Rwanda: Expense (% of GDP)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 0.69 percentage points from 18.66% in 2018. Since 1990 it is up 5.31 percentage points from 12.66% in 1990. The World Bank has no value for 21 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2023, Rwanda's expense (% of GDP) fell 0.97 percentage points on 2022 (from 18.95% to 17.97%).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2022), the average change was +0.36 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.21 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.48 percentage points in 1992 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.03 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 23% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2023, Rwanda had the 68th highest value of the 80 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 2023 ranking

• Paraguay — 64th of 80: 18.95%
• Dominican Republic — 65th of 80: 18.07%
• Sri Lanka — 66th of 80: 18.04%
• Côte d'Ivoire — 68th of 80: 17.88%
• Kazakhstan — 69th of 80: 17.45%
• Singapore — 70th of 80: 17.11%

What this measures

Expense is a decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

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

All 13 values

Expense (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 14.57% (2019)
• Botswana — 26.53% (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 19.58% (2023)
• Burundi — 12.26% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 30.88% (2020)
• Cameroon — 12.42% (2021)
• Central African Republic — 11.66% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 12.45% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 16.13% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 17.88% (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea — 11.05% (2022)
• Eswatini

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)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.7% (2020)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 1.5 trillion (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 33.97% (2024)
• Social contributions (current LCU)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Rwanda's expense (% of GDP)?

17.97% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 5.31 percentage points from 12.66% in 1990. The highest value was 20.89% in 2020 and the lowest 12.48% in 1991.

How does Rwanda rank?

68th highest of 80 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in expense (% of GDP) unusual for Rwanda?

In 2023, Rwanda's expense (% of GDP) fell 0.97 percentage points on 2022 (from 18.95% to 17.97%). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2022), the average change was +0.36 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.21 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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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