Dan Ngabonziza, Chairperson of the Rwanda Journalists Association (ARJ), also Managing Director of Kigali Today Ltd
KIGALI — Rwanda’s journalists are among the country’s more educated professionals, but the vast majority say their salaries are too low to meet basic living needs, according to a new nationwide media sector study released Thursday by the Rwanda Journalists Association (ARJ).
The 2026 Rwanda Media Sector Mapping report found that 78 percent of practicing journalists hold at least a bachelor’s degree, while nearly half — 48.7 percent — specifically studied journalism or media studies at university level.
The workforce is also relatively experienced, with more than 70 percent having worked in media for between six and 20 years.
Yet despite those qualifications, the report says financial insecurity has become widespread across the profession.
According to the study, 44.5 percent of media workers earn Rwf200,000 or less per month, while 17.2 percent earn below Rwf100,000.
Only 11.3 percent earn above Rwf500,000 monthly, meaning nearly nine in ten journalists remain below what would typically be considered Rwanda’s upper professional income bracket.
Most strikingly, 92.8 percent of journalists surveyed said their income meets basic living needs only partially or not at all.
The findings become even more revealing when compared to Rwanda’s broader labour market.
Data from the latest Labour Force Survey by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda shows university education remains one of the strongest predictors of higher income in Rwanda.
In 2024, women with university education earned an average monthly income of Rwf271,644, while male university graduates earned Rwf376,339.
That places many journalists well below the national earnings level of degree holders despite journalism being one of the country’s most degree-heavy professions.
The gap is particularly significant for male journalists, many of whom earn less than half the national average income for male university graduates.
The ARJ report describes media salaries as “uncompetitive and insufficient to attract and retain skilled labor.”
The report also paints a picture of growing employment instability in the sector.
Only 44.8 percent of journalists have permanent full-time jobs, while others survive through freelancing, short-term contracts, internships, or part-time arrangements.
More than a quarter of respondents said they engage in additional employment outside journalism to supplement income.
The economic strain is reflected in broader living conditions. Nearly 69 percent of journalists rent their homes, while only 24.3 percent own property. More than half rely on the country’s community-based Mutuelle de Santé health insurance scheme instead of employer-provided medical coverage, and 40.2 percent reported having no pension coverage at all.
Speaking at a stakeholders forum where the findings were presented, ARJ chairperson, Dan Ngabonziza, also Managing Director of Kigali Today Ltd, said the study was important because it sought to answer long-standing questions journalists themselves have been asking about the realities of the profession.
“At this moment, I am very pleased that we have gathered here today to receive findings from a study conducted on one of the major questions every journalist has long been asking themselves,” he said. “We have always wondered: how does the media industry we work in every day actually survive? How do we ourselves, as journalists, live? And what can be done so that the things that are working well improve even further, while the areas that are not working properly can be corrected.”
ARJ’s report warns that weak pay, unstable employment, and limited social protection risk undermining both the quality and independence of journalism in Rwanda, particularly as many media houses themselves struggle with debt and declining profitability.
