This is a question posed by JK from Kigali. There are several ways we can answer this question. The statistics from the National Institute of Statistics are cooked – so we don’t go there. Meanwhile, Rwanda Revenue Authority has gone to sleep – the last time they posted an annual report online was in 2013.
So we are left with the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB). According to the RSSB 2015 baseline data, there were 17,000 employers in Rwanda contributing to the pension. All employers are legally required to register their workers and contribute their pension dues to RSSB. The number of employers contributing to the medical scheme was even tinier – 1,459.
This means that most Rwandans still eke a living from small parcels of land they call “agriculture” or are in informal sector, or are unemployed.
These are shocking statistics. Imagine a country of 6 million working-age people (15-65 years of age), with only 17,000 employers.
There you go JK from Kigali. I hope you are employed by one of the 17,000 employers in the Singapore of Africa.
