Safety and security have once again topped Rwanda Governance Scorecard, scoring 90.02 per cent, according to Rwanda Governance Board (RGB). The 12th edition of RGB's governance index, released on Friday, October 31, showed that citizen participation and inclusiveness stood out as the only pillar that recorded an overall improvement, rising slightly from 85.84 per cent to 86.31 per cent. ALSO READ: Rwanda safety, security still top pillars in governance score card The annual index serves as a key national index providing credible data on governance to inform policy and decision-making. It assesses performance across eight core pillars that collectively depict Rwanda’s governance landscape. While this year's scores showed a slight decline compared to the previous edition, RGB clarified that this does not reflect a deterioration in governance. Instead, the variation stems from a revision in methodology that was done to align the index with the country’s Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2). ALSO READ: Rwanda leads Africa in rule of law, report says For example, the score for the Safety and Security pillar dropped from 93.82 per cent in 2024 to 90.02 per cent in 2025. However, RGB emphasized that this change is linked to updated measurements and alignment with institutional performance indicators under NST2, rather than an actual decrease in security standards. The Safety and Security pillar has consistently led the rankings since the scorecard’s inception. ALSO READ: For lasting security, Rwanda must emerge as a regional economic and tech powerhouse The Participation and Inclusiveness pillar ranked second, with a slight improvement to 86.31 per cent. Within this pillar, citizen participation indicator scored 90.87 per cent, decentralization 73.11 per cent, and non-state actor involvement 85.13 per cent. Power sharing and inclusiveness achieved a perfect 100 per cent, while gender equality in leadership reached 82.42 per cent. The Anti-Corruption, Transparency, and Accountability pillar ranked third with 84.67 per cent, down from 86.65 per cent in 2024. Political Rights and Civil Liberties came fourth with 82.71 per cent, down from 88 per cent in 2024. The Rule of Law pillar recorded 81.63 per cent, compared to 88.51 per cent last year. ALSO READ: Governance matters: Rwanda’s place in the world The Economic and Corporate Governance pillarscored 74.84 per cent, down from 80.94 per cent in 2024. The Quality of Service Delivery pillar registered 71.73 per cent compared to 75.79 per cent last year. The Investment in Human and Social Development pillar ranked lowest, with 64.69 per cent from 75.21 per cent in 2024, after maintaining relatively stable performance in previous years. ALSO READ: Rwanda to build centre of excellence in local governance Despite the overall slight decrease across most pillars, RGB noted that the revised methodology now provides a more accurate reflection of Rwanda’s governance progress within the NST2 framework. The 12th edition marks a new baseline for upcoming reports, which will now be aligned with the five-year NST2 targets announced in July 2024 and Rwanda’s broader international development goals. Previous editions were benchmarked against NST1, a seven-year government programme that had started in 2017.
