Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Rwanda instead of Virgin Islands, you would:

Health

live 12.8 years less

In Virgin Islands, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 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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Economy

make 97.5% less money

Virgin Islands has a GDP per capita of $44,321 as of 2022, while in Rwanda, the GDP per capita is $1,124 as of 2025.

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Life

have 2.5 times more children

In Virgin Islands, there are approximately 11.1 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 3.8 times more likely to die during infancy

In Virgin Islands, approximately 7.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Rwanda, on the other hand, 29.4 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 36.1% less likely to have access to electricity

In Virgin Islands, 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.

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be 51.1% less likely to have internet access

In Virgin Islands, approximately 64.8% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Rwanda, about 31.7% do as of 2024.

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be 38.3% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Virgin Islands, approximately 99% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Rwanda, 61% of people do as of 2024.

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Infrastructure

find 94.0% less home broadband

Virgin Islands has 10.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Rwanda has 0.6 as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this

Compare further: Virgin Islands vs. Rwanda

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Rwanda is 70.5% cheaper than Virgin Islands overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
Virgin Islands is about 14 times smaller than Rwanda.
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Moving from Virgin Islands to Rwanda · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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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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How big is Rwanda compared to Virgin Islands? See an in-depth size comparison.

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