Economy · Current account balance · Rwanda
Rwanda’s current account balance fell to −12% of GDP in 2024.
−12% of GDP
2024
Down 0.84 pp from 2023.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
−12% of GDP
What it is. The current account balance adds up what a country earns from the rest of the world and what it pays out. It covers trade in goods and services, income from investments and work abroad, and transfers such as remittances and grants. A negative figure means Rwanda spends more abroad than it receives, and the gap has to be financed by borrowing, aid or foreign investment. It records flows over a year and says nothing about how large the stock of foreign debt already is.
Higher is better. A higher balance is better because the country then needs less outside money to pay for its imports and can build up reserves. The latest figure is −12% of GDP for 2024, down from −11.1% of GDP in 2023, so the deficit widened by 0.84 percentage points over the year. Since 2015 the lowest reading was −15.5% of GDP in 2016 and the highest was −9.1% of GDP in 2022. The 2024 figure sits roughly midway between those two points.
Why it matters. A deficit of this size means Rwanda depends on steady inflows of grants, concessional loans and foreign investment to pay for what it imports. Firms that buy fuel, machinery and other inputs from abroad are exposed if those inflows slow, because pressure then falls on the franc and on reserves. The state carries the same exposure when it borrows in foreign currency, since repayments rise if the franc weakens.
| Period | Current account balance · Rwanda |
|---|---|
| 2015 | −12.8% of GDP |
| 2016 | −15.5% of GDP |
| 2017 | −9.6% of GDP |
| 2018 | −10.1% of GDP |
| 2019 | −11.7% of GDP |
| 2020 | −11.7% of GDP |
| 2021 | −10.7% of GDP |
| 2022 | −9.1% of GDP |
| 2023 | −11.1% of GDP |
| 2024 | −12% of GDP |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Current account balance, Rwanda, 2024; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/current-account-balance/rwanda
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Methodology
Current account balance as a share of GDP. Unit: % of GDP. A negative value is a deficit.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.