts the lake-bed methane for electricity.
Q 06Which Rwandan river's source is a contender for the ultimate source of the Nile?
The Nyabarongo
About 80 percent of Rwanda drains to the Nile and 20 percent to the Congo; the Nyabarongo becomes the Kagera and reaches Lake Victoria.
Q 07Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park protects roughly what share of the world's mountain gorillas?
A third
It is one of only three places on Earth where they can be seen in the wild; a foreign trekking permit costs US$1,500.
Q 08The Volcanoes reserve, founded in 1925 to protect gorillas, holds what distinction?
First national park in Africa
It began as a small area around Karisimbi, Bisoke and Mikeno and grew into the Belgian Congo's Albert National Park.
Q 09Which American primatologist studied Rwanda's mountain gorillas from 1966 until her murder in 1985?
Dian Fossey
She founded the Karisoke Research Center in 1967 and turned militant against poachers after her favourite gorilla, Digit, was killed.
Q 10Rwanda's annual Kwita Izina ceremony does what?
Names newborn baby gorillas
It is modelled on the naming ceremony for human babies and helps rangers track every individual in Volcanoes National Park.
Q 11Which Rwandan forest is famous for chimpanzees, a canopy walkway and colobus troops of up to 400?
Nyungwe
Its Ruwenzori colobus form the largest primate troops in Africa; the forest also holds 280 bird species.
Q 12Which country donated seven lions to Rwanda's Akagera National Park in 2015?
South Africa
Black rhinos followed in 2017 and 30 white rhinos in 2021, restoring the 'big five' to the eastern savanna park.
Q 13Which European power first colonised Rwanda, in 1897, as part of its East African territory?
Germany
Explorer Gustav Adolf von Gotzen had crossed the country in 1894; Belgium took over in 1916 during World War I.
Q 21What name was given to the traditional village courts revived to try genocide cases?
Gacaca
Meaning roughly 'justice on the grass', they ran alongside the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha.
Q 22In 'Hotel Rwanda' (2004), Paul Rusesabagina shelters refugees where in the capital?
Des Mille Collines
Don Cheadle played him; the real Rusesabagina later became a fierce critic of the government and was jailed in Rwanda.
Q 23Who became president of Rwanda in 2000 after leading the RPF to power in 1994?
Paul Kagame
He grew up as a refugee in Uganda and fought in Yoweri Museveni's rebel army before invading Rwanda with the RPF in 1990.
Q 14Under which League of Nations mandate did Belgium govern Rwanda together with its southern neighbour?
Ruanda-Urundi
In 1935 the Belgians issued identity cards labelling everyone Tutsi, Hutu, Twa or Naturalised, hardening the divisions.
Q 15Rwanda became independent on 1 July of which year?
1962
A 1961 referendum had abolished the monarchy; the day is a national holiday, and Liberation Day falls on 4 July.
Q 16The 1994 genocide began within hours of what event on 6 April?
The president's plane was shot down
Juvenal Habyarimana died in the crash near Kigali Airport; killings on the interim government's orders followed for around 100 days.
Q 17Over roughly how many days did the 1994 genocide unfold?
100
Between 500,000 and a million Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed before the RPF took the whole country by mid-July.
Q 18Which broadcaster infamously fuelled the genocide with anti-Tutsi propaganda?
Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines
Radio remains most Rwandans' main news source, and the state-run Radio Rwanda is the largest station.
Q 19The Hutu militia whose name means 'those who stand together' was called what?
Interahamwe
It was attached to the ruling party; the CDR's Impuzamugambi were 'those who have the same goal', and Inkotanyi was the RPF's nickname.
Q 20Which Canadian general commanded the UN mission in Rwanda and sent the 'Genocide Fax' in January 1994?
Romeo Dallaire
His warning about militia arms caches went unheeded; the overstretched UNAMIR force was never reinforced.
Q 24Rwanda's national language, spoken by about 98 percent of the population, is what?
Kinyarwanda
English, French and Swahili are also official; English replaced French as the language of schooling in 2008.
Q 25Since 2003 Rwanda has led the world in which measure of political representation?
Share of women in parliament
Women's roles expanded after the genocide left the population overwhelmingly female; the constitution reserves seats for them.
Q 26On the last Saturday of every month, Rwandans aged 18 to 65 must take part in what?
Umuganda community service
Three hours of cleaning and building from 8 to 11 am, enforced by fines; the word means 'coming together in common purpose'.
Q 27Rwanda's ban on plastic bags, one of the world's strictest, took effect in which year?
2008
Visitors have had bags confiscated at the airport; the government has since urged its neighbours to follow.
Q 28Rwanda's 2001 flag replaced ethnic symbolism with which emblem in the upper corner?
A golden sun
Light blue, yellow and green stripes replaced the old red-yellow-green tricolour that dated from the 1961 Hutu takeover.
Q 29Which English football club did the 'Visit Rwanda' campaign first sponsor in 2018?
Arsenal
Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid signed on too, and by 2025 the campaign had reached the LA Clippers and LA Rams.
Q 30Rwanda joined which grouping in 2009 despite having no historical link to the British Empire?
The Commonwealth of Nations
Only a handful of members share that status; the country switched school instruction from French to English around the same time.