Rwanda hosts over 75,000 registered Congolese refugees. and there is also a large number of unregistered ones. Some have been in Rwanda since 1996.

Following the violence outbreak in eastern DRC from November 2022, on average, Rwanda receives over 100 Congolese asylum applicants every day.

Congolese refugees in Rwanda fled because of the insecurity caused by various armed groups operating in DRC, the absence of the state to provide basic services, the inability of the state to protect citizens, as well as the persecution by FARDC and other armed groups based on ethnicity and language. The primary target is Tutsi (and anyone/anything linked with Tutsis) and violence perpetrated against women is used as a weapon of war. 

Some Congolese refugees live in urban areas, mainly in Kigali. However, most live in refugee camps such as the Kiziba refugee camp in Karongi District, Kigeme refugee camp in Nyamagabe District, Mugombwa refugee camp in Gisagara District, Nyabiheke refugee camp in Gatsibo District and Mahama refugee camp in Kirehe District.

Except for the spontaneous return of around 4,000 Congolese refugees in 2003, no other organized voluntary repatriation facilitated by DRC Governments and UNHCR has happened. Despite that, a tripartite agreement on the repatriation of Congolese refugees was signed between the Government of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and UNHCR on 17 February 2010. 

Since 2005,  22,078 Congolese refugees have been facilitated to resettle in third countries, including the USA, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, France, Finland, Australia, and Canada.