Rural population in Rwanda
Rwanda: Rural population was 10.07 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
10.07 million
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
53rd
of 218 countries
All-time high
10.07 million
in 2025
All-time low
2.94 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Rwanda, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Rwanda is 10.07 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Rwanda peaked at 10.07 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.94 million, in 1960.
Rwanda ranks 53rd of 218 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.94 million | — |
| 1961 | 3.02 million | +2.7% |
| 1962 | 3.10 million | +2.5% |
| 1963 | 3.17 million | +2.2% |
| 1964 | 3.24 million | +2.3% |
| 1965 | 3.32 million | +2.6% |
| 1966 | 3.42 million | +2.8% |
| 1967 | 3.52 million | +3.0% |
| 1968 | 3.63 million | +3.1% |
| 1969 | 3.74 million | +3.0% |
| 1970 | 3.85 million | +3.0% |
| 1971 | 3.96 million | +2.9% |
| 1972 | 4.07 million | +2.7% |
| 1973 | 4.18 million | +2.7% |
| 1974 | 4.30 million | +2.7% |
| 1975 | 4.41 million | +2.8% |
| 1976 | 4.54 million | +2.8% |
| 1977 | 4.67 million | +2.8% |
| 1978 | 4.80 million | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 4.94 million | +3.0% |
| 1980 | 5.10 million | +3.1% |
| 1981 | 5.26 million | +3.2% |
| 1982 | 5.43 million | +3.3% |
| 1983 | 5.61 million | +3.4% |
| 1984 | 5.80 million | +3.4% |
| 1985 | 6.00 million | +3.4% |
| 1986 | 6.20 million | +3.4% |
| 1987 | 6.41 million | +3.3% |
| 1988 | 6.61 million | +3.2% |
| 1989 | 6.81 million | +3.0% |
| 1990 | 6.99 million | +2.6% |
| 1991 | 7.12 million | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 7.25 million | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 7.47 million | +3.1% |
| 1994 | 6.28 million | -15.9% |
| 1995 | 5.17 million | -17.7% |
| 1996 | 6.02 million | +16.3% |
| 1997 | 6.84 million | +13.6% |
| 1998 | 7.00 million | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 6.95 million | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 6.92 million | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 6.92 million | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 6.98 million | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 7.14 million | +2.2% |
| 2004 | 7.33 million | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 7.52 million | +2.7% |
| 2006 | 7.73 million | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 7.93 million | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 8.15 million | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 8.36 million | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 8.57 million | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 8.78 million | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 9.00 million | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 9.20 million | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 9.38 million | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 9.52 million | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 9.64 million | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 9.73 million | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 9.80 million | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 9.84 million | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 9.86 million | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 9.87 million | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 9.86 million | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 9.93 million | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 10.00 million | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 10.07 million | +0.7% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 10.07 million is below the median for low income countries, which is 15.21 million, 66% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 10.07 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.41 million, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.31 million | 2.94 million | 3.74 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.37 million | 3.85 million | 4.94 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.92 million | 5.10 million | 6.81 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.71 million | 5.17 million | 7.47 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.50 million | 6.92 million | 8.36 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.35 million | 8.57 million | 9.84 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.93 million | 9.86 million | 10.07 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More agriculture & rural data for Rwanda
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.79 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.203 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 228.16 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.6953 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6909 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 20.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 20.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Rwanda?
- Rural population in Rwanda was 10.07 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 10.07 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.94 million in 1960.
- How does Rwanda rank for rural population?
- Rwanda ranks 53rd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.