A total of 42 percent of Uganda’s population aged 16 and above save money using different mechanisms, while 58 percent don’t save at all, the 2024 National Population & Housing Census report reveals.
During the 2024 census, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) asked Ugandans the type of saving mechanisms they used in the last 12 months preceding the NPHC 2024.
According to the report, saving money on mobile money was the most used mechanism for saving (20%), followed by keeping cash at home (17%).
Only 7 percent were using commercial banks as savings mechanisms.
The report adds that 5 percent of the population used SACCOs for saving, and the least proportion of savers (1%) who use formal institutions use credit institutions for saving. 4.3% of the population use MFDIs to save their money.
Savings are an important determinant of both individual and national well-being.
According to the report, Buganda had the highest number of savers, with the most used mechanism being mobile money (28%). West Nile had its highest percentage of the population keeping cash at home (19%).
The highest percentage of those saving with SACCOs (10%) were from the Bunyoro sub region. The highest percentage of those using commercial banks (13%) were from the Buganda subregion, and the lowest percentage of those who were using commercial banks (2.2%) was from the West Nile subregion.
The report further reveals that the highest percentage (28%) of the population used formal saving mechanisms. A higher percentage of
Male savers (30%) in Uganda use formal institutions compared to female savers (25%).
However, there are more female savers using informal institutions (15%) compared to their male counterparts (11%).
The biggest percentage (64%) of those who use formal mechanisms of saving are people who attained post-secondary levels of education and above. Buganda subregion had the highest percentage (37.4%) of users of formal institutions to save, and it also had the least percentage (9%) of users of informal institutions. Accessibility
The report shows that village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) are the highest available financial service providers (76%), followed by mobile money agents (69%). 46% of the parishes reported the availability of a SACCO with a physical location. Among formal banking institutions, banking agents were the commonly available financial institutions, as registered in 13% of the parishes.
Commercial banks and DTIs (deposit-taking institutions) are the least available (2% and 2%, respectively), the report says.
The common financial institutions are the VSLAs, with up to 76% of the parishes having reported to have VSLAs in their communities.
The report reveals that the West Nile sub-region had VSLAs in 93 percent of their parishes, while the Elgon sub-region had 55 percent of parishes with a VSLA.
Buganda sub-region reported the highest percentage of parishes having mobile money agents (87%), while Karamoja had
the lowest (29%). Results on the availability of a SACCO with a physical address also show that overall, 46 percent of the parishes in Uganda had a SACCO. The highest percentage was reported in Teso (58%) and the lowest in Kigezi (35%).
Overall, except VSLA which is available in rural (76%) and urban (75%) areas, all the categories of financial services were more common in urban areas compared to rural areas. This is more evident for the money lenders (40% compared to 25%) and banking agents (22% compared to 7%).
