Jobs · Census 2024 and UBOS labour surveys

Half of young Ugandans are not in work, school or training

At the 2024 census, 51% of Ugandans aged 18–30 were not in work, school or training. In Kwania it was 70%. See every district →

Youth 18–30 not in work, school or training

51%

Census 2024

Unemployment, age 14–64

12.6%

Census 2024

Typical monthly pay

UGX 250k

paid jobs, 2021 (median)

People working

18.3 million

NLFS 2021

Did you know?

The typical worker in a paid job earned UGX 250,000 a month in 2021: UGX 300,000 for men and UGX 180,000 for women.

What does work pay?

Typical (median) monthly earnings of people in paid jobs, cash plus in-kind, 2021.

Monthly pay by type of job

Median, UGX per month, 2021

	UGX per month
Formal employment	612,000
Public sector	560,000
Urban	285,000
Informal Employment	240,000
Private sector	200,000
Rural	200,000

Monthly pay by sector

Median, UGX per month, 2021

	UGX per month
Services	320,000
Production	250,000
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	100,000

Does education lead to a wage job?

% of working people who are employees, by education (2021)

	% employees
No formal education	28%
Some primary	28%
Completed primary	27%
Some secondary	33%
Completed secondary	44%
Post primary specialized	53%
Post-Secondary specialized training	62%
Degree and above	65%

Where people work

% of employed people, biggest sectors, by survey

Agriculture
Trade
Manufacturing
Transport and storage
Construction
Hotels, restaurant eating places

Month	Agriculture	Trade	Manufacturing	Transport and storage	Construction	Hotels, restaurant eating places
NLFS 2021	35.9%	22.8%	8.3%	6.2%	4.7%	4.1%
UNHS 2019/20	39.8%	20.2%	8.3%	5.7%	4.6%	3.3%
NLFS 2016/17	40.9%	18.1%	9.8%	4.3%	4.3%	3.5%

Youth unemployment (18–30)

% of young people in the labour force without a job, by survey

Young women
Young men

Month	Young women	Young men
NLFS 2021	20.4%	13.5%
UNHS 2019/20	13.0%	13.0%
UNHS 2016/17	14.7%	11.4%

Why the youth figures jump in 2021

In the UNHS 2016/17 and UNHS 2019/20 surveys, UBOS listed young people who only farm for their own family as a separate group (27.9% of 18–30 year olds in UNHS 2019/20). The NLFS 2021 survey has no such group, so they appear to be counted as not in work instead. That is the main reason the survey’s share of youth not in work, school or training rises from 18.7% to 41.1%, and why the NLFS 2021 figures should not be compared directly with earlier years. The census figure at the top of this page is the more complete picture.

Working for government, and saving for retirement

Uganda’s public service had 356,800 employees in 2023, up from 308,451 in 2016. 49% are teachers.
The public-service wage bill was about UGX 411 billion a month in 2023, up from UGX 276 billion in 2020.
That works out at roughly UGX 870,000 a month per teacher on average (2023).
39% of public servants were women in 2023, but only 24% in the police and prisons.
Public-service pensioners rose from 52,508 in 2019 to 78,416 in 2023.
732,909 workers contributed to NSSF in 2023, through 25,546 employers. 37% of members are women.

Who works for government?

Public servants by group

Ministries & agencies
Teachers
Police & prisons
Public universities
Local governments

	Ministries & agencies	Teachers	Police & prisons	Public universities	Local governments
2016	22,965	159,690	53,078	6,453	66,265
2017	21,734	159,670	53,293	5,835	68,221
2018	22,145	159,866	52,870	6,754	70,743
2019	22,312	169,920	50,555	6,937	70,349
2020	22,642	170,791	56,281	7,102	72,817
2021	23,875	173,091	61,733	7,258	76,082
2022	24,262	176,032	62,093	7,440	83,441
2023	24,985	176,411	61,725	7,635	86,044

The monthly wage bill

Public-service pay, UGX billion a month (see notes on units)

Ministries & agencies
Teachers
Police & prisons
Public universities
Local governments

	Ministries & agencies	Teachers	Police & prisons	Public universities	Local governments
2020	39 bn	114 bn	31 bn	36 bn	57 bn
2021	42 bn	116 bn	34 bn	37 bn	60 bn
2022	61 bn	159 bn	38 bn	40 bn	115 bn
2023	65 bn	153 bn	38 bn	42 bn	113 bn

Women in the public service

% of each group who are women, 2023

	Women
Ministries & agencies	45%
Teachers	41%
Police & prisons	24%
Public universities	38%
Local governments	44%
All public servants	39%

NSSF members by sector

Workers contributing to NSSF, 2023

	Members
Education	132,662
Manufacturing and Mining	83,068
Trade	73,766
Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	71,366
Human Health and Social Work Activities	69,551
Public Administration & Security Companies	63,215
Financial & Insurance Services	45,281
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	44,305
NGO, Political & Trade unions	43,905
Recreation, Accommodation and Food Service Activities	36,713
Transport & Storage and Real Estate Activities and Construction	35,643
Utilities and Energy	22,000
Information, Communication & Technology	10,120

About these numbers

Earnings are medians for people in paid work, in thousands of shillings a month (cash and in-kind), from the 2021 National Labour Force Survey.
Surveys differ (UNHS 2016/17 and 2019/20, NLFS 2021), so small changes between them should be read with care.
UBOS labels the civil-service wage bill in billions of shillings, but the figures only make sense in millions (otherwise the monthly bill would be over UGX 400 trillion); they are shown here as UGX billion.
Pensioners are public-service pensioners (teachers and traditional civil servants). UBOS gives no 2021 figure.
NSSF members are workers with contributions in the year. An older UBOS table (2018–2020) counts something much smaller, so the two are not joined.
“Employees” work for someone else for pay. Most other workers run their own small business or farm.

What does work pay?

Why the youth figures jump in 2021

Working for government, and saving for retirement

About these numbers

Where this comes from