Half of Ugandan adults earn less than sh150,000 – BOU report

About half of working Ugandan adults earn less than sh150,000 per month, according to the Financial Capability Survey (FCS) 2020 report released by Bank of Uganda (BOU) on May 12. 

The FCS visited a total of 3,338 households that were interviewed, which is representative of 22.8 million working adults from 16 years and above.

The FCS is a part of activities conducted by BOU to enhance financial literacy and financial inclusion in Uganda.

“About half of adults (49.2%) earn less than sh150,000 (about $41) per month with a higher proportion of women falling in this category compared to men while, only one percent of adults earn more than sh1m (or $273) per month,” the report found. 

It also revealed that nearly one-fourth of working adults were 25 years and below and 57.5% were in the age band of 26- 55 years. 

In terms of employment, six in 10 adults are self-employed in production which reflects the critical contribution of agriculture to employment in Uganda.

Speaking on April 27 during the Scale2Save conference in Kampala, Joseph Lutwama, the acting executive director at Financial Sector Deepening Uganda said that majority of Ugandans don’t have enough disposable income largely as a result of the economic sectors they operate in. 

He noted that until people are empowered enough to get more money in their pockets through ventures that create constant cash flow, it may remain challenging to achieve the desired level of financial inclusion in the country. 

“Everyone is looking for value. So, whatever you’re doing, if it’s not bringing value to the customer, however, fancy it may be, it will not be of interest to them,” he said. 

According to the report, with regards to sources of income, the most-reported income source was from the sale of produce (53.4%). 

In the urban areas, business profits (39.3%) were the major source of income followed by the sale of produce (33.8%) while the reverse was true in rural areas.

Michael Atingo-Ego, deputy governor, BOU, said FCS is a baseline study for Uganda which gathers information to measure the level of financial capability in the country. 

“Measuring financial capability is recognised globally as an integral part of financial literacy strategy formulation and implementation. Being financially capable encompasses having the appropriate financial knowledge, the right attitudes, and the good financial behaviour to facilitate effective financial decision making,” he said in a statement.