- Ugandan youth (18-30 years) are less likely than older citizens to say they feel close to a political party (56% vs. 65%).
- The gap in political affiliation has persisted for two decades, ranging up to 14 percentage points in 2019.
- Only 52% of young people say they voted in the 2021 election, compared to 89% of citizens older than 30.
- This difference in self-reported voting between youth and older adults is at its widest over the past two decades.
- In 2019, almost half (47%) of youth reported attending a campaign rally during the previous election, compared to 59% of older citizens.
- Three in 10 youth (31%) report joining with others in their communities during the previous year to request government action, while smaller proportions say they contacted the media (11%), participated in a demonstration or protest march (5%), and posted about political or community affairs on social media (5%).
- Since 2012, youth civic engagement has declined sharply, including a 27- percentage-point drop in the share who joined with others to raise an issue.
- Ugandan youth are less likely than older citizens to engage with leaders. Fewer than one in four young people report contacting traditional leaders (23%), political party officials (18%), or a member of Parliament (14%) in the year before the survey – consistently lower levels than among older citizens (31%, 24%, and 19%, respectively).
Given their talents, education levels, energies, and sheer numbers, African youth are a potential driver of economic and political transformation. Yet many young people remain marginalised by entrenched political systems that exclude them from meaningful dialogue, policy development, and action (Goudie, 2018; Gyampo & Anyidoho, 2019).
In Uganda, youth political engagement traces back to the anti-colonial movements of the pre-independence era (Makumbi, 2022). The government, led by the National Resistance Movement (NRM) since 1986, has introduced several measures to promote youth inclusion. The National Youth Council (2025), established in 1993, serves as a unifying body to mobilise youth for national development and safeguard them from political manipulation. The 1995 Constitution further institutionalised youth participation by reserving five parliamentary seats for youth representatives, while at district and sub-county levels young people are represented by two youth councillors – one male and one female (Macdonald, Owor, & Tapscott, 2023).
Although youth groups such as the Uganda Young Democrats already existed, the reintroduction of multiparty politics in 2005 created new avenues for youth participation through official party youth wings and pressure groups (Njoki, 2019). The Multiparty Youth Forum serves as a cross-party platform for youth wings of parties with seats in Parliament (Katushabe, 2024; Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, 2025; Independent, 2023). More recently, the People Power Movement, led by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (better known as Bobi Wine), galvanised large numbers of young Ugandans, reshaping the country’s political landscape ahead of the 2021 elections (Blanshe, 2024; Walusansa, 2018).
Despite both formal and informal structures for youth participation in politics, youth remain under-represented in political leadership. In the 11th Parliament, only 3.8% of members of Parliament (MPs) are 30 years or younger (Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2025). High nomination fees – UGX3 million (U.S. $862) for parliamentary candidates and UGX20 million (U.S. $5,750) for presidential candidates – limit youth participation, rendering representation largely symbolic (Electoral Commission, 2025; Nyamugabwa, 2023).
Youth face other challenges to political participation. Critics say youth are sometimes unable to enter the voters’ register timeously due to rigid deadlines (Open Space, 2025). Political parties and other powerful actors often exploit young people’s energy and networks for partisan gain. Some youth view politics as an avenue for enrichment or upward social mobility rather than a platform for policy influence (Olukya, 2022). Those aligned with opposition political parties or movements frequently face intimidation and arbitrary arrests, highlighting the challenges of meaningful youth engagement in Uganda’s political landscape (Massa, 2022).
Using the country’s official definition of youth as individuals aged 18-30 years, this dispatch draws on data from Afrobarometer surveys, including the Round 10 (2024) survey, to assess the extent and nature of youth engagement in politics and civic activism in Uganda.
Survey findings show that Ugandan youth remain less politically and civically engaged than older citizens, with participation declining over time. Young people are consistently less likely than their older peers to vote, identify with political parties, join with others to request government action, and reach out to community and political leaders. Few youth share their political opinions on social media, while reported levels of participation in protests are roughly the same for youth and their elders.
Trend data show sharp declines in young people’s attendance of community meetings and participation in collective action and demonstrations over the past five years.
