Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Rwanda. Landlocked; most of the country is intensively cultivated and rugged, with the population predominantly rural. Mother's mean age at first birth is 23 years (2019/20 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 259 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Location | Central Africa, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, north of Burundi |
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Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 30 00 E |
Map references | Africa |
Tarrain | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east |
Natural Resources | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land |
Natural Hazards | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga Mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo volcanism: Visoke (3,711 m), located on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the country's only historically active volcano |
Irrigated Land | 96 sq km (2012) |
Major rivers (by length in km) | Nile river source (shared with Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt [m]) - 6,650 km note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth |
Major aquifers | |
Land Boundaries | 930 km |
Border Countries | Burundi 315 km; Democratic Republic of the Congo 221 km; Tanzania 222 km; Uganda 172 km |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
Climate | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible |
Area | |
Total Area | |
Land Area | 24,668 sq km |
Water Area | 1,670 sq km |
comparative Area | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Maritime Claims | |
Elevations | |
Highest point | Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m |
Lowest point | Rusizi River 950 m |
Mean elevation | 1,598 m |
Land Use | |
Agricultural land | 74.5% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 47% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 10.1% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 17.4% (2018 est.) |
Forest | 18% (2018 est.) |
Other | 7.5% (2018 est.) |
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
In Rwanda, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Hutu, Tutsi, Twa
Population | |
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Pop growth rate | 1.62% (2024 est.) |
Birth rate | 25 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Death rate | 5.7 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Health expenditure | 7.3% of GDP (2020) |
Physicians Density | |
Hospital bed Density | |
Total fertility rate | 3.14 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
Gross reproduction rate | 1.54 (2024 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate | 64.1% (2019/20) |
Est married women (ages 15-49) | 50.4% (2023 est.) |
Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
Education expenditures | 3.8% of GDP (2021 est.) |
Net Migration rate | -3.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Nationality | Rwandan | Rwandan(s) |
Languages | |
Religions | Christian 95.9% (Protestant 57.7% [includes Adventist 12.6%], Roman Catholic 38.2%), Muslim 2.1%, other 1% (includes traditional, Jehovah's Witness), none 1.1% (2019-20 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) |
Dependency Ratios | |
Total dependency ratio | 72.5 |
Youth dependency ratio | 67.1 |
Elderly dependency ratio | 5.4 |
Potential support ratio | 18.4 (2021 est.) |
Median Age | |
Total | 20.8 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 20.1 years |
Female | 21.5 years |
Urbanization | |
Urban population | 17.9% of total population (2023) |
Rate of urbanization | 3.07% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
Major urban areas (Pop) | 1.248 million KIGALI (capital) (2023). |
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 |
65 years and over | 0.67 male(s)/female |
Total population | 0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
Infant Motality | |
Total | 24.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
Male | 27.3 deaths/1,000 live births |
Female | 22.5 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life Expectancy at birth | |
Total population | 66.6 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 64.6 years |
Female | 68.6 years |
Drinking Water Sources | |
Improved: urban | urban: 92.3% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 80.7% of population |
Improved: total | total: 82.7% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 7.7% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 19.3% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 17.3% of population (2020 est.) |
Sanitation facility acess | |
Improved: urban | urban: 89.1% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 83.2% of population |
Improved: total | total: 84.2% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 10.9% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 16.8% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 15.8% of population (2020 est.) |
Major Infectious diseases | |
Degree of risk | very high (2023) |
Food or waterborne diseases | bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever |
Vectorborne diseases | malaria, dengue fever, and sexually transmitted diseases: HIV/AIDS (2024) |
Animal contact diseases | rabies |
Alcohol consumption per capita | |
Total | 6.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Beer | 0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Wine | 0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Spirits | 0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Other alcohols | 6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Tobacco use | |
Total | 13.7% (2020 est.) |
Male | 20.1% (2020 est.) |
Female | 7.2% (2020 est.) |
Child marriage | |
Women married by age 18 | 0.4% (2020 est.) |
Rwanda’s fertility rate declined sharply during the last decade, as a result of the government’s commitment to family planning, the increased use of contraceptives, and a downward trend in ideal family size. Increases in educational attainment, particularly among girls, and exposure to social media also contributed to the reduction in the birth rate. The average number of births per woman decreased from a 5.6 in 2005 to 4.5 in 2016 and 3.3 in 2022. Despite these significant strides in reducing fertility, Rwanda’s birth rate remains very high and will continue to for an extended period of time because of its large population entering reproductive age. Because Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, its persistent high population growth and increasingly small agricultural landholdings will put additional strain on families’ ability to raise foodstuffs and access potable water. These conditions will also hinder the government’s efforts to reduce poverty and prevent environmental degradation.
The UNHCR recommended that effective 30 June 2013 countries invoke a cessation of refugee status for those Rwandans who fled their homeland between 1959 and 1998, including the 1994 genocide, on the grounds that the conditions that drove them to seek protection abroad no longer exist. The UNHCR’s decision is controversial because many Rwandan refugees still fear persecution if they return home, concerns that are supported by the number of Rwandans granted asylum since 1998 and by the number exempted from the cessation. Rwandan refugees can still seek an exemption or local integration, but host countries are anxious to send the refugees back to Rwanda and are likely to avoid options that enable them to stay. Conversely, Rwanda itself hosts approximately 125,000 refugees as of 2022; virtually all of them fleeing conflict in neighboring Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Want to know more about Rwanda? Check all different factbooks for Rwanda below.