Standard English in Rwanda

Speakers

1,168,831

Type

Location

Standard English in Rwanda

Country

Information available

1. Basics

Names

Standard English in Rwanda

Size

1,168,831

English is one of four official languages in Rwanda. Before 1994, Rwanda had chosen two official languages, Kinyarwanda and French, which were also languages ​​taught at the same time as Swahili and English. Since 1996, English has become an official language in the same way as the other two and has become the sole language of instruction since 2008.

2. Status

Status

  • Official country wide language
  • Official regional language
  • Official minority language
  • Recognised community language
  • Unrecognised community language
National language
No
Indigenous language
No
Administrative units of the country
English is used in education, administration, media and in some businesses (banking,...)

3. State

Documentation: materials

4. Users

Geographical distribution

  • Users live and dominate in all regions of the country
  • Users live in one [state/...] of the country
  • Users live in a cross-border region [state/...] of the country
  • Users live in separated [states/...] of the country
  • Users live dispersed across one [state/...] of the country
  • Users live scattered all over the country

Size / Number of users

Number of users

1168831
Source
The Fifth Rwanda Population and Housing Census, 2022
Year
2022
Comments

14.1% of Rwandans, across the country, aged 15 years and above are literate in Kinyarwanda and English (21.6% in the City of Kigali, 11.7% in the Southern Province, 13% in Western Province, 13.1% in Northern Province, 13.8 in Eastern Province). Only 0.2% are literate in English only (only in the City of Kigali).

Language competence

Literacy of users

Less than 50% of users with literacy in the language
Actual percentage
14
Source

The Fifth Rwanda Population and Housing Census, 2022

Year
2022
Comments

14.1% of Rwandans, across the country, aged 15 years and above are literate in Kinyarwanda and English (21.6% in the City of Kigali, 11.7% in the Southern Province, 13% in Western Province, 13.1% in Northern Province, 13.8 in Eastern Province). Only 0.2% are literate in English only (only in the City of Kigali).

5. Use

Socio-geographic dimension

Geographic scope
  • International
  • Supranational
  • Cross-border (states)
  • State-wide
  • Supra-regional cross-border
  • Supra-regional
  • Regional cross-border
  • Regional
  • Local

Economic dimension

Economic scope
  • Quinary sector
  • Quaternary sector
  • Tertiary sector
  • Secondary sector
  • Primary sector
  • Language not used

Functional dimension

Functional scope
  • Public domains
  • Everyday domains
  • Private domains
Nature
complementary
Stability
Increasing
Comments

In last twenty years, the users of English in Rwanda have significantly increased up to 12.3%: from 1.8% in 2002 (the Third Rwanda Population and Housing Census, 2002) to 6.5% in 2012 (the Fourth Rwanda Population and Housing Census) and from 6.5% in 2012 to 14.1% in 2022 (the Fifth Rwanda Population and Housing Census).

Functional use in administration

Language use in administration
  • International level
  • National level
  • Regional level
  • Local level
  • Auxiliary use
  • No use

Types of language use

  • signed / spoken use
  • written use
  • digital use

Language is used for

  • Census data
  • Census surveys
  • Election processes
  • Topographical signs

Ethnoculture

  • No use
  • Informal learning
  • Skills and knowledge
  • Performing arts
  • Social practices
  • Customary law
  • Traditional medicine
  • Knowledge and practices
  • Traditions and expressions

Public healthcare

  • Language not used
  • Translations
  • Healthcare information
  • Nursing care (incl. elderly)
  • Doctor-patient communication
  • Generally used

Information, communication and cultural production

  • Information services
  • Broadcasting
  • Video, film
  • Sound/music recording
  • Publishing activities
  • Language not used

Digital sphere

  • Language not used
  • Texting and messaging
  • Social media
  • Blogs, web pages, e-books
  • Edutainment products and services
  • Social media have a localized interface
  • Localized web search and e-commerce services
  • Localized operating systems
  • Machine translation
  • Top level domain name

Legal system

Language use in the legal system
  • General use
  • Legal transactions
  • Court proceedings
  • Written submissions
  • Spoken/signed testimonies
  • Language not used

Geographical scope of legal language use

  • Local
  • Regional
  • National
  • International

Completion