Rwanda population pyramid in 2020
Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

Demographic features of the population of Rwanda include population density, ethnicity, education higher level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.

Rwanda's population density, even after the 1994 genocide, is among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa at 500 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,300/sq mi). This country has few villages, and nearly every family lives in a self-contained compound on a hillside. The urban concentrations are grouped around administrative centers.

Over half of the adult population is literate, but no more than 5% have received secondary education.

Ethnic groups

Further information: Ethnic groups in Rwanda

The Rwandan population largely consists of three ethnic groups. The Hutus, who comprise the majority of the population (85%), are farmers of Bantu origin. The Tutsis (14% before the Genocide, probably less than 10% now) are a pastoral people who arrived in the area in the 15th century.[citation needed] Until 1959, they formed the dominant caste under a feudal system based on cattleholding.

The Twa (pygmies) (1%) are thought to be the remnants of the earliest settlers of the region.

Population

Children carrying firewood near Lake Kivu
A graph showing the historical population of Rwanda.

In 1950, Rwanda had a very narrow population pyramid, with less than 250,000 males and females between 0–10 years old. The graph only gets narrower as it goes up with virtually no-one living past 50 years of age. In 2017, we see the population of Rwanda increase dramatically from 1950 with about 750,000 people between 0–20 years old, the graph remains very narrow in the older ages section but has improved from 1950. By 2050, it is predicted that more people will be living longer and the structure will broaden overall. By 2100, it is predicted that there will be more people aged between 30 and 60 than between 0–20 as previous years have shown.[1]

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[2][3] the total population was 13,461,888 in 2021, compared to only 2,072,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 42.6%, 54.7% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.7% was 65 years or older .[4]

Population
Total population (in thousands) Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 2,072 45.1 52.3 2.6
1955 2,386 46.3 50.8 2.9
1960 2,771 48.1 49.1 2.8
1965 3,221 47.8 49.5 2.7
1970 3,749 47.8 49.7 2.5
1975 4,390 47.7 49.9 2.4
1980 5,179 48.1 49.7 2.2
1985 6,081 48.9 49.1 2.0
1990 7,110 49.1 48.7 2.2
1995 5,570 48.4 49.3 2.3
2000 8,098 45.4 52.0 2.6
2005 9,202 42.4 55.0 2.7
2010 10,624 42.6 54.7 2.7
2012 10,516 41.16 55.65 3.19

Structure of the population

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2012) (Data refer to national projections.):[5]

Age group Male Female Total %
Total 5,342,112 5,691,029 11,033,141 100
0–4 973,447 957,104 1,930,551 17.50
5–9 770,292 763,709 1,534,001 13.90
10–14 608,836 621,378 1,230,213 11.15
15–19 552,629 568,101 1,120,730 10.16
20–24 525,485 550,486 1,075,971 9.75
25–29 508,839 540,872 1,049,712 9.51
30–34 366,700 416,072 782,772 7.09
35–39 241,362 291,340 532,702 4.83
40–44 197,005 228,728 425,733 3.86
45–49 165,096 193,402 358,499 3.25
50–54 153,080 180,759 333,839 3.03
55–59 107,200 132,234 239,433 2.17
60–64 71,924 92,299 164,223 1.49
65–69 38,125 58,585 96,710 0.88
70–74 29,285 46,236 75,521 0.68
75–79 17,736 27,557 45,293 0.41
80+ 15,071 22,178 37,239 0.34
0–14 2,352,575 2,342,191 4,694,766 42.55
15–64 2,889,320 3,194,282 6,083,602 55.14
65+ 100,217 154,556 254,773 2.31

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2019) (Projections based on the 2012 Population Census.):[6]

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 6 008 384 6 366 013 12 374 397 100
0–4 844 359 828 304 1 672 663 13.52
5–9 764 098 763 070 1 527 168 12.34
10–14 757 029 764 727 1 521 756 12.30
15–19 669 226 685 385 1 354 611 10.95
20–24 559 045 580 570 1 139 615 9.21
25–29 502 947 533 613 1 036 560 8.38
30–34 464 011 487 289 951 301 7.69
35–39 399 641 420 377 820 018 6.63
40–44 272 423 311 994 584 417 4.72
45–49 193 490 233 052 426 542 3.45
50–54 158 153 188 719 346 872 2.80
55–59 143 753 177 803 321 557 2.60
60–64 113 795 145 306 259 101 2.09
65-69 75 204 99 427 174 630 1.41
70-74 41 032 60 933 101 965 0.82
75-79 24 110 41 408 65 519 0.53
80+ 26 067 44 035 70 102 0.57
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 2 365 486 2 356 101 4 721 587 38.16
15–64 3 476 485 3 764 109 7 240 594 58.51
65+ 166 413 245 803 412 216 3.33

