9 answers, 2 from Rwanda's own official bodies, with a link to each figure.
96.2% of candidates passed Rwanda's upper secondary national exams in 2023, 86.9% passed the lower secondary (S3) exams and 91.0% passed the primary (P6) exams, according to National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) figures in the NISR Statistical Yearbook 2024.
80,602 candidates sat the upper secondary exams, which include general secondary, teacher training and TVET schools. In general secondary (S6) alone, 95.0% of 48,494 candidates passed. Girls had a lower pass rate than boys at S3 and S6 but a similar rate at P6. NESA publishes results each year on its website.
87.7% of Rwandans were literate in 2024, up from 86.7% in 2017, according to the EICV7 Poverty Profile Report of the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. Literacy was 80% for people in the poorest fifth of the population and 94% for the richest.
NISR notes that about one in seven young adults in rural areas remain functionally illiterate. The UNESCO adult literacy rate published by the World Bank, which covers people aged 15 and over and uses a different source, was 78.8% in 2022.
The figures below use one definition for every country, so they can differ from national figures.
In 2018, net primary school enrolment in Rwanda was 94.8%, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. In 2003 the figure was 85.5%. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 90.7%, and Rwanda placed 5th highest of 19. Worldwide: 23rd of 69.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics puts gross secondary school enrolment in Rwanda at 48.8% in 2024. It is the top of the series, which starts in 2005. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 65.3%, and Rwanda placed 8th highest of 11. World rank, highest first: 95th of 100.
9.4%: that is gross tertiary enrolment in Rwanda for 2024, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. It is the top of the series, which starts in 2005. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 12.9%, and Rwanda placed 12th highest of 14. Worldwide: 86th of 90.
78.8%: that is the adult literacy rate in Rwanda for 2022, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. In 2014 the figure was 70.8%. It is 3rd highest of 12 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 62.8%. World rank, highest first: 32nd of 44.
The latest figure from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, for 2024, is 4.6% of GDP. The peak was 5.6% of GDP in 2021 and the low 3.1% of GDP in 2018. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 4.6% of GDP, and Rwanda placed 6th highest of 11. Of 36 countries with 2024 data, 16th highest.
60: that is the number of primary pupils per teacher in Rwanda for 2018, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Since 2005 it has ranged from 58 (2017) to 69 (2007). Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 39, and Rwanda placed 1st highest of 23. Of 85 countries with 2018 data, 1st highest.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics puts the primary completion rate in Rwanda at 66.8% in 2024. Its high point since 2008 was 2019, at 96.0%; its low point was 2008, at 53.1%. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 77.3%, and Rwanda placed 14th highest of 19. Worldwide: 98th of 104.
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