The figures are contained in the Rwanda Vital Statistics Report published on Friday, April 17, 2026.
According to the report, 55.9% of deaths in 2025 occurred outside health facilities, mainly in communities and households. Death registration completeness improved to 50.5%, up from 46.1% in 2024—an increase of 4.4%.
Men were found to have a higher mortality rate than women, with 127 male deaths recorded for every 100 female deaths.
There are also notable differences between urban and rural areas. In cities, most deaths (58.6%) occurred in hospitals, while in rural areas, the majority (61.3%) happened at home.
Non-communicable diseases were identified as the leading cause of death, accounting for 49.5% of deaths in health facilities and 58.8% of deaths in communities.
External causes such as accidents and injuries were more common in community deaths (14.3%) than in health facilities (10.5%).
On the other hand, communicable diseases were more prevalent in health facility deaths (40%) compared to community deaths (26.9%).
The report also highlights improvements in the accuracy of determining causes of death in health facilities, rising from 64.7% in 2024 to 82.3% in 2025.
In terms of births, a total of 356,838 children were registered in 2025. Birth registration coverage increased to 92.9%, up from 90.3% in 2024. Among these, 99.1% were registered within the first 30 days, maintaining the same level as the previous year.
However, fertility indicators showed a slight decline. The crude birth rate dropped to 27.2‰ from 27.4‰, while the general fertility rate decreased from 103.7 to 103.0. The total fertility rate also declined from 3.6 to 3.5 children per woman.
The average birth weight was recorded at 3,070 grams, slightly lower than 3,084 grams in 2024. Cases of low birth weight increased marginally to 8.1%, up from 7.8%.
In terms of gender, more boys were born than girls, with 102.7 boys for every 100 girls.
For comparison, 36,021 deaths were recorded in 2024, including 19,843 (men) and 16,178 women, indicating an increase in the number of deaths in 2025, even as the number of births remains significantly higher.