Country or area · Eastern Africa · Africa · UN WPP 2024

Rwanda population

Rwanda population now

14,967,078

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 12.6–17.4 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 13,954,472

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 14.8897 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 12.6–17.4 million
Median age: 21.2
Aged 65+: 4.1%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 5,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

RWA · 1950–2100 · in brief

Rwanda in numbers

In mid-2023 there were 13,954,472 people in Rwanda: the 77th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and 0.17% of the world's people. That is 6.5 times its 1950 population of 2.2 million.

In the UN's medium projection it is still growing in 2100, when it reaches 32.8 million. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 12.2 million to 99.1 million.

Births outnumber deaths in all but one of the years from 1950 to 2100. Deaths outnumbered births in 1994.

The median age was 18.2 in 1950 and 20.4 in 2023; the projection has 39.1 in 2100. 3.8% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 18.1% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is still growing in 2100 in the medium projection.

By size it is the 77th country in 2023; the projection puts it 72nd in 2050 and 63rd in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Romania in 2036, the Netherlands in 2039 and Chile in 2044. It is overtaken by Burundi in 2030.

Population, mid-2023: 13,954,472
Rank by population, 2023: 77 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.17%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +2.22% · +303,442 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 566
Land area, 2023: 24,670 km²
Births, 2023: 395,578
Deaths, 2023: 82,826
Net migration, 2023: −9,001
Children per woman, 2023: 3.70
Median age, 2023: 20.4 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 67.8 years
In a city, 2025: 14 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 2,157,096
Projected, mid-2050: 22,707,910
Projected, mid-2100: 32,779,346

RWA · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections020 m40 m60 m80 m100 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. One column is one year's population, read on 1 January; the paper rules divide it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Rwanda, 1950–2100

