Compare
Rwanda vs Zimbabwe
How Rwanda and Zimbabwe compare on 37 measures, from 1820 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, Rwanda was higher: 67.8 years against 62.8 years
- GDP per person · In 2025, Zimbabwe was higher: $1,503 against $1,116
- Population · In 2023, Zimbabwe was higher: 16.3 million people against 14 million people
- Military spending · In 2025, Rwanda was higher: 1.29% of GDP against 0.56% of GDP
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, Zimbabwe was higher: 0.77 tonnes against 0.16 tonnes
Every measure
Health
- Life expectancyRwanda: 67.8 years in 2023Zimbabwe: 62.8 years in 2023
- Child mortalityRwanda: 3.8 per 100 live births in 2024Zimbabwe: 6.5 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityRwanda: 27.5 per 1,000 live births in 2023Zimbabwe: 33.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionRwanda: 3.87% in 2017Zimbabwe: 3.19% in 2017
- Suicide rateRwanda: 11 per 100,000 people in 2017Zimbabwe: 26.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationRwanda: 14 million people in 2023Zimbabwe: 16.3 million people in 2023
- Population growthRwanda: 2.18% a year in 2023Zimbabwe: 1.68% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateRwanda: 3.7 births per woman in 2023Zimbabwe: 3.72 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationRwanda: 30.9% in 2025Zimbabwe: 40.5% in 2025
- Median ageRwanda: 19.4 years in 2023Zimbabwe: 17.8 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overRwanda: 3.8% in 2023Zimbabwe: 3.6% in 2023
- Net migration rateRwanda: -0.6 per 1,000 people in 2023Zimbabwe: -6 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingRwanda: 1.29% of GDP in 2025Zimbabwe: 0.56% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsRwanda: $194M in 2025Zimbabwe: $134M in 2025
- Military spending per personRwanda: $13 in 2025Zimbabwe: $10 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingRwanda: 4.7% of government spending in 2025Zimbabwe: 5.3% of government spending in 2005
- Armed forces personnelRwanda: 35,000 people in 2020Zimbabwe: 51,000 people in 2020
- National powerRwanda: 0.07% of world capability in 2022Zimbabwe: 0.08% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersRwanda: 0.7% of the labour force in 2020Zimbabwe: 0.88% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsRwanda: 37 million TIV in 2023Zimbabwe: 20 million TIV in 2023
Climate
Technology and environment
Each country on its own
Good to know
- Sources: UN, Gapminder and UN IGME, IHME, World Bank, IMF, UNESCO, Our World in Data, V-Dem, UCDP, SIPRI, IISS, Correlates of War, ERA5, CMIP6, EDGAR, ITU and FAO. Each measure’s page names its own and what it counts.
- Values are drawn on today’s borders. Years without a published value are left empty, never filled in.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time