What is life expectancy in Rwanda?

Life expectancy in Rwanda was 67.79 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Rwanda?

The highest recorded value was 67.79 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Rwanda?

The lowest recorded value was 12.16 years in 1994.

How does Rwanda rank for life expectancy?

Rwanda ranks 185th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Rwanda?

Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Rwanda data come from?

The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Life expectancy in Rwanda

Name: Life expectancy in Rwanda
Creator: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Rwanda: Life expectancy was 67.79 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

67.79 years

Change on year

up 0.4%

World rank

185th

of 236 countries

All-time high

67.79 years

in 2023

All-time low

12.16 years

in 1994

Years of data

1950–2023

Life expectancy in Rwanda, 1950–2023

Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for life expectancy in Rwanda is 67.79 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Rwanda peaked at 67.79 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 12.16 years, in 1994.

That places Rwanda 185th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	44.71 years	43.18 years	46.55 years	10
1960s	47.39 years	44 years	48.2 years	10
1970s	46.12 years	45.31 years	47.12 years	10
1980s	50.52 years	48.12 years	51.71 years	10
1990s	40.83 years	12.16 years	47.76 years	10
2000s	55.49 years	47.8 years	61.81 years	10
2010s	65.05 years	62.8 years	66.69 years	10
2020s	67.28 years	66.85 years	67.79 years	4

Countries ranked near Rwanda

182 Mauritania 68.48 years compare
183 Gabon 68.34 years compare
184 Uganda 68.25 years compare
186 East Timor 67.69 years compare
187 Pakistan 67.65 years compare
188 Namibia 67.38 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Rwanda

Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 167,096 (2025)
Age population, age 15, female, interpolated 158,640 (2025)
Age population, age 14, male, interpolated 160,419 (2025)
Age population, age 14, female, interpolated 160,035 (2025)
Age population, age 13, male, interpolated 163,214 (2025)
Age population, age 13, female, interpolated 162,770 (2025)
Age population, age 11, female, interpolated 170,520 (2025)
Age population, age 10, female, interpolated 173,839 (2025)
Age population, age 10, male, interpolated 174,618 (2025)
Age population, age 15, male, interpolated 158,894 (2025)

All data for Rwanda →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Rwanda?: Life expectancy in Rwanda was 67.79 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Rwanda?: The highest recorded value was 67.79 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Rwanda?: The lowest recorded value was 12.16 years in 1994.
How does Rwanda rank for life expectancy?: Rwanda ranks 185th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Rwanda?: Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Rwanda data come from?: The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Life expectancy
Unit: years
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 19,452 data points, 1543–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.