The analysis of the fifth Rwanda Population and Housing Census (RPHC5) indicates that Rwanda’s population was 13,246,394 as of August 2022, showing an inter-censal annual growth rate of 2.3% between 2012 and 2022.
The Rwanda’s population has increased over time, tripling between 1978 (4.8 million) and 2022 (13.2 million). The increase was steady between 1978 and 1991, between 2002 and 2012 as well as between 2012 and 2022 as reflected by the respective average annual growth rates of 3.1%, 2.6% and 2.3%. In contrast, the population growth was slow between 1991 and 2002 (1.2% annually), reflecting the high death toll of the 1990 war and the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.
According to the results presented in map 2, there has been a tremendous population increase (50% or above) in many sectors of the City of Kigali and in some sectors of districts bordering the City of Kigali such as Kamonyi, Bugesera, Rwamagana and Rulindo. Nyagatare and Kayonza also have important number of sectors where the population increased by 50% or more between 2012 and 2022.