Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Rwanda
Rwanda: Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality was 0.1462 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Rwanda, 1950–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Rwanda recorded 0.1462 for life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
The figure is down 1.4% on the previous year and down 15.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Rwanda peaked at 0.4801 in 1994 and was at its lowest, 0.1462, in 2023.
That places Rwanda 53rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.4083 | — |
| 1951 | 0.4053 | -0.7% |
| 1952 | 0.4025 | -0.7% |
| 1953 | 0.3995 | -0.7% |
| 1954 | 0.396 | -0.9% |
| 1955 | 0.3922 | -1.0% |
| 1956 | 0.3882 | -1.0% |
| 1957 | 0.3838 | -1.1% |
| 1958 | 0.379 | -1.2% |
| 1959 | 0.374 | -1.3% |
| 1960 | 0.369 | -1.3% |
| 1961 | 0.3645 | -1.2% |
| 1962 | 0.3607 | -1.0% |
| 1963 | 0.3863 | +7.1% |
| 1964 | 0.3568 | -7.6% |
| 1965 | 0.3563 | -0.1% |
| 1966 | 0.3572 | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 0.3585 | +0.3% |
| 1968 | 0.3606 | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 0.3635 | +0.8% |
| 1970 | 0.3673 | +1.0% |
| 1971 | 0.3715 | +1.1% |
| 1972 | 0.3761 | +1.2% |
| 1973 | 0.3812 | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 0.386 | +1.3% |
| 1975 | 0.3892 | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 0.3898 | +0.1% |
| 1977 | 0.3872 | -0.7% |
| 1978 | 0.3808 | -1.7% |
| 1979 | 0.3701 | -2.8% |
| 1980 | 0.358 | -3.3% |
| 1981 | 0.3442 | -3.9% |
| 1982 | 0.3315 | -3.7% |
| 1983 | 0.3206 | -3.3% |
| 1984 | 0.3121 | -2.6% |
| 1985 | 0.3059 | -2.0% |
| 1986 | 0.3022 | -1.2% |
| 1987 | 0.3012 | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 0.303 | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 0.3079 | +1.6% |
| 1990 | 0.3161 | +2.6% |
| 1991 | 0.3258 | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 0.3389 | +4.0% |
| 1993 | 0.3524 | +4.0% |
| 1994 | 0.4801 | +36.2% |
| 1995 | 0.3752 | -21.8% |
| 1996 | 0.3729 | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 0.3748 | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 0.3643 | -2.8% |
| 1999 | 0.3508 | -3.7% |
| 2000 | 0.3342 | -4.7% |
| 2001 | 0.3164 | -5.3% |
| 2002 | 0.3014 | -4.7% |
| 2003 | 0.28 | -7.1% |
| 2004 | 0.2612 | -6.7% |
| 2005 | 0.245 | -6.2% |
| 2006 | 0.2306 | -5.9% |
| 2007 | 0.2188 | -5.1% |
| 2008 | 0.2067 | -5.6% |
| 2009 | 0.1967 | -4.8% |
| 2010 | 0.1896 | -3.6% |
| 2011 | 0.1826 | -3.7% |
| 2012 | 0.1769 | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 0.1722 | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 0.1681 | -2.4% |
| 2015 | 0.1647 | -2.0% |
| 2016 | 0.1618 | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 0.1595 | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 0.1571 | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 0.1547 | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 0.1527 | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 0.1514 | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 0.1483 | -2.1% |
| 2023 | 0.1462 | -1.4% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 0.1462 is below the median for low income countries, which is 0.184, 79% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 0.1462 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.1766, 83% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Rwanda changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | +36.2% | 0.3524 | 0.4801 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.3929 | 0.374 | 0.4083 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.3633 | 0.3563 | 0.3863 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.3799 | 0.3673 | 0.3898 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3187 | 0.3012 | 0.358 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3651 | 0.3161 | 0.4801 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2591 | 0.1967 | 0.3342 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1687 | 0.1547 | 0.1896 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1497 | 0.1462 | 0.1527 | 4 |
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 life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Rwanda?
- Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality in Rwanda was 0.1462 in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy versus lifespan inequality recorded in Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 0.4801 in 1994.
- What is the lowest life expectancy versus lifespan inequality recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1462 in 2023.
- How does Rwanda rank for life expectancy versus lifespan inequality?
- Rwanda ranks 53rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy versus lifespan inequality rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Rwanda data come from?
- The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy versus lifespan inequality. 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
Level of inequality in lifespans, measured between 0 and 1.