Mobile Money Drives Uganda’s Financial Inclusion Surge as UBOS Report Shows Broad Socio-Economic Gains

By Ben Musanje

Mobile money has emerged as one of the strongest drivers of financial inclusion in Uganda, with access rising sharply across regions and demographic groups, according to the latest Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) findings covering the period 2021/22 to 2024/25.

Part of the report, presented by Aubrey Kemigisha Abaho, Principal Statistician under the Department of Social Services and Census   shows that access to mobile money services among persons aged 15 years and above increased from 34.4 percent in 2021/22 to 40.7 percent in 2023/24, before rising further to 47.7 percent in 2024/25. This represents one of the fastest-growing indicators in the entire survey period, reflecting the expanding role of digital financial platforms in Uganda’s economy.

Growth was particularly strong in regions outside the capital. The Central region excluding Kampala recorded a major increase from 46.4 percent to 65.4 percent between 2021/22 and 2024/25. Western Uganda also saw a significant jump from 30.1 percent to 47.3 percent, while the Northern and Eastern regions recorded steady gains of over 9 percentage points each.

Kampala, which already had relatively high access levels, also registered growth from 59.9 percent to 64.7 percent, confirming the nationwide spread of mobile financial services.

Closely linked to this trend is a gradual increase in bank account ownership and broader financial inclusion. The proportion of persons aged 15 years and above with bank accounts rose from 6.0 percent to 8.1 percent over the same period. Although still low compared to mobile money usage, this indicates slow but steady deepening of formal banking participation.

Credit access patterns remained relatively stable, with minimal differences between male and female respondents. However, mobile money continues to dominate everyday financial transactions, especially among rural households that have historically been underserved by traditional banking systems.

Beyond financial inclusion, the UBOS report highlights wide-ranging improvements in Uganda’s socio-economic landscape, including education, household welfare, labour dynamics, and housing conditions.

Education Outcomes Strengthen Across All Levels

The report shows strong gains in education participation and literacy. School attendance among children aged 6–12 years increased significantly, rising from 85.5 percent in 2021/22 to 94.6 percent in 2024/25.

Retention in primary education also improved, with more than 97 percent of learners who enrolled in Primary One in 2021/22 still in school by 2024/25. Similar strong survival rates were recorded across other primary levels, with particularly high retention among girls in upper primary classes.

Literacy rates among persons aged 10 years and above also improved steadily, increasing from 73.6 percent in 2021/22 to 85.3 percent in 2024/25. Urban areas continue to outperform rural areas, although the gap is narrowing as access to education expands across the country.

Household Structure and Living Patterns Are Changing

The report also highlights shifts in household composition. The proportion of male-headed households declined from 66.3 percent in 2021/22 to 64.3 percent in 2024/25, suggesting gradual changes in household leadership structures.

At the same time, household sizes are becoming slightly smaller. One-person households increased from 7.8 percent to 10.2 percent, while households with 4–5 members declined from 44.6 percent to 42.1 percent over the same period. These trends point to increasing urbanization, migration, and changing family arrangements.

Labour Market Shows Transition but Rising Unemployment

Uganda’s labour market is undergoing structural changes, with a shift away from subsistence work and toward wage employment and services.

The proportion of persons aged 15 years and above engaged in subsistence work declined from 30.4 percent in 2021/22 to 25.8 percent in 2024/25. At the same time, non-farm wage employment increased from 14.9 percent to 17.9 percent, indicating gradual diversification of income sources.

However, unemployment also increased slightly from 10.2 percent to 11.0 percent, reflecting challenges in absorbing the growing working-age population into productive employment.

Service and sales occupations expanded significantly, rising from 26.0 percent to 31.5 percent, making them the fastest-growing employment category. In contrast, agricultural occupations declined from 23.4 percent to 16.9 percent, confirming a slow structural shift away from agriculture.

Improved Access to Basic Services

Household welfare indicators show consistent improvements. Access to improved drinking water sources increased from 70.2 percent in 2021/22 to 78.4 percent in 2024/25, reflecting investments in water infrastructure and rural service delivery.

Electricity access also improved, with households using grid electricity for lighting increasing from 25.3 percent to 29.5 percent nationally. Despite this progress, rural electrification gaps remain significant compared to urban areas.

Clean cooking technology remains one of the slowest improving indicators, rising only from 1.0 percent in 2022 to 2.1 percent in 2025, showing continued reliance on biomass fuels.

Household Enterprises and Economic Resilience

The report shows modest growth in household enterprise activity, rising from 36.9 percent in 2021/22 to 38.8 percent in 2024/25. This suggests increasing reliance on small businesses as a source of income diversification, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas.

Labour Transitions and Economic Mobility

Labour force transitions reveal significant movement within Uganda’s working-age population. About 21.8 percent of individuals transitioned into employment by 2024/25, while 21.3 percent moved out of the labour force and 5.5 percent transitioned into unemployment.

Meanwhile, 23.6 percent remained continuously employed across all survey waves, indicating a relatively stable core workforce, while nearly 30 percent remained outside the labour force throughout the period.

As emphasized by Aubrey Kemigisha Abaho, these trends highlight the importance of continued investment in inclusive growth strategies and data-driven policymaking to ensure that economic gains translate into broad-based development. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).