World Prisons
All countries

Africa · Eastern Africa

Rwanda

High confidence
Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 31 Aug 2025
Fresh · 9d ago

One of Africa's highest incarceration rates. Many inmates serve sentences related to the 1994 genocide.

Compare RwandaWorld Prison Brief page

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

Prison population

71,561

Year: 2025

Rate per 100,000

489

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

140.7%

Above design capacity

Pre-trial / remand

14%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

6.5%

Foreign nationals

0.3%

Conditions risk — across 7 facilities

Average of our computed Conditions Risk Score across the country's facilities. Methodology · Browse highest-risk

—
national average
7 unknown

How Rwanda compares

vs Africa (6) & global averages
Rate per 100,000this: 489 · region: 145 · global: 214
Occupancy ratethis: 141% · region: 164% · global: 125%
Pre-trial sharethis: 14% · region: 38% · global: 32%

The vertical ticks mark the global (grey) and regional (amber) means. Bars are clipped at the high end for readability.

Prison population over time

Annual figures, latest survey year
2010: 55,000+54.0% over 12y2022: 84,710

Reform in Rwanda

All reform →

Laws, programmes, and pilots changing how Rwanda incarcerates — plus relevant research.

  • Gacaca community courts for the genocide2005–2012

    alternatives · completed

    Faced with ~120,000 detained suspects after the 1994 genocide, Rwanda used customary 'gacaca' community courts to try about 1.2 million cases. Sentences emphasised confession, community service, and truth-telling alongside imprisonment.

Prisons in Rwanda

Browse all 7 →

7 facilities in our database. Rwanda has many more facilities than listed here; we're expanding the database with verified entries.

Former Gisovu Prison

Rwanda

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Gikondo Prison

Rwanda

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Mageragere Prison

Rwanda

Type

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Capacity

—

Held

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Musanze prison

Rwanda

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

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Nyarugenge prison

Rwanda

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

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Preso de Gitarama

Rwanda

Type

—

Capacity

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Held

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RCS Nyanza Correctional Facility

Rwanda

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Data completeness

100%

Score based on how many fields are populated. We surface this so you know where the gaps are.

National population
14,630,0002025
Source-verified
20 May 2026
Source links
1 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.