World Factbook
Rwanda
Republika y'u Rwanda
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
81% (2022 est.)
female
76.7% (2022 est.)
total population
78.8% (2022 est.)
Languages
Languages
Kinyarwanda (official, universal Bantu vernacular) 93.2%, French (official) <0.1%, English (official) <0.1%, Swahili/Kiswahili (official, used in commercial centers) <0.1%, more than one language, other 6.3%, unspecified 0.3% (2002 est.)
major-language sample(s)
Inkoranya nzimbuzi y'isi, isoko fatizo y'amakuru y'ibanze. (Kinyarwanda) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Catholic 39.9%, Pentecostal 21.3%, Protestant 14.6%, Adventist 12.2%, other Christians 4.2%, no religion 3.0%, Muslim 2.0%, other religions 2.0%; less than 1%: Jehovah Witness, not specified, Animist (2022 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.95 male(s)/female
total population
0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.67 male(s)/female
Birth rate
25.05 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
4.87 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
20.1 years
total
21.3 years (2025 est.)
female
21.5 years
Population
male
6,684,655
total
13,623,302 (2024 est.)
female
6,938,647
Nationality
noun
Rwandan(s)
adjective
Rwandan
Tobacco use
male
17% (2025 est.)
total
11.4% (2025 est.)
female
6.3% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
17.9% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
3.07% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
37.2% (male 2,561,884/female 2,508,218)
15-64 years
59.7% (male 3,954,608/female 4,179,844)
65 years and over
3.1% (2024 est.) (male 168,163/female 250,585)
Ethnic groups
Hutu, Tutsi, Twa
Child marriage
men married by age 18
0.4% (2020)
women married by age 15
0.3% (2020)
women married by age 18
5.5% (2020)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
67.5 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
62.3 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
19.4 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
5.1 (2024 est.)
Physician density
0.09 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
7.3% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
9.5% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
0.7 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.2 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 60.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 65.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 88.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 39.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 34.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 11.9% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
4.7% of GDP (2024 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
13.9% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
27.3 deaths/1,000 live births
total
27.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
22.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
2% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.58 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
one of Africa's most densely populated countries; large concentrations tend to be in the central regions and along the shore of Lake Kivu in the west, as shown in this population distribution map
Life expectancy at birth
male
64.6 years
female
68.6 years
total population
66.6 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
229 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 87% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 87.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 91.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 13% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 12.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 8.6% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
6.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.248 million KIGALI (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
5.8% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
23 years (2019/20 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
49.9% (2022 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
7.7% (2020 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
13 years (2023 est.)
total
13 years (2023 est.)
female
13 years (2023 est.)