Population in Rwanda

Lessons

Senior 4 · Geography

Population in Rwanda

4 lessons

Lesson 2 of 4

Population Distribution, Density and the Factors Behind Them

25 min

Crowded hills, emptier plains

Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, but the people are not spread evenly. Figure 3 maps the density of each district at the 2022 census.

Figure 3. Population density by district, 2022. Drawn by Ganzaa from NISR, RPHC5 Table 1, on geoBoundaries district outlines.

Describe the pattern before you explain it: where are the darkest districts? Where are the palest? What do the palest districts have in common?

Definition

Population distribution: the way people are spread over an area (where they live). Population density: the number of people per unit of area.

\text{density} = \frac{\text{population}}{\text{area}}\ \ (\text{people per km}^2)

Densely populated areas have many people per km² (Kicukiro, 2,944); sparsely populated areas have few (Kayonza, 338). Density is an average: a district can contain an empty park and a crowded town.

The pattern in 2022

Highest: the City of Kigali (2,401 per km²): Kicukiro 2,944, Nyarugenge 2,830, Gasabo 2,056.
High outside Kigali: Rubavu 1,614 and Musanze 1,157, then Rusizi 871 and Rwamagana 740.
Lowest: the east, Kayonza 338, Nyagatare 373, Kirehe 398, Gatsibo 435, and the south-west, Nyaruguru 409 and Nyamagabe 441.
By province: Western 693, Northern 663, Southern 547, Eastern 433 (NISR, 2023).

Figure 4. National density at each census. Data: NISR (2023).

Worked example 1: what share of the land does Kigali occupy?

Problem. The City of Kigali had 1,745,555 residents at a density of 2,401 per km². Rwanda's total area is about 26,338 km². What share of Rwanda's people and of its area is in Kigali?

\text{area} = \frac{1\,745\,555}{2\,401} = 727\ \text{km}^2 \qquad \frac{727}{26\,338} \times 100 = 2.8\%\ \text{of the area}

\frac{1\,745\,555}{13\,246\,394} \times 100 = 13.2\%\ \text{of the people}

Interpretation. Kigali holds almost five times its "fair share" of the population ( $\frac{13.2}{2.8} \approx 4.7$ ). This is what an uneven distribution means in numbers.

Worked example 2: has density really "tripled"?

NISR writes that density "has tripled in 44 years". Check it:

\frac{503}{183} = 2.75

The density rose about 2.75 times, close to but not quite three times. Tip: when a report uses a word like "tripled", test it with the numbers before you repeat it in an exam answer.

Factors influencing the distribution

Factor	Effect	Rwandan evidence (densities per km², 2022)
Soils	Fertile soils support many farmers per hectare	Volcanic soils of the north-west: Musanze 1,157, Rubavu 1,614
Climate and rainfall	Reliable rain allows two farming seasons; drier lands support fewer people	Wetter west and north are denser; the drier east is the least dense province (433)
Relief	Very steep, high land is hard to farm and build on	Lower density on the Congo–Nile Ridge than in the volcanic north-west
Protected areas and forests	Parks and reserves exclude settlement	Nyaruguru 409 and Nyamagabe 441 (Nyungwe); Kayonza 338 (Akagera)
Towns and jobs	Employment, services and trade attract people	Kigali's three districts, 2,056–2,944
Water bodies and borders	Lake shores, fishing, ports and border trade	Rubavu (Lake Kivu, border with Goma), Rusizi 871
Transport	Main roads attract settlement and markets	Sectors of districts next to Kigali (Kamonyi, Bugesera, Rwamagana, Rulindo) grew by 50% or more in 2012–2022 (NISR), linked to the city by main roads
History and government policy	Resettlement and planned villages redistribute people	After 1994 land in the east, including part of Akagera National Park, was used to settle returnees; the east still gains migrants (lesson 4)

Warning

Describe, then explain. "Describe the distribution" asks for the pattern with places and figures (where is it high, where low). "Explain" asks for reasons, each linked to a place. Do not mix them, and always quote densities with the year (2022).

Heimler's History: "Population Distribution and Density". Explains arithmetic and physiological density and the physical and human factors that shape where people live. Apply each factor to one district of Figure 3.

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Practice

Distinguish population distribution from population density.
Describe the distribution of population in Rwanda shown in Figure 3.
Rubavu had 546,683 people at a density of 1,614 per km². Calculate its area.
Explain two physical and two human factors that cause high densities in the north-west.
Why do Nyaruguru and Kayonza have low densities even though they are in different parts of the country?
Using the census figures, calculate the percentage increase in national density between 2012 and 2022.
"High population density is always a problem for development." Discuss, with Rwandan examples.

Show answersHide answers

Distribution is how people are spread over an area; density is the number of people per km².
Very high in the City of Kigali (over 2,000 per km²); high in Rubavu (1,614), Musanze (1,157), Rusizi (871); moderate on the central plateau; lowest in the east (Kayonza 338, Nyagatare 373, Kirehe 398) and in Nyaruguru (409) and Nyamagabe (441).
$\frac{546\,683}{1\,614} = 339\ \text{km}^2$ .
Physical: fertile volcanic soils; reliable rainfall. Human: towns (Musanze, Rubavu) with jobs and services; Lake Kivu and the border with Goma for trade and tourism.
Both contain large protected areas (Nyungwe in Nyaruguru, Akagera in Kayonza) where people may not settle; Kayonza is also drier.
$\frac{503 - 415}{415} \times 100 = 21.2\%$ .
High density can mean pressure on land, small farms, erosion and stretched services (e.g. in the north-west). But it also gives large markets, cheaper provision of roads, water and schools per person, and a labour force, as in Kigali. Density is a problem when it outruns jobs and services, not in itself.

Quick check

Which district had the lowest population density in 2022?

Key points

National density rose from 183 per km² (1978) to 503 (2022), about 2.75 times.
Densest: Kigali's districts (2,056–2,944), Rubavu (1,614), Musanze (1,157). Least dense: Kayonza (338), Nyagatare (373), Kirehe (398), Nyaruguru (409).
Factors: soils, rainfall, relief, protected areas, towns and jobs, lakes and borders, transport, history and policy.
Kigali holds 13.2% of the people on about 2.8% of the land.

Sources and credits

Source: Fifth Rwanda Population and Housing Census, 2022: Main Indicators Report, NISR, 2023 (district and provincial populations and densities, density trend, population change by sector); Rwanda State of Environment and Outlook Report, REMA, 2009 (resettlement in the east after 1994).

Figures 3 and 4 and the worked examples were drawn and written by Ganzaa. District boundaries: geoBoundaries, CC BY 4.0; Lake Kivu and neighbours: Natural Earth, public domain.

Photos: Kinigi, Ruanda (31378251207), Nina R from Africa, CC BY 2.0; Nyagatare (6158896919), François Terrier, CC BY 2.0; via Wikimedia Commons.

Video: "Population DISTRIBUTION and DENSITY [AP Human Geography Review—Unit 2, Topic 1]", Heimler's History, embedded from YouTube. The rest of the lesson and the exercises were written by Ganzaa.

1Crowded hills, emptier plains

2The pattern in 2022

3Factors influencing the distribution

Crowded hills, emptier plains

The pattern in 2022

Factors influencing the distribution