Economy of Rwanda

Economy of Rwanda
	Kigali, the financial centre of Rwanda
Currency	Rwandan franc (RWF, FRw)
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organisations	AU, AfCFTA, EAC, COMESA, WTO
Country group	Least developed country; Low-income economy;
Statistics
Population	13,798,561 (2024 proj.)
GDP	$14.77 billion (nominal; 2025 est.); $58.12 billion (PPP; 2025 est.);
GDP rank	140th (nominal, 2024); 132nd (PPP, 2024);
GDP growth	8.2% (2022); 8.3% (2023); 8.9% (2024); 7.1% (2025); 7.5% (2026f); 7.4% (2027f);
GDP per capita	$1,040 (nominal, 2025 est.); $4,100 (PPP, 2025.);
GDP per capita rank	173rd (nominal, 2024); 163rd (PPP, 2024);
GDP by sector	Agriculture: 27.1%; Industry: 21.5%; Services: 44.3% (2023 est.);
Inflation (CPI)	6.3% (2025 est.)
Population below poverty line	38.2% (2016 est.); 52% on less than $1.90/day (2016 est.);
Gini coefficient	39.4 medium (2023)
Human Development Index	0.578 medium (2023) (165th); 0.399 low IHDI (2023);
Labour force	5,258,826 (2023); 64.1% employment rate (Q3, 2024);
Labour force by occupation	Agriculture: 75.3%; Industry: 6.7%; Services: 18% (2012 est.);
Unemployment	15.3% (Q3, 2024)
Main industries	Cement, agricultural products, small-scale beverages, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes
External
Exports	$3.509 billion (2023 est.)
Export goods	Gold, tin ores, coffee, malt extract, rare earth ores
Main export partners	UAE 32%; Democratic Republic of the Congo 25%; Thailand 5%; US 3%; Ethiopia 3%; (2022);
Imports	$5.783 billion (2023 est.)
Import goods	Refined petroleum, gold, palm oil, rice, raw sugar
Main import partners	China 19%; Tanzania 11%; Kenya 10%; UAE 10%; India 7%; (2022);
FDI stock	$2.378 billion (31 December 2017 est.); Abroad: $113.2 million (31 December 2017 est.);
Current account	−$1.654 billion (2023 est.)
Gross external debt	$4.254 billion (2022 est.)
Public finances
Government debt	73.2% of GDP (2025 est.)
Foreign reserves	$1.834 billion (2023 est.)
Budget balance	−13.8% (of GDP) (2024 est.)
Revenues	2.676 billion (2020 est.)
Expenses	2.191 billion (2020 est.)
Economic aid	Recipient: $285 Million (2015)
Credit rating	S&P Global Ratings:; B+/B; Outlook: Stable; Moody's:; B2; Outlook: Stable; Fitch:; B+; Outlook: Negative;
	All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Rwanda is a frontier developmental state (low income) based on services, agriculture and industry. It has been described as undergoing early industrialisation due to newer government policies. It has a mixed economy. Since the early-2000s, Rwanda has witnessed an economic boom, which improved the living standards of many Rwandans. The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, has noted his ambition to make Rwanda the "Singapore of Africa". The industrial sector is growing, contributing 16% of GDP in 2012.