Rwanda: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	2,117,998		125,842	48,803	8.15	43.2
1951	estimate	2,196,195		129,642	50,957	8.16	43.5
1952	estimate	2,275,867		133,669	52,692	8.18	43.8
1953	estimate	2,357,153		137,540	54,116	8.20	44.1
1954	estimate	2,439,566		141,159	55,303	8.22	44.4
1955	estimate	2,524,678		144,342	56,281	8.21	44.8
1956	estimate	2,611,919		147,789	57,154	8.23	45.2
1957	estimate	2,701,700		151,320	57,873	8.26	45.6
1958	estimate	2,794,048		154,559	58,499	8.27	46.0
1959	estimate	2,886,210		157,529	58,898	8.29	46.5
1960	estimate	2,978,578		159,818	59,193	8.28	47.0
1961	estimate	3,066,011		161,409	59,359	8.28	47.5
1962	estimate	3,147,547		162,053	59,505	8.27	47.8
1963	estimate	3,224,503		162,214	67,918	8.27	44.0
1964	estimate	3,293,278		162,669	60,107	8.27	48.1
1965	estimate	3,376,389		164,285	60,864	8.25	48.2
1966	estimate	3,470,031		167,468	62,340	8.23	48.1
1967	estimate	3,573,220		172,176	64,125	8.21	48.0
1968	estimate	3,685,934		178,080	66,657	8.19	47.7
1969	estimate	3,802,086		184,946	69,554	8.18	47.4
1970	estimate	3,920,456		191,978	72,708	8.14	47.1
1971	estimate	4,040,881		198,650	76,084	8.09	46.8
1972	estimate	4,159,207		206,169	79,764	8.09	46.3
1973	estimate	4,281,463		214,706	83,684	8.09	45.9
1974	estimate	4,408,630		223,553	87,812	8.10	45.6
1975	estimate	4,539,826		232,259	91,662	8.10	45.3
1976	estimate	4,675,630		242,643	94,977	8.12	45.3
1977	estimate	4,816,279		252,324	97,314	8.14	45.6
1978	estimate	4,960,202		262,157	98,379	8.16	46.2
1979	estimate	5,110,139		272,557	98,085	8.13	47.1
1980	estimate	5,268,942		282,034	97,044	8.12	48.1
1981	estimate	5,437,576		291,266	95,501	8.10	49.2
1982	estimate	5,616,885		299,212	94,062	8.06	50.2
1983	estimate	5,806,213		305,846	93,099	8.00	50.9
1984	estimate	6,004,410		312,215	92,878	7.91	51.4
1985	estimate	6,210,844		317,180	93,388	7.79	51.7
1986	estimate	6,423,612		320,265	94,741	7.61	51.7
1987	estimate	6,640,150		322,767	97,022	7.43	51.5
1988	estimate	6,858,835		324,411	100,657	7.23	50.9
1989	estimate	7,077,307		325,514	107,886	7.03	49.5
1990	estimate	7,292,105		325,062	117,168	6.80	47.8
1991	estimate	7,458,509		322,038	125,608	6.62	46.2
1992	estimate	7,595,422		324,579	136,555	6.54	44.4
1993	estimate	7,771,111		331,549	147,627	6.48	42.9
1994	estimate	8,191,153		326,292	1,045,773	6.42	12.2
1995	estimate	5,393,552		224,223	103,089	6.34	41.5
1996	estimate	5,954,684		249,696	109,236	6.29	42.5
1997	estimate	7,462,844		314,167	139,481	6.24	42.0
1998	estimate	8,047,632		340,712	143,533	6.17	43.1
1999	estimate	8,115,729		343,356	132,838	6.06	45.8
2000	estimate	8,180,094		345,904	124,627	5.97	47.8
2001	estimate	8,247,767		348,997	118,152	5.89	49.5
2002	estimate	8,326,422		350,995	111,959	5.82	51.3
2003	estimate	8,473,938		355,510	104,272	5.74	53.5
2004	estimate	8,699,812		362,771	97,500	5.64	55.5
2005	estimate	8,933,875		367,960	92,836	5.50	57.0
2006	estimate	9,175,181		370,673	88,525	5.33	58.3
2007	estimate	9,423,311		370,848	85,066	5.14	59.5
2008	estimate	9,676,556		369,065	81,731	4.92	60.6
2009	estimate	9,931,981		365,340	78,309	4.71	61.8
2010	estimate	10,188,882		362,647	75,800	4.52	62.8
2011	estimate	10,446,225		357,390	74,469	4.33	63.5
2012	estimate	10,701,241		355,787	73,194	4.20	64.2
2013	estimate	10,958,561		359,521	73,192	4.14	64.7
2014	estimate	11,228,119		366,405	73,620	4.12	65.1
2015	estimate	11,501,395		373,619	74,505	4.11	65.4
2016	estimate	11,778,649		381,065	75,522	4.11	65.7
2017	estimate	12,059,717		386,390	76,062	4.08	66.1
2018	estimate	12,344,404		390,011	77,506	4.05	66.3
2019	estimate	12,631,588		391,867	78,349	3.98	66.7
2020	estimate	12,920,618		392,254	79,562	3.91	67.0
2021	estimate	13,211,056		392,497	82,603	3.84	66.8
2022	estimate	13,499,464		393,949	81,816	3.78	67.5
2023	estimate	13,802,596		395,578	82,826	3.70	67.8
2024	estimate	14,106,347		400,062	84,038	3.65	68.0
2025	projection	14,406,786	13.1–15.6 million	404,109	85,279	3.59	68.2
2026	projection	14,731,895	12.9–16.7 million	409,278	86,679	3.54	68.5
2027	projection	15,047,491	12.6–17.4 million	413,705	88,106	3.49	68.7
2028	projection	15,381,164	12.5–18.3 million	417,935	89,659	3.43	68.9
2029	projection	15,691,759	12.5–19.2 million	420,807	91,118	3.38	69.1
2030	projection	15,997,557	12.2–20.0 million	423,412	92,527	3.33	69.3
2031	projection	16,311,853	12.2–20.9 million	426,716	94,109	3.28	69.5
2032	projection	16,634,364	12.1–22.0 million	430,303	95,671	3.24	69.7
2033	projection	16,909,281	12.1–22.8 million	431,619	97,124	3.19	69.9
2034	projection	17,237,669	12.0–23.8 million	435,259	98,797	3.15	70.1
2035	projection	17,566,839	12.0–24.6 million	439,116	100,622	3.11	70.3
