The figures, based on records from the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), show that 4,219 women underwent the procedure in 2024 alone, reflecting a steady increase in uptake over the past five years.
Family planning trends in Rwanda
Family planning use in Rwanda continues to rise, with the number of continuing users increasing from 1.57 million in 2019 to 2.06 million by the end of December 2024. Over the same period, hundreds of thousands of new users joined family planning programs each year, highlighting sustained demand for reproductive health services.
Among modern contraceptive methods, implants remain the most popular, with 879,113 continuing users by the end of 2024, up from 571,510 in 2019. In 2024 alone, 212,974 women newly adopted implants, making it the leading method both in uptake and total use.
Injectable contraceptives, mainly Depo-Provera and Noristerat, rank second, with 671,008 continuing users at the end of 2024, including 180,182 new users during the year. Oral contraceptive pills recorded 348,291 continuing users, with 141,205 new users added during the year.
The use of hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs) also increased, reaching 51,630 continuing users, including 11,990 new users in 2024. Despite the dominance of modern methods, 25,705 people still rely on traditional family planning approaches, such as cycle beads, lactational amenorrhea method (LAM), and auto-observation, which do not require medical procedures or pharmaceutical products.
Women embrace permanent contraception
The number of women opting for tubal ligation has risen sharply over time in Rwanda. Tubal ligation is a surgical procedure in which a woman's fallopian tubes are blocked, tied, or cut to prevent eggs from reaching the uterus, thereby eliminating the possibility of fertilisation.
Records show 14,456 continuing users in 2019, increasing to 18,350 in 2020, 20,904 in 2021, 26,285 in 2022, 31,439 in 2023, and finally 35,105 by the end of 2024. This consistent growth suggests increasing acceptance of long-term reproductive decisions, particularly among women who have completed their desired family size.
Low male Participation in permanent contraception
Meanwhile, male involvement in permanent family planning remains limited. By the end of 2024, only 4,432 men had undergone vasectomy, with only 121 procedures recorded during the year. Vasectomy remains the only permanent family planning method available to men and involves blocking the ducts that carry sperm from the testes, preventing fertilisation.
Family planning remains a cornerstone of Rwanda's strategy to manage population growth, reduce poverty, and improve health outcomes. NISR data show that Rwanda's population growth rate stood at 2.3% between 2012 and 2022, and projections indicate the population could rise from just over 14.1 million today to more than 22 million by 2050, while the country's land area remains unchanged.
The average fertility rate for Rwandan women is estimated at 3.6 children per woman, which is significantly higher than the global average fertility rate of 2.3 children per woman. This underscores the importance of sustained investment in reproductive health services.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
