Statutory Employer Contributions across all of Africa
What are the “hidden” costs of expansion to Africa?
After first calculating running costs for your company in an African country, you might be surprised when you begin to consider the impact that mandatory employer contributions make to your budget. Once you add up statutory contributions like those made to national pension funds, mandatory health insurance, workman’s insurance, social security, unemployment funds and others, costs may be quite different than you expected.
Here is all the information you need about statutory employer contributions across all of Africa:
| Country | Statutory Employer Contributions in Africa |
| Algeria | Employers contribute a total of 26%, broken down as follows:
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| Angola | · Employers must contribute 8% of employees’ base salaries and remit it to the Social Security National Institute by the 10th day of the following month |
| Benin | · The employer’s social security contribution is 15.4% of gross salary.· Of this, 6.4% consists of a pension contribution and a 9% family allowance
· An additional 1% to 4% serves as industrial injury insurance, depending on the degree of risk in the employment |
| Botswana | There are no social taxes in Botswana |
| Burkina Faso | The employer covers a 16% contribution, which includes 3.5% for occupational accident insurance,7% for family allowances, and 5.5% for old-age pensions. |
| Burundi | Employers contribute 6% of employees’ salary, capped at BIF 450,000 per month (about $150) |
| Cabo Verde | The employer contributes 16% of their employees’ base salaries. These contributions cover family, pension, and unemployment benefits. |
| Cameroon | · Social security contributions payable by the employer amount to 11.2% of the salary.· The contribution base is capped at XAF 750,000 per month
· Employers are also required to pay a 1.75%, 2% or 5% salary contribution to the National Social Insurance Fund |
| Central African Republic | · The employer contributes 12% to family allowances· The employer contributes 3% to professional risks
· The employer contributes 4% old age pension, invalidity & death |
| Chad | Employer contributions amount to 16.5% of the gross salary, capped at XAF 500,000 per month (about 875 USD) |
| Comoros | Employers do not contribute to social security in Comoros |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 1.5% borne by the employer (branch of occupational risks)5% borne by the employer (pension branch)
5% borne by the worker (pension branch) 6.5% exclusively borne by the employer (family benefits branch) |
| Republic of the Congo | The employer must make the following contributions:· Family allowance fixed at the rate of 10.035% of gross salary, capped at XAF 7.2 million annually.
· Work accident contribution fixed at the rate of 2.25% on gross salary, capped at XAF 7.2 million annually. · Old age, invalidity, and death insurance fixed at the rate of 8% of gross salary, capped at XAF 14.4 million annually |
| Côte d'Ivoire | · The employer pays 7.7% of the taxable salary to the CNPS Retirement Fund· The other contributions are paid by the employer (i.e. family allowances 5.75%, work injury from 2% to 5%)
· The monthly ceiling for the CNPS Retirement Fund is XOF 3,375,000, and the monthly ceiling for the other contributions is XOF 70,000 · A training tax collected in addition to the employer's contribution (collected and allocated to the FDFP) at a rate of 0.5% for both local and expatriate employees · An Additional Professional Training Tax is collected in addition to the employer's contribution (collected and allocated to the FDFP) at a rate of 1.5% for both local and expatriate employees |
| Djibouti | · The employer must pay social security contributions totalling 15.7% of an employee's total salary.· This includes allocations for family allowances (5.5%), health and professional injuries (6.2%),retirement pensions (4%), and mandatory health insurance (2%).
· Contributions are calculated based on the total salary, including fringe benefits, and capped at DJF400,000 per month. |
| Egypt | Employers are responsible for a 18.75% Social Insurance contribution |
| Equatorial Guinea | · Employers contribute 21.5% of their employees’ salary to the National Institute of Social Security (INSESO for its Spanish acronym)· Employers contribute 1% of the employee’s salary to the Work Protection Fund (WPF) |
| Eritrea | |
| Eswatini | The employer contributes 10% of the employee’s salary to the social security fund |
| Ethiopia | The employer contributes 11% of their gross salary to social security. |
| Gabon | The employer contributes 16% to social security, and 4.1% to the National Fund for Health (CNAMGS) |
| Gambia | · Employers in the National Provident Fund scheme contribute 10% of employee's basic salary to SSHFC.· Employers pay 1% of employee’s gross monthly earnings to IICF, capped at GMD 15 per employee. |
| Ghana |
The social security contribution scheme is structured into three tiers. The first two require mandatory contributions. Tier 1 and 2 The employer contributes 13% to social security and employees contribute 5.5%. Of the total contribution of 18.5%, 13.5% is contributed to the first tier and 5% to the second tier schemes. Tier 3 No restrictions on the contributions made to the fund. However, contributions made by an employer and employee of up to 16.5% are exempt from tax on both the employer and the employee to the extent of their respective contributions to an approved fund manager. |
| Guinea | Employer social security contributions in Guinea are as follow:
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| Guinea-Bissau | 14.00% of the employer’s payroll must be contributed to the National Institute of Social Providence (INSS) |
| Kenya | · Employers contribute 6% of the gross salary (upper limit of KES 4,320).· This applies to salaries within the expanded range of KES 8,000 to KES 72,000. For employees earning above KES 72,000, contributions are capped at the maximum rate.
