The love burden: How Uganda’s working families are carrying everyone else

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On a quiet evening in Kampala, the maths of survival plays out in several living rooms and bedrooms. A salary comes in, but it can’t cover the outstanding school fees. Rent is overdue.

A relative back home needs help. A child needs lunch money tomorrow. Another relative dies, and burial expenses become an emergency. By the time the numbers are done, little—if anything—remains.

In Uganda today, living a “decent life” has become an exercise in endurance, says Samuel Sanya, an independent financial advisor within the capital markets.

According to the 2024 National Census by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Sanya says nearly every working Ugandan supports at least one non-working relative. Sometimes, it gets worse as parents support children, siblings support siblings, and the needs of entire extended families.

Sanya says, although “It takes a village to raise a child,” today, “it takes a village to sustain an adult.” Some families in urban Uganda are supporting their adult children, who either do not have jobs or have low-paying jobs.

“That reality cuts across income levels but weighs most heavily on those earning modest wages in cities, where the cost of living is driven by essentials: food, rent, transport, education, and healthcare. Inflation may have cooled—hovering between three and four percent in late 2025—but relief has been limited. Prices have stabilised, not fallen,” says Sanya.

He continues to paint a grim picture, saying: “For families with school-going children, the squeeze is relentless. Fees arrive in lumps, not instalments. Medical bills come without warning. Transport costs fluctuate with fuel prices. And while inflation has slowed, wages have not meaningfully risen.”

Uganda’s macroeconomic picture looks steady on paper, Sanya notes.

“Bank of Uganda has kept interest rates relatively high in nominal terms, supporting price stability and offering the potential for positive real returns on savings. Commercial lending rates have remained stable. But at the household level, the math is unforgiving. Low inflation does not help if there is nothing left to save.”

Social costs

Ugandans don’t live in a bubble. They are sociable and uphold their social obligations, but they have financial implications.

As Sanya explains, “The pressure is intensified by social obligation. Financial decisions in Uganda are rarely individual. Religious commitments, cultural expectations, age, gender roles, and extended family ties shape how money is spent. Saying no—to a funeral contribution, a sibling’s request, or a church tithe—is often not an option.”

Yet UBOS data shows that seven million Ugandans live below the poverty line. “Nearly one in three households skips meals. For millions, sh. 100,000 is not discretionary income; it is the difference between eating and not eating,” he says.

Uganda’s economy may be stabilising, but its families are still carrying the weight of everyone else. And for many, stability feels less like progress and more like standing still; and hoping nothing else breaks.