Democracy in Rwanda
Rwanda: Democracy was 1 in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Rwanda, 1961–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Rwanda recorded 1 for democracy in 2018. That is the highest value across all 58 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Rwanda peaked at 1 in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1973.
Rwanda ranks 98th of 167 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.3 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
- 98 Afghanistan 1 compare
- 98 Algeria 1 compare
- 98 Angola 1 compare
- 98 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 compare
- 98 Burundi 1 compare
- 98 Cambodia 1 compare
- 98 Cameroon 1 compare
- 98 Chad 1 compare
- 98 Comoros 1 compare
- 98 Congo 1 compare
- 98 Cote d'Ivoire 1 compare
- 98 Cuba 1 compare
- 98 Democratic Republic of Congo 1 compare
- 98 Djibouti 1 compare
- 98 Ecuador 1 compare
- 98 Egypt 1 compare
- 98 Ethiopia 1 compare
- 98 Fiji 1 compare
- 98 Gabon 1 compare
- 98 Gambia 1 compare
- 98 Guinea 1 compare
- 98 Haiti 1 compare
- 98 Jordan 1 compare
- 98 Libya 1 compare
- 98 Mali 1 compare
- 98 Mauritania 1 compare
- 98 Morocco 1 compare
- 98 Mozambique 1 compare
- 98 Niger 1 compare
- 98 Papua New Guinea 1 compare
- 98 Russia 1 compare
- 98 Singapore 1 compare
- 98 Somalia 1 compare
- 98 South Sudan 1 compare
- 98 Sudan 1 compare
- 98 Suriname 1 compare
- 98 Tajikistan 1 compare
- 98 Tanzania 1 compare
- 98 Thailand 1 compare
- 98 Togo 1 compare
- 98 Turkey 1 compare
- 98 Uganda 1 compare
- 98 Ukraine 1 compare
- 98 United States 1 compare
- 98 Venezuela 1 compare
- 98 Yemen 1 compare
- 98 Zimbabwe 1 compare
More reference data data for Rwanda
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.1214 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.9964 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.03 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.9131 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.3611 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 251.19 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Rwanda?
- Democracy in Rwanda was 1 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 1961.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1973.
- How does Rwanda rank for democracy?
- Rwanda ranks 98th out of 167 countries with data for 2018.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Rwanda data come from?
- The figures come from Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 58 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country using the Polity 5 data by the Center for Systemic Peace. It distinguishes between autocracies (score 0), anocracies (score 1), and democracies (score 2).