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Rwanda not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.[7]

Mid-year population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate (TFR) Infant mortality (per 1000) Life expectancy (in years)
1950 2 154 000   119 000   48 000   71 000 55.4 22.4 33.1 7.92 147.2 43.34
1951   2 227 000   123 000   50 000   73 000 55.3 22.5 32.8 7.94 146.7 43.44
1952   2 302 000   127 000   52 000   76 000 55.3 22.5 32.8 7.98 145.7 43.67
1953   2 379 000   131 000   53 000   78 000 55.2 22.4 32.8 8.02 144.7 43.88
1954   2 457 000   135 000   55 000   80 000 54.9 22.2 32.7 8.06 143.7 44.04
1955   2 538 000   138 000   56 000   83 000 54.5 22.0 32.5 8.09 142.6 44.25
1956   2 621 000   142 000   57 000   85 000 54.1 21.8 32.3 8.12 141.6 44.43
1957   2 706 000   145 000   57 000   88 000 53.6 21.1 32.5 8.14 138.1 45.16
1958   2 793 000   148 000   57 000   91 000 53.0 20.5 32.6 8.16 134.5 45.86
1959   2 881 000   151 000   57 000   94 000 52.4 19.8 32.6 8.18 131.1 46.62
1960   2 966 000   154 000   57 000   97 000 51.7 19.2 32.5 8.19 128.1 47.18
1961   3 047 000   155 000   57 000   98 000 50.8 18.7 32.1 8.19 125.8 47.66
1962   3 122 000   156 000   57 000   99 000 49.8 18.3 31.5 8.20 124.1 47.99
1963   3 191 000   157 000   66 000   91 000 48.9 20.6 28.3 8.20 124.9 44.07
1964   3 264 000   157 000   58 000   99 000 48.0 17.8 30.3 8.20 122.6 48.24
1965   3 349 000   159 000   59 000   100 000 47.5 17.6 29.9 8.20 122.6 48.28
1966   3 444 000   163 000   61 000   102 000 47.3 17.6 29.7 8.20 123.1 48.17
1967   3 549 000   168 000   62 000   106 000 47.4 17.6 29.8 8.20 123.9 48.09
1968   3 662 000   175 000   65 000   110 000 47.8 17.8 30.0 8.21 125.3 47.75
1969   3 778 000   183 000   68 000   114 000 48.3 18.1 30.2 8.22 126.9 47.40
1970   3 896 000 190 000   72 000   119 000 48.8 18.4 30.4 8.23 128.4 47.15
1971   4 015 000   197 000   75 000   122 000 49.1 18.6 30.5 8.23 129.9 46.83
1972   4 136 000   205 000   78 000   126 000 49.4 18.9 30.5 8.23 131.8 46.50
1973   4 259 000   212 000   83 000   130 000 49.8 19.4 30.4 8.23 134.3 45.91
1974   4 386 000   220 000   87 000   133 000 50.1 19.9 30.2 8.23 137.4 45.30
1975   4 516 000   228 000   92 000   136 000 50.4 20.4 30.0 8.22 140.3 44.70
1976   4 648 000   237 000   96 000   141 000 50.9 20.6 30.3 8.24 142.3 44.65
1977   4 783 000   245 000   98 000   147 000 51.2 20.5 30.7 8.24 142.3 44.80
1978   4 922 000   254 000   99 000   155 000 51.6 20.1 31.5 8.25 139.6 45.48
1979   5 074 000   264 000   98 000   167 000 52.1 19.2 32.9 8.23 134.2 46.66
1980   5 248 000   274 000   95 000   178 000 52.2 18.2 34.0 8.19 127.0 47.96
1981   5 442 000   285 000   93 000   192 000 52.3 17.1 35.3 8.16 118.9 49.42
1982   5 653 000   294 000   91 000   203 000 52.1 16.1 36.0 8.09 111.3 50.69
1983   5 859 000   302 000   91 000   212 000 51.5 15.4 36.1 7.99 105.5 51.32
