globaltraffic.earth

Rwanda trade in 2024

In 2024, Rwanda exported $580 million and imported $2.1 billion, a trade deficit of $1.5 billion. It was the world's 164th-largest exporter, with 0% of world exports. Its top export was niobium, tantalum, vanadium and zirconium ore (20.4% of the total) and its main trading partner was China (25% of its trade).

Summary

Exports
$580million
Imports
$2.1billion
Trade balance
-$1.5billion
Routes to the main partners. Width: trade value; color: estimated transport mode.SeaAirLand
View on the 3D globe

Products

What it exports

Niobium, tantalum, vanadium and zirconium ore (20.4%) and coffee (16.3%) together make up 36.7% of its exports.

  1. Niobium, tantalum, vanadium and zirconium ore$118 million · 20.4%
    Main partner: China
  2. Coffee$94 million · 16.3%
    Main partner: United States
  3. Tin ore$79 million · 13.6%
    Main partner: Thailand
  4. Tea$60 million · 10.3%
    Main partner: Pakistan
  5. Airplanes and helicopters$48 million · 8.2%
    Main partner: Poland
  6. Unwrought tin$25 million · 4.3%
    Main partner: Singapore
  7. Tungsten ore$18 million · 3.1%
    Main partner: China
  8. Women's coats and jackets$14 million · 2.5%
    Main partner: Germany
  9. Malt extract and food mixes$14 million · 2.4%
    Main partner: Kenya
  10. Other ores$10 million · 1.6%
    Main partner: China

What it imports

Cameras and broadcast equipment (5.6%) and refined petroleum (4.1%) together make up 9.7% of its imports.

