A new report by the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) has identified security as Rwanda’s best-performing area of governance, while the quality of services provided to citizens ranked last among the eight areas assessed.
The findings were presented on October 22, 2026, during the launch of the 13th edition of the Rwanda Governance Scorecard (RGS). The event also featured the Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI), which assesses government performance in Rwanda and other countries worldwide.
The report shows that security scored 90.15%, while service delivery scored 68.48%. In the previous assessment, security scored 90.02%, while service delivery scored 71.73%. This represents an increase of 0.13 percentage points in the security score and a decline of 3.25 percentage points in service delivery.
The RGS assesses Rwanda’s governance across eight areas using 35 key indicators and 153 sub-indicators. It draws on surveys, government statistics and other data to measure institutional performance and citizens’ experiences with services. Of the eight areas assessed, five scored between 80% and 100%, while the remaining three scored between 60% and 79.99%.
Security Maintains Its Top Position
Security, which scored 90.15%, maintained its leading position, as it has done in all 13 editions of the Rwanda Governance Scorecard since the assessment began in 2010. Among the indicators in this category, maintaining security scored 92.58%, maintaining public order and preventing crime scored 88.68%, while the safety of people and property scored 83.46%.
Despite the sector’s overall strong performance, the score for the safety of people and property declined by 3.32 percentage points compared with the previous assessment. According to the report, 99% of citizens expressed confidence in the Rwanda Defence Force, while 97.4% expressed confidence in the National Police. Meanwhile, 97.7% said they were satisfied with the country’s security.
Anti-Corruption, Rule of Law and Citizen Participation
The category covering the fight against corruption, transparency and accountability ranked second, scoring 85.80%, up from 84.67% in the previous assessment.
Among its four indicators, the assessment of the prevalence of corruption in the country scored 93.93%. Anti-corruption measures scored 79.11%, transparency scored 88.72%, and accountability scored 81.42%. The rule of law ranked third, with a score of 85.47%, up from 81.63%.
Within this category, the performance of the courts scored 82.13%, while investigative and prosecutorial institutions scored 85.89%. Citizens’ access to justice scored 76.59%, and the performance of Parliament scored 97.26%.
Citizen participation in governance and inclusiveness ranked fourth, with a score of 84.72%, down from 86.31%. Political rights and civil liberties ranked fifth, scoring 81.56%, compared with 82.71% in the previous assessment.
The four indicators in this category recorded the following scores: democratic rights and freedoms, 85.01%; the performance of political parties, 73.50%; access to information of public interest, 81.67%; and respect for human rights and fundamental international conventions, 86.06%.
Economic Governance and Social Welfare
Economic governance and the business environment ranked sixth, scoring 73.28%, down from 74.84% in the previous assessment. Investment in human development and social welfare ranked seventh, with a score of 68.55%, up from 64.69%.
Although it remained among the lower-scoring categories, human development and social welfare recorded the largest improvement, gaining 3.86 percentage points. Among its five indicators, education scored 73.05%, health scored 78.22%, and social protection programmes for vulnerable people scored 67.15%. A safe and prosperous family scored 59.45%, while climate change resilience and environmental protection scored 64.89%.
Service Delivery Records the Lowest Score
The quality of services provided to citizens ranked last, scoring 68.48%, down from 71.73% in the previous assessment. Among the indicators in this category, governance-related services scored 76.95%, social development services scored 66.93%, and economic development services scored 59.70%.
The quality of services provided by public institutions, private businesses and non-governmental organisations scored 77.83%, while digitally delivered services scored 60.98%.
RGB indicated that the decline in this category was mainly driven by the performance of digital services. In particular, citizen satisfaction with electronic court case filing fell by 13.60 percentage points. Satisfaction with radio communication services declined by 7.50 percentage points, while satisfaction with Irembo services dropped by 5.60 percentage points.
The report put citizen satisfaction with Irembo services at 81.80%, while satisfaction with electronic court case filing stood at 65.40%.
It also cited 2024 data from the Ministry of ICT and Innovation showing that only 11% of government services had been fully digitised. This meant citizens could apply for and receive those services entirely online without having to use alternative methods.
Satisfaction with other services also varied. Agricultural services scored 53.70%, while land, environment and housing services scored 50.90%. Health services recorded a satisfaction score of 63.90%.
RGB Calls for Research Findings to Guide Decisions
The Director General of RGB, Dr Doris Uwicyeza Picard, said research findings should not be treated as documents that are produced and then stored away. Instead, she stressed that they should inform decision-making.
She said: “Data must be the foundation of governance. Indicators such as the Rwanda Governance Scorecard, the Citizen Report Card, and the Chandler Governance Index are not reports meant to be placed on a shelf. When brought together, they enable evidence-based decision-making, help improve performance monitoring, and strengthen accountability. They also help determine government priorities and inform budget planning.”
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Rwanda, Fatmata Lovetta Sesay, said UN agencies were ready to support efforts to strengthen governance in Rwanda.
She emphasised the importance of cooperation, citing a Rwandan proverb: “Ababiri baruta umwe,” meaning “Two people are better than one.”
