The findings were presented through a collaboration between RGB and Singapore-based Chandler Good Government Group, alongside the Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI), which assesses Rwanda and other countries around the world.
The 13th edition of the Rwanda Governance Scorecard (RGS), released on October 22, 2026, gave security a score of 90.15 per cent, while service delivery scored 68.48 per cent.
In the previous assessment, security scored 90.02 per cent, while service delivery stood at 71.73 per cent. This represents an increase of 0.13 percentage points in security and a decline of 3.25 percentage points in service delivery.
The RGB report assesses Rwanda’s governance across eight areas, using 35 key indicators and 153 sub-indicators. It draws on various surveys, government statistics and other sources of information to evaluate institutional performance and citizens’ experiences with public services.
Of the eight areas assessed, five scored between 80 and 100 per cent, while the remaining three scored between 60 and 79.99 per cent.
Security Maintains Top Position
Security scored 90.15 per cent, maintaining its position as the highest-performing area in all 13 editions of the Rwanda Governance Scorecard since the assessment was introduced in 2010.
Among the four indicators under this category, maintaining security scored 92.58 per cent, maintaining public order and preventing crime scored 88.68 per cent, while the safety of people and property scored 83.46 per cent.
Despite its overall strong performance, the report shows that the score for the safety of people and property declined by 3.32 percentage points compared with the previous assessment.
Among the specific findings, 99 per cent of respondents said they trusted the Rwanda Defence Force, 97.4 per cent expressed confidence in the Rwanda National Police, while 97.7 per cent said they were satisfied with the country’s security.
Anti-Corruption, Rule of Law and Citizen Participation
The category covering anti-corruption, transparency and accountability ranked second, scoring 85.80 per cent, up from 84.67 per cent in the previous assessment.
Among its four indicators, the assessment of the prevalence of corruption scored 93.93 per cent, anti-corruption measures scored 79.11 per cent, transparency scored 88.72 per cent, and accountability scored 81.42 per cent.
The rule of law ranked third, with a score of 85.47 per cent, up from 81.63 per cent.
Within this category, judicial performance scored 82.13 per cent, the performance of investigative and prosecution institutions scored 85.89 per cent, citizens’ access to justice scored 76.59 per cent, and the performance of Parliament scored 97.26 per cent.
Citizen participation in governance and inclusiveness ranked fourth, scoring 84.72 per cent, down from 86.31 per cent.
Political rights and civil liberties ranked fifth, with a score of 81.56 per cent, compared with 82.71 per cent in the previous assessment.
Among its four indicators, democratic rights and freedoms scored 85.01 per cent, the performance of political parties scored 73.50 per cent, access to information of public interest scored 81.67 per cent, and compliance with human rights and core international conventions scored 86.06 per cent.
Economic Governance and Social Welfare
Economic governance and the business environment ranked sixth, scoring 73.28 per cent, down from 74.84 per cent.
Investment in human development and social welfare ranked seventh, with a score of 68.55 per cent, up from 64.69 per cent.
Despite remaining among the lower-scoring categories, human development and social welfare recorded the largest improvement, gaining 3.86 percentage points.
Of its five indicators, education scored 73.05 per cent, health scored 78.22 per cent, social protection programmes scored 67.15 per cent, family welfare and development scored 59.45 per cent, while climate change response and environmental protection scored 64.89 per cent.
Service Delivery Quality Declines
The quality of services delivered to citizens ranked last, scoring 68.48 per cent, down from 71.73 per cent in the previous assessment.
The five indicators under this category showed that governance-related services scored 76.95 per cent, social development services scored 66.93 per cent, and economic development services scored 59.70 per cent.
The quality of services provided by public institutions, private companies and non-governmental organisations scored 77.83 per cent, while electronically delivered services scored 60.98 per cent.
RGB said the decline in this category was largely 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, and satisfaction with Irembo services dropped by 5.60 percentage points.
In the latest report, 81.80 per cent of citizens said they were satisfied with Irembo services, while satisfaction with electronic court case filing stood at 65.40 per cent.
The report also indicates that, according to 2024 data from the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, only 11 per cent of government services had been fully digitised, allowing citizens to apply for and receive them electronically without having to use alternative channels.
Among other services assessed, citizen satisfaction with agricultural services stood at 53.70 per cent, services related to land, the environment and human settlements scored 50.90 per cent, while satisfaction with health services reached 63.90 per cent.
RGB Chief Executive Officer Dr Doris Uwicyeza Picard said governance assessments should not simply be produced and stored, but should instead inform decision-making.
“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 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 guide budget planning,” she said.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Rwanda, Fatmata Lovetta Sesay, said the UN was ready to support efforts to strengthen governance in Rwanda.
She emphasized that when both sides work together, nothing is impossible, citing a Kinyarwanda proverb: “Ababiri baruta umwe,” meaning “Two people are better than one.”
