Healthy life expectancy in Rwanda
Rwanda: Healthy life expectancy was 58.71 Years in 2021. ▲ Rising
Healthy life expectancy in Rwanda, 2000–2021
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.
Healthy life expectancy in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | Years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 40.76 Years | — |
| 2001 | 41.99 Years | +3.0% |
| 2002 | 43.95 Years | +4.7% |
| 2003 | 45.57 Years | +3.7% |
| 2004 | 47.44 Years | +4.1% |
| 2005 | 49.45 Years | +4.3% |
| 2006 | 51.27 Years | +3.7% |
| 2007 | 52.74 Years | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 53.91 Years | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 54.67 Years | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 55.77 Years | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 56.54 Years | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 57.13 Years | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 57.68 Years | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 58.05 Years | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 58.34 Years | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 58.55 Years | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 58.78 Years | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 58.97 Years | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 59.1 Years | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 59.5 Years | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 58.71 Years | -1.3% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 58.71 Years is above the median for low income countries, which is 54.56 Years, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 58.71 Years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 54.75 Years, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More health data for Rwanda
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.08 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.891 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 860.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 2,738 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.9441 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.065 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.9697 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
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
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.