Homicides in Rwanda
Rwanda: Homicides was 559.07 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Rwanda, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Rwanda recorded 559.07 deaths for homicides in 2021. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Rwanda peaked at 559.07 deaths in 2021 and was at its lowest, 461.23 deaths, in 2008.
Rwanda ranks 81st of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 544.95 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 547.4 deaths | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 540.05 deaths | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 531.37 deaths | -1.6% |
| 2004 | 520.13 deaths | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 511.73 deaths | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 505.16 deaths | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 484.8 deaths | -4.0% |
| 2008 | 461.23 deaths | -4.9% |
| 2009 | 470 deaths | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 483.18 deaths | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 493.61 deaths | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 506.62 deaths | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 522.5 deaths | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 538.52 deaths | +3.1% |
| 2015 | 530.55 deaths | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 539.89 deaths | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 544.13 deaths | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 543.48 deaths | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 547.98 deaths | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 553.25 deaths | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 559.07 deaths | +1.1% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 559.07 deaths is below the median for low income countries, which is 1,070 deaths, 52% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 559.07 deaths is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 971.62 deaths, 58% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 511.68 deaths | 461.23 deaths | 547.4 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 525.05 deaths | 483.18 deaths | 547.98 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 556.16 deaths | 553.25 deaths | 559.07 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More social development data for Rwanda
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 115,794 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 244,415 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0168 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 244,415 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0079 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Rwanda?
- Homicides in Rwanda was 559.07 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 559.07 deaths in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 461.23 deaths in 2008.
- How does Rwanda rank for homicides?
- Rwanda ranks 81st out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Homicides. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated number of deaths from interpersonal violence in both sexes.