2036	projection	17,925,798	12.1–25.4 million	443,713	102,532	3.07	70.4
2037	projection	18,227,755	12.1–26.5 million	445,602	104,240	3.03	70.6
2038	projection	18,563,937	12.3–27.5 million	448,092	106,038	2.99	70.8
2039	projection	18,895,639	12.2–28.6 million	449,890	107,906	2.95	71.0
2040	projection	19,257,936	12.3–29.6 million	453,058	110,043	2.92	71.1
2041	projection	19,623,604	12.4–30.4 million	457,339	112,048	2.89	71.3
2042	projection	19,988,746	12.6–31.7 million	457,998	114,151	2.85	71.5
2043	projection	20,319,224	12.6–32.5 million	458,714	116,204	2.81	71.7
2044	projection	20,682,446	12.5–33.5 million	460,450	118,499	2.78	71.8
2045	projection	20,991,719	12.4–34.6 million	460,111	120,551	2.75	72.0
2046	projection	21,313,596	12.7–35.7 million	460,724	122,833	2.72	72.2
2047	projection	21,604,716	12.7–36.7 million	459,838	125,070	2.69	72.3
2048	projection	21,924,463	12.4–37.2 million	460,059	127,520	2.67	72.5
2049	projection	22,247,780	12.8–38.3 million	460,443	129,924	2.64	72.7
2050	projection	22,560,007	12.8–39.3 million	460,069	132,495	2.61	72.8
2051	projection	22,855,813	12.9–40.4 million	459,020	135,023	2.58	73.0
2052	projection	23,159,716	12.9–41.3 million	458,243	137,763	2.55	73.1
2053	projection	23,440,803	12.9–42.5 million	456,760	140,517	2.52	73.3
2054	projection	23,724,272	12.7–43.8 million	455,651	143,460	2.50	73.5
2055	projection	24,010,974	12.8–44.5 million	455,495	146,535	2.47	73.6
2056	projection	24,307,927	12.7–46.1 million	456,344	149,762	2.45	73.8
2057	projection	24,576,214	12.4–46.9 million	456,585	152,892	2.43	73.9
2058	projection	24,841,701	12.1–48.1 million	456,175	156,249	2.41	74.1
2059	projection	25,169,415	12.2–48.9 million	458,204	159,824	2.39	74.3
2060	projection	25,441,970	12.2–50.1 million	457,930	163,298	2.37	74.4
2061	projection	25,711,551	12.3–51.2 million	457,878	166,857	2.35	74.6
2062	projection	26,019,053	12.1–52.3 million	458,553	170,623	2.33	74.7
2063	projection	26,263,502	12.1–53.3 million	457,932	174,317	2.31	74.9
2064	projection	26,538,702	12.1–54.0 million	458,148	178,110	2.29	75.0
2065	projection	26,799,316	12.1–55.0 million	458,085	181,951	2.27	75.2
2066	projection	27,067,416	12.5–56.2 million	458,329	185,592	2.26	75.3
2067	projection	27,301,016	12.8–57.9 million	457,818	189,257	2.24	75.5
2068	projection	27,561,402	12.7–59.7 million	457,799	192,818	2.23	75.6
2069	projection	27,807,417	12.7–60.8 million	457,281	196,492	2.21	75.8
2070	projection	28,018,165	12.7–60.8 million	455,779	200,120	2.20	75.9
2071	projection	28,259,445	12.6–63.0 million	454,569	203,670	2.18	76.1
2072	projection	28,477,504	12.6–64.2 million	452,477	207,240	2.16	76.2
2073	projection	28,702,125	12.7–65.5 million	451,089	210,860	2.15	76.4
2074	projection	28,917,696	12.3–66.6 million	448,925	214,348	2.13	76.5
2075	projection	29,113,471	12.1–69.0 million	447,240	217,738	2.12	76.7
2076	projection	29,314,845	12.1–70.3 million	445,100	221,250	2.11	76.8
2077	projection	29,486,556	11.9–70.1 million	442,377	224,855	2.10	77.0
2078	projection	29,681,782	11.9–72.2 million	440,690	228,602	2.08	77.1
2079	projection	29,858,659	11.7–73.7 million	438,421	231,995	2.07	77.3
2080	projection	30,047,321	11.7–73.3 million	436,555	235,772	2.06	77.4
2081	projection	30,235,835	11.6–76.0 million	435,119	239,389	2.05	77.5
2082	projection	30,409,742	11.6–77.8 million	433,119	243,092	2.04	77.7
2083	projection	30,591,931	11.6–78.5 million	430,814	246,782	2.03	77.8
2084	projection	30,765,317	11.5–79.1 million	428,753	250,456	2.02	78.0
2085	projection	30,905,880	11.4–80.8 million	425,837	254,148	2.00	78.1
2086	projection	31,048,675	11.4–80.8 million	423,274	258,028	1.99	78.3
2087	projection	31,201,101	11.6–84.6 million	421,863	261,940	1.99	78.4
2088	projection	31,392,580	11.5–85.3 million	421,719	265,918	1.98	78.6
2089	projection	31,536,755	11.7–87.3 million	419,954	269,821	1.97	78.7
2090	projection	31,730,723	11.8–87.5 million	420,337	273,500	1.96	78.8
2091	projection	31,832,094	11.7–90.2 million	418,052	277,146	1.95	79.0
2092	projection	31,934,015	12.1–89.7 million	416,094	280,679	1.95	79.1
2093	projection	32,055,185	12.1–90.5 million	414,109	284,273	1.94	79.3
2094	projection	32,186,830	12.1–91.8 million	413,100	287,804	1.93	79.4
2095	projection	32,271,383	12.1–92.2 million	410,782	291,085	1.92	79.6
2096	projection	32,402,434	12.1–93.0 million	409,595	294,680	1.91	79.7
2097	projection	32,486,752	11.8–95.3 million	407,069	297,695	1.91	79.8
2098	projection	32,560,594	11.8–95.9 million	404,443	300,856	1.90	80.0
2099	projection	32,640,258	12.2–98.3 million	402,223	303,803	1.89	80.1
2100	projection	32,743,828	12.2–99.1 million	400,620	306,665	1.89	80.3

