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

Health

be 91.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Swaziland, 23.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Rwanda, that number is 2.0% of people as of 2024.

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live 3.8 years longer

In Swaziland, the average life expectancy is 64 years (61 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2024. In Rwanda, that number is 68 years (66 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 81.1% less likely to be obese

In Swaziland, 29.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Rwanda, that number is 5.6% of people as of 2024.

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be 68.1% less likely to die by suicide

Swaziland has a suicide rate of 27.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Rwanda, it is 8.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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see 80.8% less spent on your healthcare

Swaziland spends $922 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Rwanda spends $177 as of 2023.

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have 83.8% fewer doctors per person

Swaziland has 5.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Rwanda has 0.9 as of 2022.

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have 12.5% less access to essential health services

Swaziland scores 56 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Rwanda scores 49 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 66.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Swaziland, 34.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Rwanda, that number is 11.4% as of 2025.

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be 48.8% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Swaziland, 53.5% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Rwanda, however, that number is 27.4% as of 2023.

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make 72.6% less money

Swaziland has a GDP per capita of $4,108 as of 2025, while in Rwanda, the GDP per capita is $1,124 as of 2025.

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Life

be 30.3% less likely to die during infancy

In Swaziland, approximately 42.2 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.

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have 18.6% more children

In Swaziland, there are approximately 23.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Rwanda, there are 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 94.1% more likely to die during childbirth

In Swaziland, approximately 118.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Rwanda, 229.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 13.2% less likely to be literate

In Swaziland, the literacy rate is 90.8% as of 2022. In Rwanda, it is 78.8% as of 2022.

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Basic Needs

be 26.0% less likely to have access to electricity

In Swaziland, approximately 86% of people have electricity access (91% in urban areas, and 85% 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.

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be 50.0% less likely to have internet access

In Swaziland, approximately 63.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Rwanda, about 31.7% do as of 2024.

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be 23.6% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Swaziland, approximately 80% of people have access to drinking water (98% in urban areas, and 74% 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.

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Expenditures

spend 23.5% less on education

Swaziland spends 6.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Rwanda spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.

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spend 31.6% less on healthcare

Swaziland spends 7.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Rwanda, that number is 5.1% of GDP as of 2023.

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Safety

be 71.1% less likely to be murdered

Swaziland has a homicide rate of 12.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Rwanda, that number is 3.6 per 100,000 as of 2020.

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be 53.0% less likely to die in a road accident

In Swaziland, road accidents kill 24.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Rwanda, they kill 11.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 74.0% less strain on fresh water

Swaziland withdraws 78% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Rwanda withdraws 20% as of 2022.

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find 76.1% less home broadband

Swaziland has 2.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Rwanda has 0.6 as of 2024.

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use 93.6% less electricity

Swaziland uses 1,200 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Rwanda uses 77 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

emit 81.8% less CO2

Swaziland emits 0.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Rwanda emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (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.
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