· Employers contribute 1.5% of the gross salary excluding any one-off payment to the Affordable Housing Levy (AHL) |
| Lesotho | Lesotho does not have a social security system for employed persons. |
| Liberia | Employers must contribute 3% of an employee's monthly gross remuneration to social insurance and 1.75% to workmen's compensation. |
| Libya | Employer's Contribution to Social Security is as follows:
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| Madagascar |
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| Malawi | In Malawi, employer contributions are as follow:· Employers contribute 1% to the TEVET Levy
· Employers contribute 10% to Pension · Employers contribute 2.24% to Life Insurance · Employers contribute 0.8% plus VAT (16.5%) to Pension and Life Insurance Administration Fees and Taxes (VAT) |
| Mali | The employer is obligated to make contributions to the social security system at a rate of 35%. |
| Mauritania |
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| Mauritius | Employers make the following contributions:· Pay-Related Social Security Contributions
NSF Contribution: 2.5% of the monthly basic salary (capped) for the National Solidarity Fund (NSF). HRDC Levy Contribution: 1.5% of the monthly basic salary for the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) levy. · CSG Contributions by Employers Based on specific remuneration brackets. Not capped. |
| Morocco | Employers must contribute to the Social Security Contribution - Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale (CNSS) at the following rates:· Family Allowances – 6.4%
· Social Allocation – 8.98% · Professional Training Levy – 1.6% · Mandatory Medical Care – 4.11% |
| Mozambique | Employers contribute 4% of employees’ gross income. |
| Namibia | Social security is payable on a 50:50 contributions from employers and employees. The contributions are calculated at 0.9% of earnings, with a minimum monthly contribution of
N$2.70 and a maximum monthly contribution of N$81.00 by each. |
| Niger | The social security contribution paid by the employer amounts to 16.9% of the gross salary (calculated based on a maximum monthly salary of XOF 500,000).It includes the following elements:
· Social Security (CNSS) family allowance · Social Security (CNSS) work injury · Social Security (CNSS) old age, disability, and survivors · Social contribution for unemployment public insurance to the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment (Agence National pour la Promotion de l’Emploi, ANPE)S |
| Nigeria | A minimum contribution of 18% of monthly emoluments for employers is broken down into:· Minimum of 10 % by the employer
· A 1% contribution to the Employee Compensation Scheme (ECS), which is an employer-only scheme · For public (Federal) sector programme, the employer pays a 3.25% contribution to the National Health Insurance Scheme · For the private sector programme and other tiers of Government, the employer pays 10% |
| Rwanda | The employer is required to contribute 6% of the employee's gross salary to the scheme. |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 8.00% of the employee’s emoluments must be contributed to social security. |
| Senegal | Employers are responsible for social security contributions, capped annually at XOF 756,000,representing the annual salary subject to contributions. The breakdown of rates is as follows:· Family Benefits - Rate: 7%
· Industrial Accidents - Range: 1% to 5%, contingent on the business type. · National Retirement Fund Contributions - Employer's Share: 60% with an annual ceiling of XOF4,320,000 · General Scheme - Contribution Rate: 14% · Executives' Scheme - Contribution Rate: 6% with an annual ceiling of XOF12,960,000 |
| Seychelles | Employers must contribute 5% of their employees’ salary |
| Sierra Leone | The employer contributes 10% of the employee’s salary to the social security fund. |
| Somalia | Social security contributions are not mandated by law. |
| South Africa | · Employers contribute 1% of the employee's gross salary to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).· Employers are required to pay a levy that funds skills development and training initiatives in the
workplace. The levy rate is currently 1% of the total payroll. |
| South Sudan | Employers are required to contribute 17% of an employee's gross salary to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) |
| Sudan | Employers must contribute 17.00% of the employee’s emoluments to social security. |
| Tanzania | Employers must make the following contributions:· 3.5% of salary to the Skills Development Levy (SDL)
· 0.5% of salary to the Workers Compensation Fund (WCF) · 10% of salary to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) · 3% of salary to the National Hospital insurance fund |
| Togo | Employers are obligated to contribute 17.5% of their employees' monthly gross salary to social security monthly. |
| Tunisia | Employers must contribute 17.07% of their employees’ salaries to the Tunisian National Security Fund, with a reduced rate of 0.5% for wholly industrial exporting companies, calculated on their salaries |
| Uganda | The employer contributes 10% of the employee’s salary. |
| Zambia | · Employers are required to match the contributions made by employees to the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA). These contributions are applicable to both local and foreign employees, with a maximum limit of ZMW 1,490.80 per month.· According to the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act, both employers and employees are mandated to contribute 1% of the employee's basic salary to the NHI Management Authority, |
| Zimbabwe | Employers must make the following contributions:· NSSS contributions are payable at the same rate of 4.5% of basic salary by the employer and employee, with a maximum amount of monthly insurable earnings - 75% of the previous month’s Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) for an average of five persons per household.
· Subject to some exceptions, employers are required to pay a 1% monthly training levy (on the gross wage bill) to the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Authority. · Employers are required to contribute to a fund that provides cash benefits for industrial injury, disability, and death. Contribution rates vary according to the inherent occupational risk, from less than 2% in most low-risk commercial/administrative occupations to 11% for high-risk sectors. · With a few exceptions, employers are required to pay 0.5% of their quarterly gross wage bill to the Standards Development Fund. The amount is payable on all payments made by the employer on behalf of the employee, including medical aid and pension contributions. |
Employer of Record (EOR) in Africa – how it helps
Even with these facts about the labour law and employer contributions in hand, actually managing these requirements in real-time is labour-intensive and requires a much greater understanding of how local official systems work. With an EOR partner in Africa like Africa HR Solutions that has a footprint across 46+ African countries, you outsource all these complexities and their associated risks. We take care of employee onboarding, payroll, taxation, and benefits administration so you can focus on making your expansion a success.
Chat with one of our consultants today to find out how we can help you. You can also learn more about overtime laws in Africa by visiting our blog.