Show the numbers: Rwanda, mid-2026, by single year of age

Rwanda: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	200,904	196,874
1	197,369	193,501
2	194,355	190,550
3	192,200	188,446
4	190,762	186,927
5	188,622	184,844
6	186,132	182,876
7	184,060	181,529
8	182,126	180,222
9	180,028	178,604
10	177,510	176,472
11	174,508	173,754
12	171,013	170,434
13	166,981	166,506
14	163,089	162,675
15	160,272	159,925
16	158,701	158,495
17	158,341	158,369
18	158,980	159,341
19	159,531	160,352
20	158,480	159,926
21	155,082	157,342
22	149,199	152,460
23	141,096	145,505
24	132,098	137,585
25	123,760	129,926
26	116,880	123,176
27	111,720	117,576
28	108,203	113,104
29	105,914	109,646
30	104,140	106,919
31	102,409	104,695
32	100,672	102,964
33	99,014	101,754
34	97,416	100,845
35	95,818	99,868
36	94,197	98,638
37	92,527	97,116
38	90,798	95,322
39	88,963	93,329
40	86,986	91,261
41	84,871	89,194
42	82,568	87,084
43	80,022	84,868
44	76,992	82,330
45	73,176	79,170
46	68,456	75,233
47	62,817	70,484
48	56,445	65,095
49	50,055	59,630
50	44,610	54,811
51	40,562	50,976
52	37,924	48,150
53	36,597	46,277
54	36,018	44,955
55	35,402	43,603
56	34,365	41,947
57	32,852	39,956
58	30,950	37,717
59	28,968	35,552
60	27,330	33,900
61	26,236	32,956
62	25,687	32,707
63	25,623	33,078
64	25,713	33,626
65	25,468	33,676
66	24,658	32,910
67	23,278	31,332
68	21,412	29,048
69	19,298	26,397
70	17,267	23,852
71	15,500	21,678
72	14,006	19,883
73	12,752	18,410
74	11,632	17,106
75	10,499	15,758
76	9,286	14,265
77	8,001	12,643
78	6,688	10,949
79	5,436	9,304
80	4,331	7,799
81	3,478	6,588
82	2,896	5,722
83	2,487	5,030
84	2,146	4,366
85	1,824	3,706
86	1,518	3,078
87	1,221	2,478
88	954	1,926
89	720	1,438
90	535	1,064
91	403	801
92	302	594
93	221	422
94	154	288
95	104	191
96	68	124
97	42	78
98	26	46
99	14	26
100+	14	28

RWA · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Rwanda, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

RWA · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Rwanda

In Rwanda the number of people aged 15–64 is still growing in 2100, the last year the UN projects. In 2023 there were 8,155,940 of them.

100 aged 15–64

65 children

7 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: take 100 people of working age — the orange row — and the two rows under it are the children (teal) and the people of 65 and over (violet) who lived alongside them in 2023.

At no point between 1950 and 2100 do fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 here.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: the strip runs 1950 to 2100. Coloured years are the ones with under 50 dependants for every 100 people aged 15–64; grey years are the rest, and a hatched year has not happened yet.

