Rwanda vs South Africa: Annual death rates in people of different ages, by sex
Rwanda
25.44 deaths per 1,000 people
in 2023
South Africa
26.29 deaths per 1,000 people
in 2023
Rwanda rank
53rd
South Africa rank
51st
Annual death rates in people of different ages, by sex over time
- Rwanda
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 26.29 deaths per 1,000 people against 25.44 deaths per 1,000 people in Rwanda, a difference of 0.85 deaths per 1,000 people.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was South Africa ahead.
Rwanda ranks 53rd and South Africa ranks 51st of 236 countries.
Rwanda has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Rwanda | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 135.86 deaths per 1,000 people | 123.51 deaths per 1,000 people | 12.36 deaths per 1,000 people | Rwanda |
| 1960s | 123.09 deaths per 1,000 people | 92.95 deaths per 1,000 people | 30.14 deaths per 1,000 people | Rwanda |
| 1970s | 131.04 deaths per 1,000 people | 77.61 deaths per 1,000 people | 53.44 deaths per 1,000 people | Rwanda |
| 1980s | 103.76 deaths per 1,000 people | 54.38 deaths per 1,000 people | 49.39 deaths per 1,000 people | Rwanda |
| 1990s | 122.64 deaths per 1,000 people | 45.05 deaths per 1,000 people | 77.59 deaths per 1,000 people | Rwanda |
| 2000s | 74.14 deaths per 1,000 people | 47.48 deaths per 1,000 people | 26.66 deaths per 1,000 people | Rwanda |
| 2010s | 34.61 deaths per 1,000 people | 26.93 deaths per 1,000 people | 7.68 deaths per 1,000 people | Rwanda |
| 2020s | 26.69 deaths per 1,000 people | 25.26 deaths per 1,000 people | 1.44 deaths per 1,000 people | Rwanda |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual death rates in people of different ages, by sex, Rwanda or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 26.29 deaths per 1,000 people against 25.44 deaths per 1,000 people in Rwanda as of 2023.
- What is the difference in annual death rates in people of different ages, by sex between Rwanda and South Africa?
- 0.85 deaths per 1,000 people, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Rwanda and South Africa?
- 74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
- How do Rwanda and South Africa rank globally for annual death rates in people of different ages, by sex?
- Rwanda ranks 53rd and South Africa ranks 51st of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual death rates in people of different ages, by sex. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Death rate, calculated as the number of deaths divided by the average number of people alive during the interval.