Key facts

Population: 8.9 million (census projection, 2000).
Average life expectancy: 44 (Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), 2005). UK: 78 years (UN Statistics Division (UNSD), 2007).
Average per capita income: US$250 (World Development Indicators (WDI), 2007). UK: US$33,800 (purchasing power parity (PPP)) (WDI), 2007).
Gross national income (GNI) : US$2.5 billion (WDI, 2007).
Average annual growth rate: 8% (WDI, 2007).
Percentage of people not meeting daily food needs: 60% below national poverty line (UN Statistics Division, 2000).
Women dying in childbirth: 750 per 100,000 (DHS, 2005). UK: 13 per 100,000 (UNSD, 2007).
Children dying before age 5: 103 per 1,000 live births (Interim DHS, 2008). UK: 6 per 1,000 (UNSD, 2005).
Percentage of children receiving primary school education: 95% (Ministry of Education, 2007).
Percentage of people aged 15-49 living with HIV/AIDS: 3% (DHS, 2005).UK: 0.2% (UNSD, 2005).
Percentage of people with access to safe, clean water: 73% (DHS, 2005).
Total UK aid received (2008/09): £70.5m (Source: Statistics for International Development 2009)

Progress toward the Millennium Development Goals

MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
A combination of good rainfall and a strengthened government focus on the agricultural sector during 2007/08 resulted in greatly improved agricultural performance. That is expected to continue in 2009.

Agricultural growth will continue to be important for reducing poverty. In addition to supporting the government’s policies for agricultural growth, DFID also supports business environment reform and improved access to financial services by the poor, which are fundamental for increased private sector investment, growth, job creation and poverty reduction.

Poverty levels have declined from 70% in 1994 to 57% in 2006/07.

MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education

Rwanda is well on track to achieving universal primary education, with a 94% enrolment rate for both boys and girls.

DFID has paid for the education costs of over 2.4 million children in primary and lower secondary schools, helped to recruit almost 2,000 additional teachers, constructed over 2,300 classrooms and provided more than seven million textbooks.

The department has also helped encourage other donors increase education funding, notably through its partnerships with the Dutch and Canadian governments.

MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
DFID has put the gender equality and the empowerment of women at the centre of all major development programmes in Rwanda.

It has increased land tenure security for women as well as men, improved access to appropriate financial services for rural women, and promoted the reduction of maternal mortality in its health sector support programme.

An emphasis on gender in our education sector support encourages more girls to stay on at school. DFID offers small material incentives for some children to attend primary school and reserves more places at secondary school for girls.

MDG 4: Reduce child mortality
DFID supports the development of better health facilities for the poorest in Rwanda by contributing both to the national budget and that of the Ministry of Health. It also encourages government and other donors to coordinate spending on health.

Health indicators in Rwanda are now steadily improving.

The child mortality rate has fallen from 86 per 1,000 live births in 2005 to 62 per 1,000 in 2008. DFID is working with the government to target under-5 mortality, which still remains very high at 152 per 1,000 live births.

MDG 5: Improve maternal health
The percentage of women between 15 and 49 years using modern contraceptive methods has increased from 10% in 2006 to 27% in 2008.

Assisted deliveries have increased from 39% of all deliveries in 2005 to 62% in 2009.

DFID is working with the government to target maternal mortality which still remains very high at 750 per 100,000.

MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
The national HIV/AIDS prevalence rate has been estimated to be about 3%.

DFID is spending £4.25 million during 2005-2010 for the provision of care and treatment that will improve the lives of 2,500 women genocide survivors living with HIV/AIDS and 10,000 of their dependants.

DFID is helping to develop a Health Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) that aims to encourage both government and its development partners - including NGOs - to work together more closely in implementing the government’s national health plans. In this way the efficiency and impact of healthcare will be increased.

MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
With over nine million people living in an area the size of Wales, the land in Rwanda is under tremendous pressure.

DFID, along with other partners, is helping to introduce better ways of managing that land.

Rice yields have been increased, terraces have been built to stop hillside erosion, new breeds of high productivity cattle have been introduced.

DFID, in partnership with the World Bank, has helped the Rwandan government to implement measures to improve the water supply in rural areas.

MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development
The percentage of Rwanda’s exports and net income from abroad being used to service its debt decreased from a high of 39% in 1999 to 7.4% in 2005.

Last updated: 01 Apr 2009

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