  1. Cameras and broadcast equipment$116 million · 5.6%
    Main partner: Hong Kong
  2. Refined petroleum$87 million · 4.1%
    Main partner: South Korea
  3. Frozen fish$85 million · 4.1%
    Main partner: China
  4. Cane and beet sugar$71 million · 3.4%
    Main partner: Uganda
  5. Medicines in measured doses or retail packs$59 million · 2.8%
    Main partner: India
  6. Cables and wire$36 million · 1.7%
    Main partner: China
  7. Cement$34 million · 1.6%
    Main partner: Tanzania
  8. Trucks$33 million · 1.6%
    Main partner: China
  9. Ceramic tiles$33 million · 1.6%
    Main partner: Uganda
  10. Rice$31 million · 1.5%
    Main partner: Tanzania
By Harmonized System chapter (96)
ChapterExportsImports
26 · Ores and slag$225 million$438 thousand
09 · Coffee, tea and spices$156 million$3 million
88 · Aircraft and spacecraft$48 million$3 million
80 · Tin$25 million$26 thousand
62 · Woven clothing$18 million$18 million
19 · Baked goods and cereal products$14 million$18 million
07 · Vegetables$13 million$27 million
78 · Lead$9 million$427 thousand
13 · Gums and plant extracts$7 million$832 thousand
06 · Live plants and flowers$7 million$236 thousand
85 · Electrical and electronic equipment$5 million$261 million
71 · Gems and precious metals$5 million$10 million
29 · Organic chemicals$4 million$5 million
33 · Perfumes and cosmetics$4 million$32 million
76 · Aluminum$3 million$12 million
84 · Mechanical machinery$3 million$152 million
25 · Salt, stone and cement$3 million$46 million
87 · Vehicles$2 million$160 million
41 · Hides and leather$2 million$27 thousand
48 · Paper and paperboard$2 million$33 million
11 · Milling products and malt$2 million$47 million
74 · Copper$2 million$6 million
61 · Knitted clothing$2 million$11 million
15 · Fats and oils$1 million$28 million
42 · Leather goods and bags$1 million$4 million
12 · Oilseeds and grains$1 million$12 million
94 · Furniture and lighting$1 million$29 million
23 · Animal feed and food waste$1 million$21 million
10 · Cereals$1 million$73 million
27 · Oil, gas and coal$1 million$109 million
47 · Wood pulp$838 thousand$21 thousand
39 · Plastics$790 thousand$79 million
55 · Synthetic staple fibers$786 thousand$6 million
08 · Fruit and nuts$666 thousand$9 million
21 · Food preparations$492 thousand$39 million
46 · Wicker and basketware$422 thousand$13 thousand
38 · Miscellaneous chemicals$421 thousand$33 million
95 · Toys and sports gear$415 thousand$3 million
90 · Precision and medical instruments$350 thousand$61 million
73 · Iron and steel products$264 thousand$55 million
63 · Home textiles and used clothing$250 thousand$20 million
22 · Beverages and spirits$242 thousand$56 million
72 · Iron and steel$237 thousand$44 million
04 · Dairy, eggs and honey$224 thousand$4 million
01 · Live animals$221 thousand$1 million
28 · Inorganic chemicals$216 thousand$10 million
30 · Pharmaceuticals$199 thousand$84 million
97 · Art and antiques$181 thousand$54 thousand
20 · Preserved fruit and vegetables$177 thousand$9 million
64 · Footwear$139 thousand$10 million
49 · Books and printed matter$139 thousand$18 million
93 · Weapons and ammunition$116 thousand$8 million
32 · Dyes, paints and tanning agents$98 thousand$12 million
69 · Ceramics$96 thousand$41 million
70 · Glass$78 thousand$16 million
65 · Hats$68 thousand$10 million
91 · Watches and clocks$56 thousand$388 thousand
03 · Fish and seafood$56 thousand$93 million
82 · Tools and cutlery$55 thousand$6 million
17 · Sugar and sweets$52 thousand$78 million
44 · Wood$26 thousand$28 million
57 · Carpets and rugs$20 thousand$1 million
34 · Soap and cleaning products$18 thousand$24 million
35 · Glues, starches and enzymes$15 thousand$6 million
75 · Nickel$12 thousand$83 thousand
51 · Wool$8 thousand$58 thousand
86 · Railway equipment$8 thousand$456 thousand
83 · Miscellaneous metal goods$8 thousand$12 million
58 · Special fabrics and lace$7 thousand$1 million
40 · Rubber$6 thousand$22 million
92 · Musical instruments$4 thousand$1 million
96 · Other manufactured goods$3 thousand$6 million
68 · Stone, plaster and cement articles$3 thousand$5 million
54 · Synthetic filaments$1 thousand$11 million
53 · Other plant fibers$1 thousand$143 thousand
66 · Umbrellas and canes$549$1 million
81 · Other base metals$511$40 thousand
16 · Prepared meat and fish$284$7 million
60 · Knitted fabric$274$3 million
05 · Other animal products$263$197 thousand
59 · Coated and technical textiles$238$2 million
67 · Feathers and artificial flowers$111$2 million
56 · Felt, nonwovens and rope$67$3 million
52 · Cotton$64$3 million
24 · Tobacco$38$6 million
02 · Meat and offal$38$5 million
14 · Other plant products$35$5 thousand
79 · Zinc$2$64 thousand
31 · Fertilizers$1$11 million
36 · Explosives and matches$0$7 million
18 · Cocoa and chocolate$0$1 million
89 · Ships and boats$0$874 thousand
37 · Photographic goods$0$162 thousand
45 · Cork$0$88 thousand
43 · Fur and fur goods$0$14 thousand
50 · Silk$0$6 thousand

Trading partners

China is its main destination (27.5% of exports) and source (24.2% of imports).

Who it sells to

PartnerValue (USD millions)ShareMode
China16027.5%Air
Thailand51.38.8%Sea
Poland50.28.7%Air
United Kingdom38.56.6%Sea
Pakistan33.35.8%Sea
United States30.35.2%Sea
Malaysia29.25%Sea
India25.64.4%Sea
Kenya24.94.3%Sea
Germany24.24.2%Sea

Who it buys from

PartnerValue (USD millions)ShareMode
China50824.2%Sea
Kenya31515%Sea
Uganda26912.8%Land
Tanzania1647.8%Land
India1014.8%Sea
South Korea85.44.1%Sea
Belgium71.23.4%Sea
Germany70.23.4%Air
Hong Kong63.43%Air
Egypt492.3%Sea

Overview 1995–2024

In 2024, Rwanda accounted for 0% of world exports, compared with 0% in 1995.

