Rwanda registered a 2.6% increase in birth registration in 2025, with coverage reaching 92.9%, up from 90.3% in 2024, according to the latest Rwanda Vital Statistics report by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR).
A total of 356,838 children were born and recorded in the civil registration system during the year, reflecting continued progress in strengthening vital statistics.
The report shows that timely birth registration remains near universal, with 99.1% of births registered within 30 days—unchanged from 2024.
However, demographic trends indicate a slight decline in fertility, with the average number of children per woman dropping to 3.5 from 3.6 the previous year.
On mortality, 39,355 deaths were registered in 2025, with more than half (55.9%) occurring outside health facilities, mainly within households.
Death registration coverage also improved significantly, rising to 50.5% from 46.1% in 2024, marking a 4.4 percentage point increase.
Men continue to record higher mortality rates than women, with 127.4 male deaths for every 100 female deaths.
The quality of cause-of-death data from hospitals improved sharply, increasing from 64.7% in 2024 to 82.3% in 2025, while community-level data remained stable at 84%.
Non-communicable diseases remained the leading cause of death, accounting for 49.5% of deaths in health facilities and 58.8% in communities.
Deaths linked to injuries and accidents were more common in households (14.3%) than in hospitals (10.5%), while communicable diseases were more prevalent in health facilities (40%) compared to communities (26.9%).
The report also highlights a decline in registered marriages, which fell from 52,878 in 2024 to 50,256 in 2025. Most men who married were aged 25–29, while women were largely between 21 and 24.
In contrast, divorce cases rose in visibility, with 4,479 filed in 2025, of which 2,629 were granted by courts. The City of Kigali recorded the highest number of cases (1,119), followed by the Eastern Province, while the Northern Province registered the lowest figures.
