Wealth and income percentiles in Rwanda
How much net worth or income does it take to be in the top 10% or top 1% in Rwanda? Model estimates for 6.8 million adults aged 20+, reference level 2025.
Net worth thresholds in Rwanda
Net worth is private assets (property, deposits, securities, business ownership) minus debt, per adult. Thresholds show the minimum net worth needed to belong to each group.
| Group of adults | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | USD 1,390 |
| Top 10% | USD 10,600 |
| Top 5% | USD 19,200 |
| Top 1% | USD 57,300 |
| Top 0.1% | USD 298,000 |
| Average (mean) | USD 5,830 |
Income thresholds in Rwanda
Income is a harmonized pre-tax economic income per adult used for cross-country comparison. It is broader than wages and includes capital income, pensions and some imputed components.
| Group of adults | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | USD 1,160 |
| Top 10% | USD 4,900 |
| Top 5% | USD 6,980 |
| Top 1% | USD 15,900 |
| Top 0.1% | USD 51,300 |
| Average (mean) | USD 2,130 |
Rwanda in a global context
Rwanda has 0.12% of the world’s adults. About 0.23% of them are in the world’s top 10% by net worth and 0.01% are in the global top 1%. By income, the shares are 0.15% and <0.01%.
The median adult in Rwanda is in the global top 79.5% by net worth and the global top 83.1% by income. Rwanda is home to about <0.01% of the world’s top 1% by net worth.
Data quality and sources
Scores run from 1 (strong direct national source coverage) to 5 (mainly modelled).
| Measure | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Net worth | 5 | No direct national net-worth distribution has been imported. Wealth is donor/proxy-based. |
| Income | 5 | NISR EICV7 has been identified, but the model has not imported a comparable gross-income distribution. The curve is donor/proxy based. |
- World Inequality Lab, Technical Note 2026/04, country appendix
- NISR Rwanda EICV7 2023/24
- World Inequality Lab, Technical Note 2026/04, country appendix
Amounts are converted at fixed exchange rates of 2025-12-31; they do not adjust for purchasing power. Thresholds in the extreme top are modelled and uncertain.
Frequently asked questions
How much net worth do you need to be in the top 1% in Rwanda?
About USD 57,300 in net worth (assets minus debt) per adult, according to the WealthPercentile model for 2025. The top 10% starts at about USD 10,600.
What is the median income in Rwanda?
The median adult in Rwanda has a broad pre-tax economic income of about USD 1,160 a year. This measure is broader than wages: it includes capital income and some imputed components, so it is higher than a typical payslip.
How many adults in Rwanda are in the global top 1%?
About 0.01% of adults in Rwanda are in the world’s top 1% by net worth, and <0.01% by income.
How reliable are these numbers?
They are model estimates. The data-quality score for Rwanda is 5/5 for net worth and 5/5 for income, where 1 means strong direct source coverage and 5 means mainly modelled.