Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Rwanda

Rwanda: Share of land covered by lakes and rivers was 5.8% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
5.8%
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
11th
of 208 countries
All-time high
5.8%
in 2022
All-time low
3.1%
in 2000
Years of data
23
2000–2022

Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Rwanda, 2000–2022

02462000201120222000: 3.1 %2001: 3.1 %2002: 4 %2003: 5 %2004: 5.7 %2005: 5.7 %2006: 5.7 %2007: 5.7 %2008: 5.7 %2009: 5.7 %2010: 5.7 %2011: 5.7 %2012: 5.7 %2013: 5.7 %2014: 5.7 %2015: 5.7 %2016: 5.7 %2017: 5.7 %2018: 5.7 %2019: 5.7 %2020: 5.8 %2021: 5.8 %2022: 5.8 %

Source: UN Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2022, share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Rwanda stood at 5.8%. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Rwanda peaked at 5.8% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 3.1%, in 2000.

Rwanda ranks 11th of 208 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Rwanda, year by year

Annual values for Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Rwanda, 2000 to 2022.
Year % Change
2000 3.1% —
2001 3.1% +2.9%
2002 4.0% +27.9%
2003 5.0% +23.8%
2004 5.7% +13.4%
2005 5.7% +0.0%
2006 5.7% +0.0%
2007 5.7% +0.0%
2008 5.7% +0.0%
2009 5.7% +0.2%
2010 5.7% +0.0%
2011 5.7% +0.0%
2012 5.7% +0.2%
2013 5.7% +0.2%
2014 5.7% +0.2%
2015 5.7% +0.2%
2016 5.7% +0.2%
2017 5.7% +0.2%
2018 5.7% +0.0%
2019 5.7% +0.2%
2020 5.8% +0.2%
2021 5.8% +0.0%
2022 5.8% +0.2%

Rwanda compared with similar countries

  • Rwanda's 5.8% is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.1%, 44.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Rwanda's 5.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.1%, 52.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Share of land covered by lakes and rivers 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.

YearChange FromTo
2002 +27.9% 3.1% 4.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.9% 3.1% 5.7% 10
2010s 5.7% 5.7% 5.7% 10
2020s 5.8% 5.8% 5.8% 3

Countries ranked near Rwanda

  1. 8 Nicaragua 7.2% compare
  2. 9 Burundi 7.0% compare
  3. 10 Finland 6.6% compare
  4. 12 Kazakhstan 5.7% compare
  5. 13 Estonia 4.5% compare
  6. 14 Armenia 4.4% compare

See the full ranking of 208 places →

More reference data data for Rwanda

All data for Rwanda →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Rwanda?
Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Rwanda was 5.8% in 2022, according to UN Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of land covered by lakes and rivers recorded in Rwanda?
The highest recorded value was 5.8% in 2022.
What is the lowest share of land covered by lakes and rivers recorded in Rwanda?
The lowest recorded value was 3.1% in 2000.
How does Rwanda rank for share of land covered by lakes and rivers?
Rwanda ranks 11th out of 208 countries with data for 2022.
Is share of land covered by lakes and rivers rising or falling in Rwanda?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Rwanda data come from?
The figures come from UN Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land covered by lakes and rivers. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Rwanda. Statizoid, drawing on UN Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-land-covered-by-lakes-and-rivers/rwanda/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of land covered by lakes and rivers
Unit
%
Source
UN Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
208 places, 4,784 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed

Lakes and rivers permanent water area (% of total land area).