Rwanda Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Rwanda vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	Rwanda	World
1960	15.5	22.5
1961	15.1	22.5
1962	14.9	22.4
1963	14.8	22.2
1964	14.7	22
1965	14.8	21.8
1966	14.9	21.7
1967	15.1	21.6
1968	15.3	21.5
1969	15.5	21.5
1970	15.7	21.4
1971	15.9	21.4
1972	16	21.5
1973	16.2	21.5
1974	16.3	21.6
1975	16.4	21.7
1976	16.5	21.9
1977	16.6	22
1978	16.6	22.2
1979	16.5	22.3
1980	16.5	22.5
1981	16.4	22.6
1982	16.2	22.7
1983	16.1	22.9
1984	16	23
1985	15.8	23.2
1986	15.7	23.3
1987	15.6	23.4
1988	15.6	23.6
1989	15.5	23.8
1990	15.5	23.9
1991	15.5	24.1
1992	15.6	24.3
1993	15.7	24.5
1994	15	24.7
1995	14.3	25
1996	14.6	25.2
1997	14.8	25.4
1998	15.3	25.7
1999	15.8	25.9
2000	16.3	26.1
2001	16.8	26.3
2002	17.1	26.5
2003	17.4	26.7
2004	17.6	27
2005	17.8	27.2
2006	18	27.4
2007	18.1	27.6
2008	18.3	27.8
2009	18.4	28
2010	18.5	28.2
2011	18.7	28.4
2012	18.8	28.6
2013	19	28.9
2014	19.1	29.1
2015	19.3	29.3
2016	19.4	29.5
2017	19.6	29.8
2018	19.7	30
2019	19.8	30.3
2020	19.9	30.6
2021	20	30.8
2022	20.3	31
2023	20.5	31.3
2024	20.8	31.6
2025	20.9	31.9
2026	21.2	32.1
2027	21.5	32.3
2028	21.8	32.6
2029	22	32.8
2030	22.2	33
2031	22.5	33.2
2032	22.7	33.4
2033	22.9	33.6
2034	23.1	33.8
2035	23.3	34
2036	23.5	34.2
2037	23.7	34.4
2038	23.9	34.6
2039	24.2	34.8
2040	24.4	35
2041	24.7	35.2
2042	24.9	35.4
2043	25.1	35.6
2044	25.4	35.8
2045	25.6	36
2046	25.8	36.2
2047	26.1	36.4
2048	26.3	36.6
2049	26.6	36.8
2050	26.8	37.1

In 1960, the median age in Rwanda was 15.5 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 20.8 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 193rd for median age 64 years ago (old to young), Rwanda ranks 160th currently.

According to the United Nations projections, the median age in Rwanda is expected to increase to around 26.8 years by 2050. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Rwanda demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Rwanda
	Male	Female
0-4	6.71%	6.58%
5-9	6.31%	6.26%
10-14	5.76%	5.75%
15-19	5.57%	5.6%
20-24	4.68%	4.85%
25-29	3.75%	3.88%
30-34	3.44%	3.55%
35-39	3.14%	3.29%
40-44	2.71%	2.89%
45-49	1.82%	2.14%
50-54	1.3%	1.6%
55-59	1.06%	1.29%
60-64	0.94%	1.21%
65-69	0.74%	0.99%
70-74	0.46%	0.66%
75-79	0.24%	0.39%
80+	0.16%	0.3%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. Rwanda has average demographic potential with 72.7% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 38/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Rwanda			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	109.7%	103.2%	6.48%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	112%	105.5%	6.54%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	114.1%	107.5%	6.61%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	116%	109.3%	6.67%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	116.9%	110.2%	6.69%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	115.9%	109.3%	6.62%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	114%	107.5%	6.5%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	111.6%	105.2%	6.35%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	109%	102.8%	6.18%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	106.7%	100.7%	6.03%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	104.6%	98.7%	5.88%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	102.8%	97%	5.75%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	101.2%	95.6%	5.63%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	99.7%	94.2%	5.53%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	98.5%	93%	5.44%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	97.4%	92%	5.34%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	96.5%	91.3%	5.24%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	96.1%	90.9%	5.15%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	96.1%	91%	5.08%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	96.4%	91.4%	5%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	97.1%	92.2%	4.93%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	98.1%	93.3%	4.85%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	