Homicides in Rwanda
Rwanda: Homicides was 472 homicides in 2020. ▲ Rising
Homicides 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.
Analysis
In 2020, homicides in Rwanda stood at 472 homicides. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 16.8% on the previous year and up 62.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Rwanda peaked at 472 homicides in 2020 and was at its lowest, 144 homicides, in 2008.
That places Rwanda 62nd 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 | 243.67 homicides | 144 homicides | 319 homicides | 3 |
| 2010s | 353.11 homicides | 256 homicides | 470 homicides | 9 |
| 2020s | 472 homicides | 472 homicides | 472 homicides | 1 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
- 59 El Salvador 496 homicides compare
- 60 Puerto Rico 489 homicides compare
- 61 Uzbekistan 479 homicides compare
- 63 Paraguay 464 homicides compare
- 64 Syria 463 homicides compare
- 65 Uruguay 381 homicides compare
More social development data for Rwanda
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- 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)
- Key features of democracy 0.193 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.17 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.144 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.193 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.13 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.09 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Rwanda?
- Homicides in Rwanda was 472 homicides 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 homicides recorded in Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 472 homicides in 2020.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 144 homicides in 2008.
- How does Rwanda rank for homicides?
- Rwanda ranks 62nd out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 62.2%. 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 Homicides. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.