Rwanda joined the Commonwealth of Nations and subsequently the Commonwealth Games Federation in 2009. Rwanda joined despite not historical link to the Commonwealth. It was a German colony, then a Belgian mandate, and was never under British rule.

Rwanda competed in their first Commonwealth Games in Dehli 2010.

Rwanda at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Rwanda won a single bronze medal at Glasgow 2026, the first Commonwealth Games staged with a reduced program of just 10 sports, to finish in a tie for thirty-sixth on the medal table. It was a landmark result, Rwanda's first-ever senior Commonwealth Games medal, ending a wait that stretched back to the nation's debut in 2010.

The medal came from distance runner Florence Niyonkuru, who took bronze in the women's 10,000m in a time of 31:55.47, holding off Uganda's Esther Chebet by just 0.23 seconds for the final place on the podium. Australia's Rose Davies won gold and Kenya's Diana Wanza took silver. The final medal standings, with Rwanda's placing, are shown below.

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Australia 70 45 56 171
2 England 29 45 36 110
3 Canada 19 20 23 62
4 India 13 17 9 39
5 Scotland 13 9 17 39
6 New Zealand 10 14 12 36
7 Nigeria 10 7 7 24
8 Jamaica 10 4 5 19
9 Wales 9 10 12 31
10 Malaysia 8 3 5 16
11 South Africa 7 11 10 28
12 Northern Ireland 3 4 9 16
13 Kenya 3 4 5 12
14 Cyprus 1 5 6 12
15 Mauritius 1 2 1 4
16 Cameroon 1 1 3 5
17 Jersey 1 1 0 2
17 Samoa 1 1 0 2
17 Sri Lanka 1 1 0 2
20 Fiji 1 0 1 2
20 Isle of Man 1 0 1 2
20 Bahamas 1 0 1 2
23 British Virgin Islands 1 0 0 1
23 Dominica 1 0 0 1
23 Grenada 1 0 0 1
26 Trinidad and Tobago 0 3 4 7
27 Uganda 0 2 1 3
28 Singapore 0 2 0 2
29 Namibia 0 1 2 3
30 Ghana 0 1 1 2
31 Barbados 0 1 0 1
31 Guernsey 0 1 0 1
33 Lesotho 0 0 2 2
33 Nauru 0 0 2 2
33 Zambia 0 0 2 2
36 Bermuda 0 0 1 1
36 Gabon 0 0 1 1
36 Malta 0 0 1 1
36 Norfolk Island 0 0 1 1
36 Pakistan 0 0 1 1
36 Papua New Guinea 0 0 1 1
36 Rwanda 0 0 1 1

Trivia

  • Athletes from Rwanda at the 2010 Games took part in athletics, boxing, road cycling and swimming.
  • Rwanda is one of the newest members of the Commonwealth, joining in 2009.
  • Rwanda, like Mozambique, is one of the few countries that participates at the Commonwealth Games without having some historical link to the Commonwealth.