3.1.2. Employment

In 2022, the unemployment rate was 8.4 %, with Khartoum and Central Darfur experiencing 1.5 times higher rates than the national average.552 For 2024, the IMF projected a rate of 58 %.553 South and Central Darfur and North Kordofan showed lower employment rates than the national average.554 The lack of employment and income, as well as the destruction of critical infrastructure, are among the main drivers for the increasing number of civilians joining armed groups.555

According to the IFPRI and UNDP survey, 39.3 % of heads of households are self-employed, 15.6 % are full-time wage workers, 8.2 % are part-time wage workers, and 18.1 % are unemployed.556 The survey also indicated that self-employment is most common among male household heads (40 %, compared to 28.9 % of female household heads), but female household heads are more likely than male household heads to report no income or employment (36.4 % compared to 16.9 %).557