Homicide rate in Rwanda
Rwanda: Homicide rate was 3.61 homicides per 100,000 population in 2020. ▲ Rising
Homicide rate in Rwanda, 2006–2020
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in homicides per 100,000 population.
Analysis
In 2020, homicide rate in Rwanda stood at 3.61 homicides per 100,000 population.
That represents a change of up 14.2% on the previous year and up 28.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Rwanda peaked at 3.85 homicides per 100,000 population in 2017 and was at its lowest, 1.47 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2008.
That places Rwanda 78th out of 179 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.57 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.47 homicides per 100,000 population | 3.43 homicides per 100,000 population | 3 |
| 2010s | 3.03 homicides per 100,000 population | 2.28 homicides per 100,000 population | 3.85 homicides per 100,000 population | 9 |
| 2020s | 3.61 homicides per 100,000 population | 3.61 homicides per 100,000 population | 3.61 homicides per 100,000 population | 1 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
- 75 Ukraine 3.78 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 76 Tanzania 3.75 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 77 Solomon Islands 3.73 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 79 Mozambique 3.59 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 80 Sri Lanka 3.31 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 81 Sao Tome and Principe 3.23 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Rwanda
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 115,794 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 244,415 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.144 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.194 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.09 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.13 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.194 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in Rwanda?
- Homicide rate in Rwanda was 3.61 homicides per 100,000 population in 2020, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicide rate recorded in Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 3.85 homicides per 100,000 population in 2017.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.47 homicides per 100,000 population in 2008.
- How does Rwanda rank for homicide rate?
- Rwanda ranks 78th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Homicide rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Intentional homicide rate per 100,000 population.