The National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) has reaffirmed the credibility and scientific rigor of its latest Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV7), addressing past criticism while highlighting key socio-economic gains.
Released on April 17, 2025, the EICV7 survey, conducted throughout 2023–2024, tracks trends in poverty, education, access to services, and livelihoods. It is the seventh edition of the national survey conducted every three years since 2001.
Key findings from the survey include:
- The poverty rate decreased from 38.2% (2016/17) to 35.6% (2022).
- Extreme poverty fell from 16% to 13.5%.
- Literacy rate among individuals aged 15 and above increased to 77%.
- Primary school net attendance reached 91%.
- 55% of the working-age population is engaged in agriculture.
- Access to electricity rose to 66% of households.
- Access to improved drinking water increased to 80% of households.
In an exclusive interview on The Long Foam Podcast, NISR Director General Ivan Murenzi described the survey as a key tool for evaluating poverty and well-being. “This is one of the main surveys in Rwanda which looks at well-being as well as poverty, poverty being the key word,” he said.
The survey’s release comes in the shadow of a 2019 Financial Times article that accused Rwanda of manipulating poverty figures, a claim that sparked international debate but was countered by World Bank validations.
“There will always be varying opinions in statistics, which is okay,” Murenzi said. “What matters is whether those opinions are grounded and objective.”
Addressing criticism more directly, he added: “You can never be bulletproof to people having opinions. The real question is: is their critique based on tangible evidence, is it compelling, and is it echoed by others or is it just one voice?”
Murenzi emphasized that NISR’s statistical practices are aligned with global standards. “How we measure GDP, inflation, or poverty follows the same international methodology as used elsewhere,” he noted.
He also credited Rwanda’s decentralized administrative system from provinces down to villages as a major strength in accurate and granular data collection. “Very few countries have that level of local organization,” he said.
The EICV7 survey used representative samples based on the 2022 national census, ensuring up-to-date population and housing data. “In Rwanda, we’ve consistently conducted a population census every 10 years since 1994,” Murenzi said. “When you combine that with our detailed administrative units, the statistical picture becomes much more reliable.”
As Rwanda looks to shape policies grounded in evidence, Murenzi said public trust in official statistics must be built on transparency, methodological integrity, and responsiveness to scrutiny. “Statistics must be both technically sound and publicly trusted,” he concluded. “In Rwanda, our goal is to maintain both.”