How every country compares

RWA · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Rwanda, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Rwanda loses 12,613 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 4,020 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 500 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: age runs left to right, babies to 100. A blue square above the line means arrivals outnumber departures at that age, an orange square below it means the opposite. The figures are the UN's projection for 2020–2025; nobody recorded migration by age before 2020.

Its best and worst years between 1950 and 2023: a gain of 1,367,700 (1996), and a loss of 2,078,111 (1994).

In 2024, 513,316 people living in Rwanda had been born in another country, 4 of every 100 people there, against 2 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

RWA · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Rwanda

Of every 100 babies born in Rwanda in 2023, 6 had a mother under 20, 72 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 22 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 12 under 20 and 19 aged 35 or older.

1950
12 · 69 · 19

2023
6 · 72 · 22

2050 · projected
4 · 72 · 24

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: one block a year, 100 squares in each, a square for every hundredth baby. The colour is the mother's age group, and the three numbers underneath are those groups in order, youngest first.

Babies born, 2023: 395,578
Average age when women have a baby: 30.6 years; 30.3 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 31; 118 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Rwanda by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	642	589	483	207	287	247
15–19	13,980	20,167	27,011	24,474	19,870	10,075
20–24	35,619	68,576	94,894	93,031	88,777	53,909
25–29	30,223	60,516	88,493	100,273	119,119	106,046
30–34	20,933	37,530	63,212	89,111	123,334	129,833
35–39	16,013	26,688	45,177	60,480	79,188	78,687
40–44	6,473	14,767	22,490	25,029	27,048	20,449
45–49	1,853	3,275	3,978	2,881	2,380	1,334
50–54	106	151	166	92	66	40
All babies	125,842	232,259	345,904	395,578	460,069	400,620

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

RWA · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Rwanda

A baby born in Rwanda in 2021 could expect 67.5 years of life, 58.7 of them in full health (95% range 58.0–59.6). That leaves 8.8 years in less than full health, fewer than the world's 9.5, which mostly means lives are shorter here, with fewer years in which to be ill.

Women

59.4 in full health, 10.0 not: 69.4 years

Men

57.9 in full health, 7.5 not: 65.4 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 59.4 healthy years of 69.4. Men: 57.9 of 65.4.

RWA · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Rwanda

At the end of 2025, Rwanda was hosting 131,045 people who had crossed a border into it, about 9 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad131,045
Rwanda nationals abroad264,629

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: count the squares — 5,000 people each, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Rwanda living in another country, wherever they are.

In 2025, 1,835 people asked for asylum in Rwanda for the first time; 3,844 people from Rwanda asked for asylum in another country. Of every 100 people from Rwanda whose claims were decided that year, 39 were given protection. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

RWA · of every 100 people

How people live in Rwanda

Of every 100 people in Rwanda in 2025, 14 lived in a city, 80 in a town or suburb and 6 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

28 of every 100 have no electricity at home (2024). 68.3 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: everyone here, shrunk to 100 squares, with the colour saying whether that hundredth person lives in a city, a town or the countryside. Every country is measured by the same rule.

How the world's people live

RWA · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Rwanda went in school

Of every 100 adults in Rwanda in 2020, 23 never went to school and 8 finished upper secondary or went further.

23 never went to school 51 some primary 14 finished primary 4 finished lower secondary 6 finished upper secondary 2 studied after school

Among women, 7.8 of every 100 aged 25–29 never went to school, against 54.8 of every 100 aged 60–64; among men, 7.8 against 34.5.

The middle projection has its working-age people most numerous in 2090; those among them who finished upper secondary are still growing in 2100.

How to read this: 100 squares, one for every hundredth adult aged 25 or over, from least schooling on the left to most on the right. Counted by the Wittgenstein Centre for 2020.

How far the world's people went in school

RWA · cities · 2025

Cities in Rwanda

Rwanda had 5 cities in 2025, home to 2.1 million people. The largest, Kigali, holds 10 of every 100 people in Rwanda.

Kigali1,483,711
Rubavu337,963
Musanze155,984
Muhanga75,461
Kayonza50,465

How to read this: the 5 biggest cities here in 2025, drawn on a single scale so the bars can be compared. Each is a built-up area on the UN's rule rather than a city government's patch.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Rwanda are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.