Exports and imports

Exports grew 12.4-fold since 1995

USD billions (current). Bars: trade balance (green surplus, red deficit).

  • Exports 0.6
  • Imports 2.1
  • Balance -1.5

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearExportsImportsTrade balance
1995$47 million$162 million-$115 million
1996$71 million$339 million-$268 million
1997$126 million$411 million-$285 million
1998$116 million$392 million-$276 million
1999$88 million$342 million-$254 million
2000$57 million$142 million-$85 million
2001$112 million$322 million-$210 million
2002$144 million$312 million-$167 million
2003$160 million$375 million-$215 million
2004$432 million$427 million$6 million
2005$201 million$553 million-$352 million
2006$188 million$565 million-$377 million
2007$279 million$766 million-$487 million
2008$497 million$1.3 billion-$759 million
2009$333 million$1.3 billion-$924 million
2010$347 million$1.5 billion-$1.1 billion
2011$555 million$1.7 billion-$1.1 billion
2012$588 million$1.8 billion-$1.2 billion
2013$662 million$2.2 billion-$1.5 billion
2014$735 million$2.3 billion-$1.6 billion
2015$558 million$2.5 billion-$2 billion
2016$651 million$2.9 billion-$2.3 billion
2017$1.1 billion$2.9 billion-$1.8 billion
2018$1.5 billion$3 billion-$1.5 billion
2019$1.1 billion$3.4 billion-$2.2 billion
2020$1.2 billion$3.9 billion-$2.7 billion
2021$1.3 billion$4.1 billion-$2.8 billion
2022$1.6 billion$5.3 billion-$3.7 billion
2023$1.4 billion$2.2 billion-$859 million
2024$580 million$2.1 billion-$1.5 billion

World rank

Rwanda rose from 181st to 164th among the world's exporters

Rank among 222 countries by export value (1st at the top).

  • 181st in 1995
  • 164th in 2024

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearRank
1995181st
1996174th
1997167th
1998169th
1999174th
2000189th
2001172nd
2002172nd
2003172nd
2004165th
2005177th
2006180th
2007176th
2008172nd
2009170th
2010176th
2011172nd
2012173rd
2013170th
2014165th
2015169th
2016167th
2017160th
2018148th
2019158th
2020152nd
2021158th
2022152nd
2023155th
2024164th

What it sells

Ores and slag became its top export group: from 5% to 39%

% of exports by Harmonized System chapter.

  • Other 12%
  • Lead 2%
  • Vegetables 2%
  • Baked goods and cereal products 2%
  • Woven clothing 3%
  • Tin 4%
  • Aircraft and spacecraft 8%
  • Coffee, tea and spices 27%
  • Ores and slag 39%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Chapter19952024
Ores and slag5.1%38.8%
Coffee, tea and spices79.6%26.9%
Aircraft and spacecraft0%8.2%
Tin0%4.4%
Woven clothing0.06%3.2%
Baked goods and cereal products0.22%2.4%
Vegetables0.06%2.3%
Lead0%1.6%
Other15%12.3%

Who it trades with

China went from 0.6% to 25% of Rwanda's trade

% of total trade (exports + imports) with each partner.

  • China 25%
  • Kenya 13%
  • Uganda 10%
  • Tanzania 6%
  • India 5%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Partner19952024
China0.56%25%
Kenya0%12.7%
Uganda12.2%10.5%
Tanzania0.03%6.2%
India0.51%4.7%

Production hubs

Largest industrial emission sources (Climate TRACE, 2025)

No hubs above the globe threshold.

View on the globe

Largest economic production hubs (gridded GDP, 2024)

  • Kigali$24.9 billion (PPP, 2021 dollars)
View on the globe

Sources and methodology

Sources and licenses

Methodology

Goods trade from CEPII BACI (BACI_HS92_V202601), in current US dollars, with exports and imports reconciled between countries. The transport mode is our own estimate based on value per kilo and geography. Ranks are computed among the countries with data each year. Services are not included. Data up to 2024.

Neighboring countries

Main partners

See all countries