8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Eastern Africa

Born in Rwanda

About 1 in 334 people born in 2023 started life in Rwanda. A boy can expect to live 66 years and a girl 70, up from 43 and 44 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 61% have basic drinking water.

1 in 334
odds of being born here
395,600 births · Ranked 62nd of 230
66 / 70
years of life, boys / girls
Was 43 / 44 in 1950
$1,787
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 175th of 203 · extrapolated
29%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 25 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 262 in every 1,000 births to 37.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth65.5 years for boys, 69.9 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 536.8 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year83,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.1World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles96%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV2.2%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year62 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year54 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 8.2 children on average in 1950. Now it is 3.7.

Children per woman
02.557.510195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman3.70UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth30.6 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 48 and the poorest fifth 7.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2023
7%Poorest fifth
11%Second
14%Middle
20%Fourth
48%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,787 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth48% / 7% (2023)World Bank PIP
Unemployment12.4% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises19.8% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person6.2% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming52% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed40% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment45% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Kigali, with 1.1 million people.

29%
live in cities
64%
have electricity at home
61%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Kigali1.1 million
Gisenyi172,357
Musanze153,368
Nyagatare100,000
Gitarama87,613
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Kinyarwanda77%
English15%
French6%
Kinyarwanda, English, French is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Kigali1.2 million
Western Province799,211
Southern Province376,543
Northern Province284,205
Eastern Province275,781

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

People on the move

About 3.8% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are DR Congo, Burundi, Uganda.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
DR Congo286,208
Burundi85,969
Uganda79,149
Residents born abroad3.6% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 3.8% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostDR Congo (286,208), Burundi (85,969), Uganda (79,149)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $517.0 million a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

17% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

17%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2023)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20241,468Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19503NOAA NCEI
Deaths in organized violence794,019 between 1990 and 2016UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Rwanda, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Rwanda

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences