Budget
Primary 6 · Social and Religious Studies
Budget
Lesson 4 of 4
14 min
Gatete's grandfather lives in Nyagatare. "When I was a young man," he says, "we walked for hours to reach a health centre, few homes had electricity, and hardly anyone had a phone. Now your mother pays for things with her phone and you study with a light at night." Gatete asks, "What made things change?" Grandfather smiles. "Many things. And some things still hold us back."
Development is when people's lives get better and stay better: more income, better health, better education, good housing, roads, water and electricity, and peace and freedom, for everyone and not only for a few.
Two numbers often used to measure development are life expectancy (how many years people live, on average) and income per person (the value of everything a country produces, shared out equally between all its people).
| Year | Life expectancy in Rwanda (years) | Income per person in Rwanda (international dollars, 2021 prices) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | about 48 | about 1,055 |
| 2010 | about 63 | about 1,847 |
| 2020 | about 67 | about 2,618 |
| 2023 and 2024 | about 68 (2023) | about 3,325 (2024) |
Between 2000 and 2024, average income per person in Rwanda grew to about three times what it was, and people now live about 20 years longer on average than in 2000. "International dollars" are a special measuring unit that lets us compare prices fairly between years and countries. You can explore these charts yourself on Our World in Data: life expectancy and income per person.
Tip
Development stands on four legs, like a table: Peace, Education, Health and Infrastructure. Take one leg away and the whole table wobbles.
Answer: When people's lives get better and stay better: income, health, education, housing, services, peace and freedom, for everyone.
Answer: About 68 − 48 = 20 years.
Answer: Any two of: peace, good governance, education, health, infrastructure, saving, hard work, technology, trade, gender equality, protecting natural resources.
Answer: Money meant for schools, roads or hospitals is stolen, so those services are not built and people's lives do not improve.
Answer: Education, because people who can read and have skills can find jobs and make good use of the roads.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
The figures were rounded and put into a table by Ganzaa. The rest of the lesson is written by Ganzaa.
Quick check
A country is developing when life gets better for a few people, even if most people's lives do not.
