Country Snapshot
Population (2019, millions)¹ | 12.62 |
Population Projections (2030, millions)¹ | 16.23 |
Capital | Kigali |
Surface Area (km²)² | 26,340 |
Weather¹¹ | In Kigali: Average annual temperature, 19°C; average monthly rainfall, 85 mm |
Languages³ | Official: Kinyarwanda, French and English - Others: Swahili and others |
Main Religions³ | Main: Protestant, Roman Catholic, - Others: Muslim, others and none |
Time⁴ | Central Africa Time (CAT) +0200 UTC |
Driving Orientation⁵ | Right Side |
Internet Country Code⁶ | .rw |
Country Calling Code | +250 |
Plug, Socket and Voltage⁷ | Type C and J - 230V/50Hz |
Currency | Rwandan Franc (RWF) - 1/100 = Centime |
Exchange Rate (As of 4 February 2019 , per USD)⁸ | 885.00 (buy rate) |
GDP at Market Prices (2018, current, billions of USD)⁹ | 9.5 |
GDP Growth (2018, annual %)⁹ | 8.67 |
Average GDP Growth (2014-2018, annual %)⁹ | 7.44 |
GDP per Capita, PPP (2018, current international $)⁹ | 2,253 |
Inflation, Consumer Prices (2018, annual %)⁹ | (0.31) |
Average Inflation, Consumer Prices (2014-2018, annual %)⁹ | 4 |
Total Reserves in Months of Imports (2018)⁹ | 3.15 |
Sources:
¹United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
²COMESA Statistics, COMESTAT Data Hub.
³CIA World Factbook.
⁴Time and Date Portal.
⁵Chartsbin Portal, "Worldwide Driving Orientation by Country".
⁶Wikipedia, "List of Internet top-level domains"; and, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, Root Zone Database.
⁷International Electrotechnical Commission, World Plugs.
⁸The National Bank of Rwanda.
⁹World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.
¹¹Economist Intelligence Unit.
Reasons to Invest in Rwanda
Source: Rwanda Development Board - RDB.
Population
Population Projections (millions)
Population (2019) | 12.62 |
Population Projections (2030) | 16.23 |
Source: United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Population Residing in Urban Areas (%)
Population Projections (2019) | 17.31 |
Percentage of Population Residing in Urban Areas (2030) | 19.61 |
Source: United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Youth Literacy Rates (2017, %)
Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Both Sexes | 86.49 |
Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Female | 88.5 |
Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Male | 84.32 |
Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO Institute of Statistics.
Labour
Unemployment (2018, % of Total Labour Force)
Unemployment, Total | 0.97 |
Unemployment, Female | 0.99 |
Unemployment, Male | 0.94 |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.
Labour Force (2017, % of Ages 15+)
Labour Force Participation Rate, Total | 83.88 |
Labour Force Participation Rate, Female | 84.17 |
Labour Force Participation Rate, Male | 83.57 |
Labour Force, Total (number) | 6,193,988 |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.
Economy - Overview
GDP
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
GDP at Market Prices (current, billions of USD) | 8.01 | 8.27 | 8.47 | 9.13 | 9.5 |
GDP Growth (annual %) | 7.62 | 8.86 | 5.98 | 6.05 | 8.67 |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.
Value Added by Sector (% of GDP)
2018 | 2019 | |
Agriculture | 37.28 | 37.40 |
Manufacturing | 7.52 | 7.52 |
Industry | 21.33 | 21.23 |
Services | 60.40 | 60.36 |
Construction | 8.78 | 8.69 |
Electricity, gas and water | 2.00 | 2.03 |
Mining and quarrying | 3.02 | 2.99 |
Education | 3.32 | 3.26 |
Finance, real estate and business services | 25.37 | 25.40 |
Public administration and Defense | 6.11 | 6.11 |
Health and Social Work | 2.86 | 2.83 |
Other services | 6.25 | 6.39 |
Transport, storage and communication | 6.74 | 6.68 |
Wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants | 9.75 | 9.68 |
Source: AFDB Socio Economic Database.
Trade Profile
Import Partners (USD ‘000)
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
World | 1,750,482 | 1,729,453 | 1,533,232 | 2,616,190 | 2,626,389 |
China | 352,221 | 334,440 | 328,679 | 488,068 | 510,534 |
United Arab Emirates | 112,528 | 88,494 | 80,836 | 274,943 | 256,771 |
India | 159,056 | 163,035 | 117,326 | 244,781 | 245,283 |
Uganda | 233,822 | 204,594 | 170,041 | 184,504 | 212,796 |
Kenya | 163,739 | 131,479 | 121,320 | 141,221 | 143,853 |
Source: COMTRADE Statistics.
Export Partners (USD ‘000)
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
World | 651,775 | 591,362 | 620,150 | 968,238 | 1,085,419 |
Congo DR | 131,622 | 132,087 | 157,110 | 222,927 | 272,712 |
United Arab Emirates | 11,055 | 34,039 | 85,975 | 252,100 | 237,946 |
Kenya | 67,726 | 94,638 | 85,654 | 104,063 | 102,790 |
Congo DR | 60,238 | 60,343 | 43,952 | 62,670 | 64,793 |
Switzerland | 75,988 | 52,850 | 54,146 | 65,302 | 60,742 |
Source: COMTRADE Statistics.