1984   6 057 000   307 000   91 000   216 000 50.6 15.0 35.7 7.87 101.2 51.64
1985   6 267 000   310 000   92 000   218 000 49.5 14.6 34.9 7.73 97.9 51.73
1986   6 498 000   315 000   94 000   222 000 48.6 14.4 34.2 7.56 95.2 51.64
1987   6 736 000   322 000   96 000   226 000 47.8 14.3 33.5 7.39 93.0 51.48
1988   6 954 000   326 000   100 000   227 000 46.8 14.3 32.5 7.23 91.3 50.98
1989   7 142 000   327 000   104 000   223 000 45.7 14.6 31.1 7.06 91.2 50.22
1990   7 320 000   325 000   113 000   212 000 44.3 15.4 28.8 6.87 93.2 48.43
1991   7 486 000   323 000   124 000   200 000 43.0 16.5 26.6 6.71 97.7 46.52
1992   7 657 000   325 000   137 000   188 000 42.4 17.9 24.6 6.61 104.8 44.32
1993   7 905 000   330 000   152 000   177 000 42.1 19.4 22.6 6.51 113.2 42.17
1994   6 733 000   324 000   809 000 −485 000 41.5 103.5 −62.1 6.41 178.5 14.10
1995   5 687 000   224 000   111 000   113 000 41.0 20.4 20.6 6.32 129.4 39.97
1996   6 716 000   248 000   119 000   129 000 41.1 19.7 21.4 6.25 129.8 40.70
1997   7 667 000   310 000   148 000   162 000 41.1 19.6 21.4 6.18 129.1 40.64
1998   7 915 000   328 000   149 000   178 000 41.2 18.8 22.4 6.12 124.4 41.68
1999   8 010 000   331 000   138 000   193 000 41.1 17.1 24.0 6.01 118.3 44.62
2000   8 110 000   334 000   129 000   205 000 40.9 15.8 25.1 5.92 110.6 47.13
2001   8 224 000   330 007   123 000   214 000 40.8 14.8 25.9 5.84 101.7 49.02
2002   8 372 000   339 000   117 000   222 000 40.4 13.9 26.5 5.75 92.7 51.03
2003   8 568 000   344 000   110 000   235 000 40.1 12.8 27.4 5.67 84.2 53.37
2004   8 79 0002   351 000   102 000   249 000 39.9 11.5 28.3 5.57 76.3 55.49
2005   9 026 000   357 000   95 000   261 000 39.5 10.5 28.9 5.44 69.0 57.32
2006   9 270 000   360 000   91 000   269 000 38.8 9.8 29.0 5.28 62.6 58.71
2007   9 523 000   362 000   88 000   275 000 38.0 9.2 28.8 5.10 57.2 59.97
2008   9 782 000   362 000   85 000   278 000 37.0 8.6 28.3 4.90 52.4 61.13
2009   10 044 000   361 000   83 000   278 000 35.9 8.3 27.7 4.72 48.4 61.96
2010   10 309 000   359 000   83 000   276 000 34.8 8.1 26.8 4.53 44.9 62.54
2011   10 577 000   356 000   83 000   273 000 33.7 7.8 25.8 4.36 41.7 63.26
2012   10 840 000   356 000   82 000   274 000 32.8 7.6 25.2 4.23 39.4 64.01
2013   11 101 000   360 000   81 000   279 000 32.4 7.3 25.1 4.16 37.6 64.43
2014   11 368 000   365 000   79 000   286 000 32.1 7.0 25.1 4.11 36.1 64.94
2015   11 643 000   371 000   78 000   293 000 31.8 6.7 25.1 4.08 34.8 65.30
2016   11 931 000   378 000   77 000   300 000 31.7 6.5 25.2 4.06 33.7 65.74
2017   12 230 000   384 000   78 000   306 000 31.4 6.4 25.0 4.03 32.7 65.94
2018   12 532 000   391 000   78 000   313 000 31.2 6.2 24.9 3.99 32.0 66.25
2019   12 835 000   395 000   79 000   316 000 30.8 6.1 24.6 3.94 31.0 66.44
2020   13 146 000   399 000   79 000 320 000 30.3 6.0 24.3 3.87 30.1 66.77
2021   13 462 000   404 000   85 000   319 000 30.0 6.3 23.7 3.82 29.0 66.07

