Healthy life expectancy in Rwanda

Rwanda: Healthy life expectancy was 58.71 Years in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
58.71 Years
Change on year
down 1.3%
World rank
132nd
of 185 countries
All-time high
59.5 Years
in 2020
All-time low
40.76 Years
in 2000
Years of data
22
2000–2021

Healthy life expectancy in Rwanda, 2000–2021

02040602000201020212000: 40.8 Years2001: 42 Years2002: 44 Years2003: 45.6 Years2004: 47.4 Years2005: 49.5 Years2006: 51.3 Years2007: 52.7 Years2008: 53.9 Years2009: 54.7 Years2010: 55.8 Years2011: 56.5 Years2012: 57.1 Years2013: 57.7 Years2014: 58.1 Years2015: 58.3 Years2016: 58.5 Years2017: 58.8 Years2018: 59 Years2019: 59.1 Years2020: 59.5 Years2021: 58.7 Years

Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in Years.

Analysis

In 2021, healthy life expectancy in Rwanda stood at 58.71 Years.

That represents a change of down 1.3% on the previous year and up 3.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, healthy life expectancy in Rwanda peaked at 59.5 Years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 40.76 Years, in 2000.

Rwanda ranks 132nd of 185 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 48.18 Years 40.76 Years 54.67 Years 10
2010s 57.89 Years 55.77 Years 59.1 Years 10
2020s 59.1 Years 58.71 Years 59.5 Years 2

Countries ranked near Rwanda

  1. 129 Senegal 58.9 Years compare
  2. 130 Ethiopia 58.83 Years compare
  3. 131 Philippines 58.77 Years compare
  4. 133 Vanuatu 58.68 Years compare
  5. 134 Sudan 58.54 Years compare
  6. 135 Kenya 58.22 Years compare

See the full ranking of 185 places →

More health data for Rwanda

All data for Rwanda →

Frequently asked questions

What is healthy life expectancy in Rwanda?
Healthy life expectancy in Rwanda was 58.71 Years in 2021, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest healthy life expectancy recorded in Rwanda?
The highest recorded value was 59.5 Years in 2020.
What is the lowest healthy life expectancy recorded in Rwanda?
The lowest recorded value was 40.76 Years in 2000.
How does Rwanda rank for healthy life expectancy?
Rwanda ranks 132nd out of 185 countries with data for 2021.
Is healthy life expectancy rising or falling in Rwanda?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Rwanda data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Healthy life expectancy. 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

Indicator
Healthy life expectancy
Unit
Years
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
185 places, 4,070 data points, 2000–2021
Last refreshed

The estimated average number of years lived free from disability or disease burden. This is based on period life expectancy, after adjusting for the number of years lived in less than "full health" due to disease and/or injury.