99.2%	94.4%	4.77%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	100.3%	95.6%	4.69%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	101.4%	96.8%	4.64%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	102.5%	97.9%	4.61%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	103.4%	98.8%	4.6%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	104.1%	99.5%	4.61%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	104.6%	100%	4.63%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	104.9%	100.2%	4.66%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	105.2%	100.5%	4.69%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	105.1%	100.4%	4.73%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	104.2%	99.5%	4.73%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	103%	98.3%	4.71%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	109.4%	104.9%	4.46%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	118.5%	114.4%	4.03%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	114%	110%	3.93%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	109.7%	105.9%	3.83%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	104.6%	100.8%	3.85%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	99.2%	95.2%	4%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	94.5%	90.3%	4.17%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	90.5%	86.2%	4.37%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	87.8%	83.2%	4.57%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	86%	81.3%	4.68%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	84.8%	80.1%	4.73%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	84.1%	79.3%	4.78%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	83.7%	78.9%	4.83%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	83.5%	78.6%	4.88%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	83.3%	78.4%	4.93%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	82.9%	78%	4.96%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	82.3%	77.3%	4.99%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	81.6%	76.6%	5.01%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	80.8%	75.8%	5.05%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	80.2%	75%	5.11%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	79.5%	74.3%	5.19%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	78.9%	73.6%	5.3%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	78.2%	72.8%	5.43%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	77.5%	71.9%	5.58%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	76.6%	70.9%	5.73%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	75.5%	69.6%	5.89%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	74.3%	68.3%	6.06%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	73.1%	66.9%	6.24%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	72.1%	65.6%	6.4%	54%	39%	15%
2023	71.1%	64.6%	6.54%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	70.3%	63.6%	6.69%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64. Age dependency in Rwanda decreased from 84.8% to 70.3% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

Rwanda working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Rwanda	World
1960	47.7%	57.6%
1961	47.2%	57.5%
1962	46.7%	57.4%
1963	46.3%	57.2%
1964	46.1%	57%
1965	46.3%	56.9%
1966	46.7%	56.8%
1967	47.3%	56.9%
1968	47.8%	56.9%
1969	48.4%	56.9%
1970	48.9%	57%
1971	49.3%	57.1%
1972	49.7%	57.2%
1973	50.1%	57.3%
1974	50.4%	57.3%
1975	50.7%	57.4%
1976	50.9%	57.5%
1977	51%	57.7%
1978	51%	58%
1979	50.9%	58.4%
1980	50.7%	58.7%
1981	50.5%	59%
1982	50.2%	59.3%
1983	49.9%	59.6%
1984	49.6%	59.9%
1985	49.4%	60.1%
1986	49.2%	60.4%
1987	49%	60.5%
1988	48.9%	60.7%
1989	48.8%	60.8%
1990	48.7%	60.9%
1991	48.8%	61%
1992	49%	61.1%
1993	49.3%	61.2%
1994	47.8%	61.3%
1995	45.8%	61.5%
1996	46.7%	61.7%
1997	47.7%	61.9%
1998	48.9%	62.2%
1999	50.2%	62.5%
2000	51.4%	62.8%
2001	52.5%	63.1%
2002	53.3%	63.4%
2003	53.8%	63.7%
2004	54.1%	64%
2005	54.3%	64.3%
2006	54.4%	64.5%
2007	54.5%	64.7%
2008	54.5%	64.9%
2009	54.7%	65%
2010	54.8%	65.1%
2011	55.1%	65.2%
2012	55.3%	65.2%
