Rwanda has continued to reduce the prevalence of HIV, with the national rate among people aged 15 to 49 dropping to 2.2% in 2025 from 2.7% recorded in the 2019–2020 survey, according to the latest Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS 2025).
The report, released on June 30, 2026 by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, highlights significant differences by gender, age, education level and place of residence.
Women continue to be more affected than men. HIV prevalence among women aged 15–49 stands at 2.8%, compared with 1.5% among men.
Among young people aged 15 to 24, the national prevalence is 0.8%. Young men recorded 0.9%, while young women recorded 0.7%.
The survey also shows that HIV remains more common in urban areas than in rural communities. Urban prevalence is 3.3%, nearly double the 1.7% recorded in rural areas.
Kigali City has the highest HIV prevalence in the country at 3.7%, while the Northern Province has the lowest rate at 1.0%. The Southern Province recorded 2.3%, Western Province 2.2%, and Eastern Province 2.0%.
Among youth, Kigali again leads with an HIV prevalence of 1.5%, compared with only 0.4% in the Northern Province.
Education appears to be closely linked to lower HIV prevalence. People with no formal education recorded the highest prevalence at 4.9%. The rate drops to 2.4% among those with primary education, 1.6% among those with secondary education, and 0.9% among people who completed higher education.
The report also shows steady progress over the past two decades. HIV prevalence remained at 3.0% between 2005 and 2014–2015 before declining to 2.7% in 2019–2020 and further to 2.2% in 2025.
Among women, prevalence fell from 3.5% to 2.8%, while among men it declined from 1.7% to 1.5% during the same period.
Marital status also shows significant differences. Widowed people recorded the highest HIV prevalence at 10.9%, while divorced or separated individuals stood at 7.3%. Married or cohabiting couples recorded 2.3%, compared with 1.3% among people who have never married.
The survey found that 0.4% of respondents who reported never having had sexual intercourse were also living with HIV.
Among women in polygamous marriages, HIV prevalence reached 6.5%, compared with 2.3% among women married to one husband only. The prevalence among pregnant women was 1.8%.
Lifetime number of sexual partners was also associated with HIV prevalence. Among women who had only one lifetime partner, prevalence was 1.5%, but increased sharply to 16.9% among those reporting ten or more lifetime partners.
Among men, HIV prevalence was 0.6% for those with one lifetime partner. It increased to 6.1% among those reporting five to nine partners before declining slightly to 4.3% among those with ten or more partners.
Male circumcision was linked to lower HIV prevalence. Circumcised men recorded 1.2%, compared with 2.5% among uncircumcised or improperly circumcised men.
The survey also achieved a high participation rate in HIV testing. 99% of eligible women agreed to provide blood samples for HIV testing, while the participation rate among men reached 97%.