# Rwanda and Uganda compared Rwanda and Uganda side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 1 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/rwa-vs-uga Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Rwanda: c. 1650 — The Kingdom of Rwanda takes shape under the Nyiginya - Uganda: 9 October 1962 — Uganda becomes independent of Britain ## Economy | Metric | Rwanda | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $14 B | 2024 | $54 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $1,000 | 2024 | $1,078 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 8.9% | 2024 | 6.1% | 2024 | | Inflation | 1.8% | 2024 | 3.3% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 70.0% | 2024 | 42.7% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Rwanda | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 14 m | 2024 | 50 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 68.0 yrs | 2024 | 68.5 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 29.9% | 2024 | 31.3% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 3.6 | 2024 | 4.2 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Rwanda | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 46.5 | 2024 | 39.1 | 2024 | | Political stability | 65.1 | 2024 | 48.4 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 58.1 | 2024 | 44.5 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 59.1 | 2024 | 46.6 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 58.7 | 2024 | 44.3 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 60.5 | 2024 | 25.3 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Rwanda | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 5.1% | 2023 | 4.2% | 2023 | | Physicians | 0.09 | 2022 | 0.19 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 37.7 | 2024 | 48.7 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 97.0% | 2024 | 90.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | — | — | 18.1% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Rwanda | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 78.8% | 2022 | 77.0% | 2024 | | Education spending | 4.6% | 2024 | 2.6% | 2022 | | Primary enrolment | 149.6% | 2024 | 106.2% | 2017 | | Secondary enrolment | 48.8% | 2024 | 24.1% | 2007 | | Tertiary enrolment | 9.4% | 2024 | 4.6% | 2014 | ## Technology | Metric | Rwanda | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.8% | 2023 | 0.4% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 133 | 2023 | 81 | 2023 | | Internet users | 31.7% | 2024 | 8.9% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 93 | 2024 | 83 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 4.8% | 2022 | 1.9% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Rwanda | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 24,670 km² | 2023 | 200,520 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 11.3% | 2023 | 11.0% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 76.3% | 2023 | 71.9% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.2 | 2024 | 0.2 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 79.9% | 2022 | 90.9% | 2022 | ## Resources | Metric | Rwanda | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 4.0% | 2021 | 7.5% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 4.0% | 2021 | 7.5% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 63.9% | 2023 | 51.5% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | Rwanda | Observed | Uganda | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.2% | 2024 | 1.9% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $176 M | 2024 | $1.1 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 35,000 | 2020 | 46,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/RWA.md and https://terralore.co/country/UGA.md. ## Entangled histories (1 event) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1 October 1990: **RPF invasion begins the civil war** — The Rwandan Patriotic Front, composed largely of Tutsi exiles from Uganda, invades northern Rwanda, igniting a civil war and intensifying official anti-Tutsi propaganda. (from the Rwanda chronicle; sources: Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda — Historical Background; Massacre of the Tutsi Minority) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/RWA/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/UGA/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Rwanda and Uganda compared", terralore.co/compare/rwa-vs-uga, retrieved .