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[8]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
1992 40.0 6.23 (4.2) 38.0 4.51 (3.3) 41.0 6.33 (4.3)
2000 5.8 (4.7) 5.2 (4.1) 5.9 (4.8)
2005 43.2 6.1 (4.6) 39.8 4.9 (3.6) 43.8 6.3 (4.8)
2007–08 39.2 5.5 (3.7) 37.4 4.7 (3.3) 39.6 5.7 (3.8)
2010 34.4 4.6 (3.1) 30.6 3.4 (2.6) 35.0 4.8 (3.2)
2014–15 32.6 4.2 (3.1) 34.3 3.6 (2.7) 32.3 4.3 (3.2)
2019-2020 31.8 4.1 (3.1) 32.4 3.4 (2.8) 31.6 4.3 (3.2)
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Fertility data as of 2014–15 (DHS Program):[9]

Province Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15–49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49
Kigali 3.6 6.9 4.6
South 4.0 6.9 5.0
West 4.6 7.4 5.9
North 3.7 6.3 5.6
East 4.6 8.4 5.9

Life expectancy

Historical development of life expectancy in Rwanda
Period Life expectancy in
Years 		Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 40.0 1985–1990 48.1
1955–1960 41.5 1990–1995 23.7
1960–1965 43.0 1995–2000 44.7
1965–1970 44.1 2000–2005 50.6
1970–1975 44.6 2005–2010 60.1
1975–1980 45.8 2010–2020 65.2
1980–1985 49.8

Source: UN[10]

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[11]

The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook[12] unless otherwise indicated.

Population

13,173,730 (2022 est.)
12,187,400 (July 2018 est.)
11,901,484 (July 2017 est.)

Religions

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

Population pyramid of Rwanda in 2020
0-14 years: 39.95% (male 2,564,893/female 2,513,993)
15-24 years: 20.1% (male 1,280,948/female 1,273,853)
25-54 years: 33.06% (male 2,001,629/female 2,201,132)
55-64 years: 4.24% (male 241,462/female 298,163)
65 years and over: 2.65% (2020 est.) (male 134,648/female 201,710)
0–14 years: 40.98% (male 2,521,169 / female 2,473,055)
15–24 years: 19.45% (male 1,187,249 / female 1,183,278)
25–54 years: 32.93% (male 1,903,087 / female 2,109,839)
55–64 years: 4.15% (male 225,273 / female 280,545)
65 years and over: 2.49% (male 120,952 / female 182,953) (2018 est.)

Birth rate

26.44 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 42nd
29.8 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 39th

Death rate

5.86 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 166th
6.3 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 154th

Total fertility rate

3.33 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 42nd
3.75 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 41st

Population growth rate

1.74% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 53rd
2.3% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 34th
2.45% (2017 est.)

Median age

total: 19.7 years. Country comparison to the world: 199th
male: 18.9 years
female: 20.4 years (2020 est.)
total: 19.2 years. Country comparison to the world: 200th
male: 18.5 years
female: 20 years (2018 est.)
Total: 19 years
Male: 18.3 years
Female: 19.8 years (2017 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

23 years (2019/20 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-49

Contraceptive prevalence rate

53.2% (2014/15)

Net migration rate

-3.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 182nd
0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 68th

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 77.3 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 72.4 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 5 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 20.1 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 17.7% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 3.07% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 17.2% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 2.86% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 65.85 years. Country comparison to the world: 199th male: 63.89 years female: 67.86 years (2022 est.)

total population: 64.5 years (2018 est.)
male: 62.6 years (2018 est.)
female: 66.5 years (2018 est.)
total population: 64.3 years
male: 62.3 years
female: 66.3 years (2017 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
animal contact diseases: rabies

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.70 male(s)/female
total population: 1.00 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Nationality

noun: Rwandan(s)/Rwandese
adjective: Rwandan/Rwandese

[13] 85% Hutu, 14% Tutsi, 1% Twa.

Languages

[14]

Education expenditure

3.4% of GDP (2020) Country comparison to the world: 133rd

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 73.2%
male: 77.6%
female: 69.4% (2018)
total population: 70.5%
male: 73.2%
female: 68% (2015 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 11 years (2017)
male: 11 years (2017)
female: 11 years (2017)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 1.9% (2014 est.)
male: 1.4% (2014 est.)
female: 2.5% (2014 est.)

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Demographics of Rwanda.
  1. ^ "World Population Prospects". United Nations Population Division. 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2022-05-19.[not specific enough to verify]
  2. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. ^ Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  6. ^ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  7. ^ "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". population.un.org. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  8. ^ "MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys". Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  9. ^ http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR316/FR316.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  10. ^ "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  11. ^ "Rwanda Population 2022", World Population Review
  12. ^ "The World FactBook - Rwanda", The World Factbook, 2022Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  13. ^ "Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda". UN.org. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Africa :: RWANDA". CIA The World Factbook. 13 December 2021.
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