Data story: Half of young adults are not in work or school. How many more are coming?
51% of Uganda's 18-30-year-olds are not in work, school or training
5.2 million young adults aged 18 to 30 in Uganda were not in employment, education or training in 2024. Unemployment among people 15 and over was 12.3%, 33.1% of households live in the subsistence economy, and 34.2% of 13-17-year-olds are out of school.
- NEET, 18-30: 50.9% (5.2 million young adults)
- Unemployment: 12.3% (labour force aged 15+)
- Subsistence households: 33.1% (UBOS classification)
- Out of school, 13-17: 34.2% (secondary-school age)
What comes next: The wave already born
18.2 million children under 14 were counted in Uganda in 2024. All of them reach working age (14) by 2038: on average about 1.3 million new people of working age every year, before deaths and migration. Every one of them is already born.
How this was worked out: Cohort arithmetic on 2024 census age groups (total minus ages 14-64 and 65+). Not a forecast of jobs or of labour force participation.
More data stories
- Population growth: How fast is Uganda growing, and where will the next 15 million people live?
- Cities and crowding: Are Uganda's cities filling up, or the districts around them?
- A nation of children: How young is Uganda, and what happens when today's children grow up?
- Four Ugandas: How different are Central, Eastern, Northern and Western Uganda, and which is pulling ahead?
- Where pressure builds: Which districts will feel the squeeze of growth first?
- The basics gap: How many Ugandan homes still lack grid power, safe water or a decent toilet?
- Offline Uganda: How many Ugandans are online, and how do the rest get their news?
- Room in the classroom: How many children are out of school, and how many more seats will be needed?
- Sharing a clinic: How many people share each health facility, and how many more are needed by 2030?
- How near is the state?: Where are the police stations, courts and public offices, and who has none nearby?
- Follow the money: Is public spending keeping up with a growing population?
Source: Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), National Population and Housing Census 2024 (final results, drill-down tables). Published on Pearl Insights (https://pearl-insights.org), an independent civic data platform, not an official government website.