KIGALI — Rwandan courts received 3,620 divorce cases during the first six months of 2026, according to figures attributed to the Rwanda Judiciary, translating into an average of about 28 divorce cases filed on every working day during the period.
The figure was highlighted in a recent social-media post citing Rwanda Judiciary data, drawing attention to the volume of marital disputes entering the country’s courts.
The calculation is based on 129 working days in the first half of the year. Dividing the 3,620 cases by 129 gives an average of 28.06 divorce cases per working day.
The figure does not mean that 28 couples divorced every working day. It represents cases filed in court, and a case may subsequently be settled, withdrawn, dismissed or proceed to a judicial decision.
The Rwanda Judiciary maintains an electronic case-management system and publishes judicial statistics and annual performance reports. Its court registries are responsible for receiving complaints and ensuring that cases meet the requirements for registration.
A striking volume of marital disputes
The 3,620 cases over six months amount to an average of roughly 603 divorce filings per month, or about 20 cases for every calendar day when weekends and public holidays are included.
If the same pace continued throughout the year, the first-half figure would correspond to roughly 7,240 divorce filings in 2026. That is a projection, however, rather than an official full-year forecast.
The available figure also does not by itself establish that divorce is increasing in Rwanda. A meaningful trend would require comparison with previous years, as well as information on Rwanda’s changing population, marriage rates and the proportion of marriages ending in court proceedings.
Rwanda’s Judiciary has previously published detailed statistics on cases filed across its court system. Its 2023/24 annual report, for example, recorded 109,691 cases across the country’s courts, with Primary Courts accounting for the largest share.
Courts increasingly encourage mediation
Not every marital dispute that reaches the court system necessarily ends with a contested judgment.
The Rwanda Judiciary has been promoting mediation and other alternatives to trial as ways of resolving disputes without lengthy litigation. The Judiciary says mediation can help provide justice more efficiently and allow parties to reach an agreement without taking a case through a full trial.
Its latest published judicial performance figures show that the average time a case waited before being heard fell from eight months in the 2023/24 judicial year to six months in 2024/25.
Rwanda has 41 Primary Courts and 12 Intermediate Courts, alongside the High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and specialised courts. Primary Courts have jurisdiction over original civil and criminal matters defined by law, meaning they form an important part of the country’s system for handling disputes involving ordinary citizens.
The 3,620 divorce filings therefore offer an unusual glimpse into the private pressures reaching Rwanda’s formal justice system.
But the number alone cannot explain why the couples are seeking divorce. Without a breakdown of the cases by cause—such as domestic violence, infidelity, financial disputes, prolonged separation or other grounds—it would be premature to conclude what is driving the figure.
What the statistic does show is the sheer volume of marital disputes being brought before Rwanda’s courts: more than 3,600 in just six months.
