The services sector is a major contributor to Rwanda’s revenue, yet its performance continues to disappoint citizens due to dissatisfaction with how services are delivered.
In 2024, Rwanda’s GDP reached 18.785 trillion Rwf, up from 16.626 trillion Rwf in 2023. According to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) in March 2025, services contributed 48% to this output.
In the second quarter of 2025, GDP was 5.798 trillion Rwf, with services accounting for 50%, highlighting that nearly half of Rwanda’s revenue comes from this sector.
Employment creation in services is also significant. Recent NISR research shows that 4,888,921 Rwandans were employed, representing 57% of the working population, up from 54.3% in the third quarter of 2024. Among them, 44.9% work in the services sector.
However, citizen satisfaction with services remains low. The annual Rwanda Governance Scorecard (RGS) 2024 conducted by the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) showed that citizen satisfaction with service delivery fell from 79.98% in 2023 to 75.79% in 2024. In 2022, it was 77%.
The 12th RGS, released on October 31, 2025, shows that satisfaction with service delivery has further declined to 71.73%, indicating a notable decrease in how citizens perceive the quality of services.
Among Rwanda’s eight governance pillars, service delivery consistently ranks lowest in citizen satisfaction. In RGS 12, it is followed by improving citizens’ welfare, which scored 64.69%.
Key Findings on Service Delivery
- Governance-related service delivery scored 88%, focusing on small measures like citizen satisfaction with local government services (77.60%) and justice services (80.90%).
- Average satisfaction with services for community development was 70.98%. Breaking it down further: health services 71.90%, education 82%, social welfare 69.60%, and sanitation 60.40%.
- Services promoting economic development scored 68%, including agriculture (55.30%), livestock (59.20%), infrastructure (69.20%), land and environment (59.40%), and private sector support (74.80%).
- Public, private, and civil society services received an overall satisfaction of 77%, with government services at 77.80%, private sector at 80.66%, and civil society at 75.31%.
- ICT services scored 66.90%, with IREMBO e-services rated 87.40%, judicial e-services 79.00%, mobile payment services 79.40%, radio communication services 77.70%, and fully digital government services only 11.00%.
Challenges in Service Delivery Culture
Murindwa Anathole, head of RGB’s governance research unit, noted that low service scores indicate poor service culture. He said:
“This shows that services provided are often substandard. Resources, proper facilities, professionalism, and communication are still below desired levels. All actors, whether government or private, need more training because good service should be a culture.”
Murindwa emphasized that poor service delivery can negatively affect tourism and overall economic development. For instance, in 2024, over 579,500 foreign visitors generated more than 839.9 billion Rwf in revenue. Poor service can reduce the benefits from these visitors.
Although current satisfaction is 71%, far from perfect, Rwanda’s strong governance foundation and leadership commitment to quality service give hope that full improvement can be achieved.