2013	55.5%	65.2%
2014	55.7%	65.2%
2015	55.9%	65.1%
2016	56.1%	65.1%
2017	56.3%	65%
2018	56.6%	64.9%
2019	57%	64.9%
2020	57.4%	64.8%
2021	57.8%	64.9%
2022	58.1%	64.9%
2023	58.4%	65%
2024	58.7%	65.1%
2025	59%	65.2%
2026	59.2%	65.3%
2027	59.5%	65.4%
2028	59.7%	65.4%
2029	60.1%	65.4%
2030	60.4%	65.4%
2031	60.7%	65.4%
2032	61%	65.4%
2033	61.3%	65.4%
2034	61.6%	65.3%
2035	61.9%	65.2%
2036	62.2%	65%
2037	62.5%	64.9%
2038	62.7%	64.7%
2039	63%	64.6%
2040	63.2%	64.5%
2041	63.5%	64.4%
2042	63.7%	64.3%
2043	63.8%	64.2%
2044	63.9%	64.1%
2045	64%	63.9%
2046	64.1%	63.8%
2047	64.2%	63.7%
2048	64.3%	63.6%
2049	64.4%	63.4%
2050	64.5%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in Rwanda changed from 54.1% to 58.7% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	Rwanda	World
1960	49.2%	37.4%
1961	49.7%	37.5%
1962	50.2%	37.6%
1963	50.6%	37.8%
1964	50.8%	38%
1965	50.6%	38%
1966	50.2%	38%
1967	49.7%	38%
1968	49.2%	37.9%
1969	48.7%	37.8%
1970	48.2%	37.7%
1971	47.9%	37.6%
1972	47.5%	37.5%
1973	47.2%	37.3%
1974	46.9%	37.2%
1975	46.6%	37.1%
1976	46.4%	36.9%
1977	46.4%	36.7%
1978	46.4%	36.3%
1979	46.5%	35.9%
1980	46.8%	35.5%
1981	47.1%	35.2%
1982	47.4%	34.9%
1983	47.7%	34.6%
1984	48.1%	34.3%
1985	48.3%	34%
1986	48.6%	33.8%
1987	48.8%	33.6%
1988	48.9%	33.4%
1989	48.9%	33.2%
1990	49%	33%
1991	48.9%	32.9%
1992	48.7%	32.7%
1993	48.4%	32.5%
1994	50.1%	32.3%
1995	52.4%	32.1%
1996	51.4%	31.8%
1997	50.5%	31.5%
1998	49.2%	31.1%
1999	47.8%	30.8%
2000	46.4%	30.4%
2001	45.2%	30%
2002	44.3%	29.6%
2003	43.7%	29.2%
2004	43.3%	28.8%
2005	43.1%	28.5%
2006	42.9%	28.1%
2007	42.9%	27.9%
2008	42.8%	27.6%
2009	42.6%	27.5%
2010	42.4%	27.3%
2011	42.2%	27.1%
2012	41.9%	27%
2013	41.7%	26.9%
2014	41.4%	26.8%
2015	41.1%	26.6%
2016	40.9%	26.5%
2017	40.5%	26.4%
2018	40.1%	26.2%
2019	39.7%	26%
2020	39.2%	25.8%
2021	38.6%	25.6%
2022	38.2%	25.3%
2023	37.7%	25%
2024	37.4%	24.7%
2025	37%	24.4%
2026	36.7%	24.1%
2027	36.4%	23.8%
2028	36%	23.4%
2029	35.7%	23.1%
2030	35.4%	22.8%
2031	35%	22.6%
2032	34.7%	22.3%
2033	34.4%	22.1%
2034	34.1%	21.9%
2035	33.7%	21.7%
2036	33.4%	21.6%
2037	33.1%	21.5%
2038	32.9%	21.4%
2039	32.6%	21.3%
2040	32.3%	21.2%
2041	32%	21.1%
2042	31.7%	21%
2043	31.4%	21%
2044	31.1%	20.9%
2045	30.8%	20.8%
2046	30.5%	20.7%
2047	30.2%	20.7%
2048	29.9%	20.6%
2049	29.7%	20.5%
2050	29.4%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Rwanda decreased from 43.3% to 37.4% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Rwanda	World
1960	3.09%	4.97%
1961	3.09%	4.99%
1962	3.09%	5.01%
1963	3.09%	5.02%
1964	3.08%	5.04%
1965	3.07%	5.08%
1966	3.04%	5.12%
1967	3%	5.16%
1968	2.96%	5.2%
1969	2.92%	5.24%
1970	2.87%	5.28%
1971	2.84%	5.32%
1972	2.8%	5.37%
1973	2.77%	5.42%
1974	2.74%	5.47%
1975	2.7%	5.53%
1976	2.67%	5.59%
1977	2.63%	5.65%
1978	2.59%	5.71%
1979	2.55%	5.77%
1980	2.5%	5.81%
1981	2.45%	5.81%
1982	2.4%	5.8%
1983	2.34%	5.79%
1984	2.3%	5.8%
1985	2.28%	5.82%
1986	2.26%	5.86%
1987	2.26%	5.91%
1988	2.26%	5.95%
1989	2.27%	6.01%
1990	2.29%	6.07%
1991	2.3%	6.14%
1992	2.32%	6.21%
1993	2.32%	6.29%
1994	2.13%	6.37%
1995	1.84%	6.45%
1996	1.83%	6.53%
1997	1.83%	6.61%
1998	1.88%	6.68%
1999	2.01%	6.76%
2000	2.14%	6.84%
2001	2.29%	6.92%
2002	2.43%	7.01%
2003	2.52%	7.1%
2004	2.56%	7.18%
2005	2.6%	7.26%
2006	2.63%	7.34%
2007	2.66%	7.41%
2008	2.69%	7.47%
2009	2.71%	7.52%
2010	2.74%	7.58%
2011	2.76%	7.66%
2012	2.79%	7.78%
2013	2.84%	7.92%
2014	2.89%	8.08%
2015	2.96%	8.26%
2016	3.05%	8.45%
2017	3.14%	8.65%
2018	3.25%	8.88%
2019	3.36%	9.1%
2020	3.48%	9.33%
2021	3.61%	9.53%
2022	3.72%	9.74%
2023	3.82%	9.98%
2024	3.93%	10.2%
2025	4.02%	10.4%
2026	4.11%	10.6%
2027	4.17%	10.8%
2028	4.21%	11.1%
2029	4.23%	11.5%
2030	4.24%	11.7%
2031	4.24%	12%
2032	4.26%	12.3%
2033	4.28%	12.6%
2034	4.31%	12.8%
2035	4.34%	13.1%
2036	4.37%	13.4%
2037	4.4%	13.7%
2038	4.43%	13.9%
2039	4.46%	14.1%
2040	4.51%	14.3%
2041	4.57%	14.5%
2042	4.67%	14.7%
2043	4.8%	14.9%
2044	4.96%	15%
2045	5.15%	15.2%
2046	5.35%	15.4%
2047	5.56%	15.7%
2048	5.77%	15.9%
2049	5.98%	16.1%
2050	6.19%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in Rwanda increased from 2.56% to 3.93% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.