20120208
AFP
The proportion of Rwanda's population living in poverty dropped from 57 percent in 2006 to 45 percent in 2011, according to data released Tuesday.

"We are happy with the valuable progress we have seen in these numbers," President Paul Kagame told the an attendance of around 500 diplomats, aid workers and officials gathered in Kigali to review the data.

"But we are also aware there is more work to be done, not less."

The effect of genocide-scarred Rwanda's rapid climb off the bottom of world poverty rankings is being felt in a wide range of sectors from education to public health, the statistics showed.

The data also showed that contraceptive use jumped to 45 percent in 2011 from 25 just three years earlier. Infant mortality, meanwhile, dropped to 50 per 1,000 live births in 2011.

Primary school completion rates for 2011 reaching 79 percent for boys and 82 percent for girls, far surpassing Rwanda's targets, while secondary school enrollment doubled between 2006 and 2011.

"While it has been the shared dream of all Rwandans, few could have foreseen the speed with which our country is moving from widespread poverty to development and prosperity," Rwandan Finance Minister John Rwangombwa said in a statement.

"We are determined to redouble our efforts so that this great progress continues unabated."

"These results are a major milestone in the long-term vision of the country," Clay Parker, Managing Director of Bridge2Rwanda, an NGO focused on sustainable economic development and leadership, told AFP.

"Rwanda has shown strong commitment to setting a standard, starting with the well-being of its people. I believe these strategies can and will be replicated by many of the world's poorest countries."

According to International Monetary Fund figures, real GDP growth in Rwanda is expected to reach 8.8 percent for 2011, higher than previously expected, and up from 7.5 percent the previous year.