Inflation in Rwanda
In the year to August 2026, consumer prices in Rwanda rose 15.9%, up from 13.8% a month earlier. Since January 2004 prices have risen 420.0%, which means FRw100 then buys what FRw520.04 buys now, so the same basket of goods costs 5.2 times what it did.
Cumulative & Yearly Inflation
Inflation in Rwanda by year
Inflation is the change in that year's average prices against the year before, which is the figure usually quoted. The last two columns take FRw100 in January of that year and show what it is worth in August 2026, the most recent month on record. Only years measured in full are listed, so the year now running appears once it ends.
| Year | Inflation | FRw100 is now | Cumulative inflation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | -0.2% | 284.13 | 184.1% |
| 2020 | 9.9% | 182.46 | 82.5% |
| 2024 | 1.8% | 128.69 | 28.7% |
| 2025 | 5.9% | 121.77 | 21.8% |
Every year from 2005 to 2025
| Year | Inflation | FRw100 is now | Cumulative inflation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 9.0% | 466.31 | 366.3% |
| 2006 | 8.9% | 443.21 | 343.2% |
| 2007 | 9.1% | 393.59 | 293.6% |
| 2008 | 15.4% | 369.78 | 269.8% |
| 2009 | 12.9% | 307.19 | 207.2% |
| 2010 | -0.2% | 284.13 | 184.1% |
| 2011 | 3.1% | 300.70 | 200.7% |
| 2012 | 10.3% | 277.70 | 177.7% |
| 2013 | 5.9% | 253.25 | 153.3% |
| 2014 | 2.4% | 244.34 | 144.3% |
| 2015 | 2.5% | 243.45 | 143.5% |
| 2016 | 7.2% | 228.42 | 128.4% |
| 2017 | 8.3% | 203.95 | 104.0% |
| 2018 | -0.3% | 203.74 | 103.7% |
| 2019 | 3.3% | 203.37 | 103.4% |
| 2020 | 9.9% | 182.46 | 82.5% |
| 2021 | -0.4% | 176.31 | 76.3% |
| 2022 | 17.7% | 174.02 | 74.0% |
| 2023 | 19.8% | 132.71 | 32.7% |
| 2024 | 1.8% | 128.69 | 28.7% |
| 2025 | 5.9% | 121.77 | 21.8% |
A short history of inflation in Rwanda
Genocide and Reconstruction (1994 to 2000)
Rwanda's economy collapsed entirely in 1994. Output fell by around half, the currency and the banking system ceased to function in much of the country, and inflation followed the destruction. Rebuilding took the rest of the decade, supported by aid that at times exceeded the government's own revenue.
Stability and Food Prices (2000 onwards)
Inflation has been moderate and generally well controlled since, and the National Bank of Rwanda moved to a price-based monetary framework in 2019. What moves it now is rain: food is a large share of household spending, and droughts in the region have twice pushed inflation into the twenties, in 2022 and 2023, before it fell back as harvests recovered.
Post-Covid Inflation (2021 to 2023)
In Rwanda, prices rose fastest in November 2022, at 33.8%. The causes of the post-Covid inflation were global in nature, beginning with the lockdowns: factories and ports closed and the shipping between them fell out of sequence, so goods took longer to make and longer to arrive. Governments had spent heavily supporting household incomes through those closures, so when restrictions lifted there was money waiting to be spent and not enough on the shelves to spend it on. Then in February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, disrupting two of the world's largest suppliers of wheat, fertiliser, oil and gas at once, and the cost of everything grown, heated or transported rose with them.
Because the causes were shared, so was the timing: most countries peaked within a few months of one another in late 2022. The major inflation events covers this episode and the others in more detail.
Common questions about inflation in Rwanda
What is the current inflation rate in Rwanda?
Prices in Rwanda rose 15.9% in the year to August 2026. That is up from 13.8% a month earlier.
What would FRw100 in January 2004 be worth today?
FRw100.00 in January 2004 has the same buying power as FRw520.04 in August 2026, a rise of 420.0%.
What would FRw100 in January 2010 be worth today?
FRw100.00 in January 2010 has the same buying power as FRw284.13 in August 2026, a rise of 184.1%.
What would FRw100 in January 2020 be worth today?
FRw100.00 in January 2020 has the same buying power as FRw182.46 in August 2026, a rise of 82.5%.
What is Rwanda's inflation target?
Rwanda targets 5%. The latest reading of 15.9% is running 10.9 points above it.
How inflation in Rwanda is measured
The figures on this page come from the IMF's CPI dataset, with the original data from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. The series is indexed so that a chosen base year equals 100, and the calculator works out the ratio between any two dates you pick.
The currency shown is the Rwandan franc (FRw). Coverage runs from January 2004 to August 2026, and updates automatically as each new release is published. Figures for the most recent periods can be revised by the statistics office after first publication.
Use this data
Click the reference to select it.
Compare Inflation. “Inflation in Rwanda.” Figures for August 2026. https://compareinflation.com/inflation-in-rwanda/
Download the full series (CSV) — 272 months, January 2004 to August 2026, with the annual rate for each.