Rwanda: Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Rwanda's armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) fell 0.07 percentage points on 2019 (from 0.78% to 0.7%).

Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2019), the average change was +0.04 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.45 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.33 percentage points in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.79 percentage points in 1996. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.02 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 97% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 0.65% for 2023. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2018 to 2020 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.02%, against 0.05% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2020, Rwanda had the 95th highest value of the 168 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Rwanda in the 2020 ranking

• Tajikistan — 91st of 168: 0.75%
• Kazakhstan — 92nd of 168: 0.74%
• Malta — 93rd of 168: 0.73%
• Barbados — 95th of 168: 0.69%
• Slovenia — 96th of 168: 0.68%
• Slovak Republic — 97th of 168: 0.67%

What this measures

Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if the training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces. Labor force comprises all people who meet the International Labour Organization's definition of the economically active population.

Limitations: Data exclude personnel not on active duty, therefore they underestimate the share of the labor force working for the defense establishment. Governments rarely report the size of their armed forces, so such data typically come from intelligence sources. Unless otherwise indicated, reserves includes all reservists committed to rejoining the armed forces in an emergency, except when national reserve service obligations following conscription last almost a lifetime.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 30 values

Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0.87% (2020)
• Benin — 0.21% (2020)
• Botswana — 0.92% (2020)
• Burkina Faso — 0.12% (2020)
• Burundi — 0.59% (2020)
• Cabo Verde — 0.51% (2020)
• Cameroon — 0.34% (2020)
• Central African Republic — 0.54% (2020)
• Chad — 0.85% (2020)
• Congo, Dem. Rep.

More public sector data for Rwanda

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 191.19 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 273.65 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.29% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 37 million (2023)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 4.7% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 35,000 (2020)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 1.5 trillion (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 33.97% (2024)
• Social contributions (current LCU) — 388.33 billion (2024)
• Social contributions (% of revenue)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Rwanda's armed forces personnel (% of total labor force)?

0.7% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 0.45 percentage points from 0.25% in 1990. The highest value was 2.82% in 2001 and the lowest 0.25% in 1990.

How does Rwanda rank?

95th highest of 168 economies with data for 2020.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.TF.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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