Rwanda’s Top Import Products (USD ‘000)
Chapter | Description | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
All products | 1,750,482 | 1,729,453 | 1,533,232 | 2,616,190 | 2,626,389 | |
27 | Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes | 75,291 | 30,392 | 21,261 | 362,861 | 428,515 |
85 | Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles | 248,160 | 252,556 | 252,130 | 298,947 | 284,253 |
84 | Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof | 152,535 | 214,892 | 146,472 | 239,052 | 249,894 |
87 | Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof | 96,461 | 112,955 | 124,814 | 209,852 | 167,997 |
10 | Cereals | 84,708 | 65,778 | 72,747 | 156,341 | 151,599 |
Source: COMTRADE Statistics.
Rwanda’s Top Export Products (USD ‘000)
Chapter | Description | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
All products | 651,775 | 591,362 | 620,150 | 968,238 | 1,085,419 | |
71 | Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewelry; coin | 7,847 | 30,176 | 80,034 | 241,619 | 284,739 |
09 | Coffee, tea, mate and spices | 118,278 | 131,542 | 133,507 | 154,777 | 166,974 |
27 | Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes | 103,232 | 89,815 | 109,294 | 157,705 | 162,964 |
26 | Ores, slag and ash | 202,033 | 118,361 | 86,736 | 123,504 | 143,468 |
15 | Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes | 12,548 | 20,637 | 26,114 | 28,678 | 41,226 |
Source: COMTRADE Statistics.
Investment Profile
FDI Inflows (millions of USD)
Year | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
FDI Inflows | 459 | 380 | 342 | 356 | 398 |
Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2019
FDI Inward Stock (millions of USD)
Year | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
FDI Inward Stock | 1,152 | 1,402 | 1,680 | 1,959 | 2,265 |
Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2019
FDI Outward Stock (millions of USD)
Year | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
FDI Outward Stock | 28 | 28 | 28 | 44 | 61 |
Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2019
FDI Inflows Main Source Countries (in terms of number of projects)
Kenya, Uganda, United States, India, South Africa, Tanzania, UAE, China, Nigeria, and Luxembourg.
Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018
FDI Inflows Main Sectors (in terms of number of projects)
Financial Services, Communications, Business Services, Food & Tobacco, Hotels & Tourism, Coal, Oil and Natural Gas, Healthcare, Software & IT services, Metals, and Real Estate.
Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018
FDI Inflows Main Companies (in terms of number of projects)
Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Access Bank Rwanda, Equity Bank Rwanda, Car and General, STEG International Services, Techno Brain, MTN Rwanda, Uchumi Supermarkets, Hakkan Mining and Generation Industry and Trade, and Fina Bank.
Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018
Doing Business
Overall Doing Business Ranking
2020 | 38/190 |
2019 | 29/190 |
Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020
Starting a Business
2020 Rank | 35/190 |
Procedures (number) | 5 |
Time (days) | 4 |
Cost (% of income per capita*) | 0.0 |
Paid-in Minimum Capital (% of income per capita*) | 0.0 |
*GNI per capita used: USD 780
Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020
Paying Taxes
Paying Taxes
2020 Rank | 38/190 |
Payments (number per year) | 9 |
Time (hours per year) | 91 |
Total Tax Rate (% of profit) | 33.2 |
Profit Tax (% of profit) | 25.7 |
Labor Tax and Contributions (% of profit) | 6.0 |
Other Taxes (% of profit) | 1.5 |
Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020
Trading Across Borders
2020 Rank | 88/190 |
Time to Export: Border Compliance (hours) | 83 |
Cost to Export: Border Compliance (USD) | 183 |
Time to Export: Documentary Compliance (hours) | 30 |
Cost to Export: Documentary Compliance (USD) | 110 |
Time to Import: Border Compliance (hours) | 74 |
Cost to Import: Border Compliance (USD) | 282 |
Time to Import: Documentary Compliance (hours) | 48 |
Cost to Import: Documentary Compliance (USD) | 121 |
Assumptions:
* It is assumed that shipment travels from a warehouse in the largest business city of the exporting economy to a warehouse in the largest business city of the importing economy.
* It is assumed that each economy imports a standardized shipment of 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS 8708) from its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the largest value (price times quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed that each economy exports the product of its comparative advantage (defined by the largest export value) to its natural export partner—the economy that is the largest purchaser of this product.
* A shipment is a unit of trade. Export shipments do not necessarily need to be containerized, while import shipments of auto parts are assumed to be containerized.
* Shipping cost based on weight is assumed to be greater than shipping cost based on volume.
* If government fees are determined by the value of the shipment, the value is assumed to be $50,000.
* The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the chosen export or import product and the trading partner, as is the seaport, airport or land border crossing.
* Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours.
* Costs do not include tariffs.
Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020
Investment Regime
Legal Framework
Investment Code - Investment Law, 2005.
Law Relating to Investment Promotion And Facilitation N(06/2015)
Key guarantees in terms of investment protection include:
Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, iGuide Rwanda.
Investment Incentives
Tax Incentives
Other Incentives
Source: Deloitte, Guide to Fiscal Information, Key Economies in Africa 2018 and KPMG, Rwanda Fiscal Guide 2017/18.