About

Overview In 2022, Rwanda was the number 136 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 147 in total exports, the number 149 in total imports, the number 169 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 89 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Rwanda are Gold ($542M), Tin Ores ($124M), Coffee ($112M), Malt Extract ($86.9M), and Niobium, Tantalum, Vanadium and Zirconium Ore ($83.4M), exporting mostly to United Arab Emirates ($568M), Democratic Republic of the Congo ($450M), Thailand ($83.9M), United States ($61.7M), and Ethiopia ($55.2M).

In 2022, Rwanda was the world's biggest exporter of Tungsten Ore ($52.7M)

Imports The top imports of Rwanda are Refined Petroleum ($593M), Gold ($404M), Palm Oil ($124M), Rice ($112M), and Raw Sugar ($107M), importing mostly from China ($808M), Tanzania ($474M), Kenya ($439M), United Arab Emirates ($416M), and India ($309M).

Location Rwanda borders Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Uganda by land.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

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The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Rwanda.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

* Trade values are converted to USD using each month's exchange rate. For December 2023 data, the exchange rate from December 30, 2023 is used.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2022)Gold$542M
Top Destination (2022)United Arab Emirates$568M

In 2022, Rwanda exported a total of $1.77B, making it the number 147 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Rwanda have changed by $631M from $1.14B in 2017 to $1.77B in 2022.

The most recent exports are led by Gold ($542M), Tin Ores ($124M), Coffee ($112M), Malt Extract ($86.9M), and Niobium, Tantalum, Vanadium and Zirconium Ore ($83.4M). The most common destination for the exports of Rwanda are United Arab Emirates ($568M), Democratic Republic of the Congo ($450M), Thailand ($83.9M), United States ($61.7M), and Ethiopia ($55.2M).

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Exports (2022)
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Destinations (2022)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Growth
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2021 - 2022)
United Arab Emirates$129M (+ 29.5%)
India$38M (+ 469%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2021 - 2022)
China$189M (+ 30.6%)
Kenya$136M (+ 44.7%)
United Arab Emirates$108M (+ 35.3%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2021 - 2022)

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Service Trade

Service Trade

Rwanda Exports Services (2015)$493M
Rwanda Imports Services (2015)$855M

In 2015, Rwanda exported $493M worth of services. The top services exported by Rwanda in 2015 were Government services, n.i.e. ($251M), Business travel ($98.4M), Air transport ($87.6M), Communications services ($21.8M), and Construction abroad ($10.5M).

The top services imported by Rwanda in 2015 were Other transport ($199M), Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($160M), Government services, n.i.e. ($145M), Air transport ($143M), and Sea transport ($133M).

Service Exports (2015)

Service Imports (2015)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)-0.53Rank 89 of 133
Economic Complexity (Research)-0.63Rank 96 of 135

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Rwanda has a high level of specialization in Tin Ores (1.38k), Niobium, Tantalum, Vanadium and Zirconium Ore (448), Tea (135), Cereal Flours (62.6), and Legume Flours (46.1). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Rwanda observed and expected exports in each product.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Rwanda according to the relatedness index, were Cocoa Beans (0.18), Bananas (0.18), Insect Resins (0.18), Manganese Ore (0.18), and Raw Cotton (0.17). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Rwanda is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Rwanda. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Rwanda exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Relatedness Space (2022)

Diversification Frontier

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Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Diversification Frontier

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Rwanda's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨nullth to the 89th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

Explore Rankings

ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

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