If you lived in Rwanda instead of Russia, you would:

Health

be 68.3% less likely to be obese

In Russia, 17.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Rwanda, that number is 5.6% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 59.4% less likely to die by suicide

Russia has a suicide rate of 21.4 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Rwanda, it is 8.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

live 5.4 years less

In Russia, the average life expectancy is 73 years (68 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024. In Rwanda, that number is 68 years (66 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 94.5% less spent on your healthcare

Russia spends $3,204 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Rwanda spends $177 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 98.2% fewer doctors per person

Russia has 51.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Rwanda has 0.9 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

have 38.0% less access to essential health services

Russia scores 79 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Rwanda scores 49 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 5.3 times more likely to be unemployed

In Russia, 2.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Rwanda, that number is 11.4% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

be 3.8 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Russia, 7.2% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In Rwanda, however, that number is 27.4% as of 2023.

View global rankings →

make 93.6% less money

Russia has a GDP per capita of $17,547 as of 2025, while in Rwanda, the GDP per capita is $1,124 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

have 3.3 times more children

In Russia, there are approximately 8.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Rwanda, there are 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 25.4 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Russia, approximately 9.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Rwanda, 229.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 21.2% less likely to be literate

In Russia, the literacy rate is 99.9% as of 2021. In Rwanda, it is 78.8% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

be 7.2 times more likely to die during infancy

In Russia, approximately 4.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Rwanda, on the other hand, 29.4 children do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 36.1% less likely to have access to electricity

In Russia, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Rwanda, that number is 64% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 58% in rural areas) as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 66.4% less likely to have internet access

In Russia, approximately 94.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Rwanda, about 31.7% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 36.6% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Russia, approximately 97% of people have access to drinking water (99% in urban areas, and 90% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Rwanda, that number is 61% of people on average (88% in urban areas, and 56% in rural areas) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 27.1% less on healthcare

Russia spends 7.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Rwanda, that number is 5.1% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

spend 10.8% more on education

Russia spends 4.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Rwanda spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 46.7% less likely to be murdered

Russia has a homicide rate of 6.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Rwanda, that number is 3.6 per 100,000 as of 2020.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 97.8% less home broadband

Russia has 27.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Rwanda has 0.6 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live with 4.9 times more strain on fresh water

Russia withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Rwanda withdraws 20% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

use 98.9% less electricity

Russia uses 7,285 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Rwanda uses 77 kWh as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Environment

emit 98.9% less CO2

Russia emits 14.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Rwanda emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 59.0% more likely to die from air pollution

In Russia, air pollution causes 39.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Rwanda, it causes 62.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Rwanda: At a glance

Rwanda is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 24,668 sq km. In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in a state-orchestrated genocide, in which Rwandans killed up to a million of their fellow citizens, including approximately three-quarters of the Tutsi population. The genocide ended later that same year when the predominantly Tutsi RPF, operating out of Uganda and northern Rwanda, defeated the national army and Hutu militias, and established an RPF-led government of national unity. Approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and former Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but several thousand remained in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, the former Zaire) and formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF did in 1990. Rwanda held its first local elections in 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in 2003. Rwanda in 2009 staged a joint military operation with the Congolese Army in DRC to rout out the Hutu extremist insurgency there, and Kigali and Kinshasa restored diplomatic relations. Rwanda also joined the Commonwealth in late 2009. In January 2013, Rwanda assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2013-14 term.
Read more

How big is Rwanda compared to Russia? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Rwanda or Russia. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.