Tobacco smoking in Rwanda
Data sourced:
2022.
Page updated:
2025-02-10
In Rwanda, the prevalence of tobacco smoking among adults aged 15 years and older in 2022 was estimated to be 8.6%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In comparison, this prevalence was reported to be 9.9% in 2020. Breaking it down by gender, in 2022, 14.4% of males and 3.1% of females were smokers. In 2020, this prevalence was 15.4% among males and 4.7% among females. This represents that the total number of smokers in 2022 was estimated to be 688,622, which marked a reduction from 747,687 in 2020. The adult daily smoking prevalence in 2021 was 5.7%, with 8.2% among males and 3.1% among females.
In terms of health impact, smoking-related mortality in 2021 accounted for 5.16% of all deaths in the country, with 6.11% among males and 4.1% among females. The annual number of deaths attributable to smoking was 4,758, with 2,967 among males and 1,791 among females. These data reflect the ongoing public health challenge posed by tobacco smoking in Rwanda, despite some progress in reducing prevalence rates in recent years.
Prevalence
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2019
|
820.7 thousand |
1A
|
2020
|
747.7 thousand |
1B
|
2022
|
688.6 thousand |
1C
A
|
Comments:
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
World Population Prospects 2019 [Internet]. United Nations; 2019. (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, editor. Population Division). Report No.: Rev. 1. Available from: https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2019
|
11.2% |
2A
|
2020
|
9.9% |
2B
|
2022
|
8.6% |
2C
A
|
Comments:
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2019
|
3.9% |
2A
|
2020
|
4.7% |
2B
|
2022
|
3.1% |
2C
A
|
Comments:
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2019
|
18.5% |
2A
|
2020
|
15.4% |
2B
|
2022
|
14.4% |
2C
A
|
Comments:
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2017 or earlier
|
9.9% |
4A
A
|
2021
|
5.7% |
4B
B
|
Comments:
- These rates are modelled using all national survey data published since 1990 to estimate the underlying prevalence trends by sex, then applying age-standardization to allow comparison with other countries. They do not necessarily resemble country data from 2015
- Prevalence of daily tobacco smoking from the latest survey.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2017 or earlier
|
3.7% |
4A
A
|
2021
|
3.1% |
4B
B
|
Comments:
- These rates are modelled using all national survey data published since 1990 to estimate the underlying prevalence trends by sex, then applying age-standardization to allow comparison with other countries. They do not necessarily resemble country data from 2015
- Prevalence of daily tobacco smoking from the latest survey.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2017 or earlier
|
17% |
4A
A
|
2021
|
8.2% |
4B
B
|
Comments:
- These rates are modelled using all national survey data published since 1990 to estimate the underlying prevalence trends by sex, then applying age-standardization to allow comparison with other countries. They do not necessarily resemble country data from 2015
- Prevalence of daily tobacco smoking from the latest survey.
Comments:
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
World Population Prospects 2019 [Internet]. United Nations; 2019. (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, editor. Population Division). Report No.: Rev. 1. Available from: https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
- These rates are modelled using all national survey data published since 1990 to estimate the underlying prevalence trends by sex, then applying age-standardization to allow comparison with other countries. They do not necessarily resemble country data from 2015
World Population Prospects 2019 [Internet]. United Nations; 2019. (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, editor. Population Division). Report No.: Rev. 1. Available from: https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/
- Prevalence of daily tobacco smoking from the latest survey.
Smoking-related mortality
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016
|
2.1 thousand |
1A
|
2021
|
4.8 thousand |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Number of tobacco-related deaths in the population in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016
|
534 |
1A
|
2021
|
1.8 thousand |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Number of tobacco-related deaths in the population in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016
|
1.6 thousand |
1A
|
2021
|
3.0 thousand |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Number of tobacco-related deaths in the population in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016
|
3.93% |
1A
|
2021
|
5.16% |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Percentage of tobacco-related deaths to deaths from all causes in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016
|
1.6% |
1A
|
2021
|
4.1% |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Percentage of tobacco-related deaths to deaths from all causes in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016
|
4.7% |
1A
|
2021
|
6.11% |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Percentage of tobacco-related deaths to deaths from all causes in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Comments:
- Number of tobacco-related deaths in the population in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
- Percentage of tobacco-related deaths to deaths from all causes in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
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