Most popular university majors in low-income countries

Here’s a practical, no-drama snapshot of what students actually study in low-income countries—and what they do with those degrees right after graduation. Access to higher ed is still limited in many of these markets, so programs tend to cluster around jobs that communities need most: teachers, nurses, engineers, administrators, and people who can keep the lights on—literally and figuratively. Your major isn’t a prison sentence. It’s a starting point. Employers hire for potential, reliability, and the ability to get things done.

Below are the 20 most popular majors you’ll see across low-income countries, with plain-English notes on where graduates land. Use this to spark ideas for internships, side projects, or your first full-time role.

• Business / Commerce / Administration
  Graduates step into roles like operations assistant, sales rep, customer support, junior buyer, and admin officer. Many join management trainee programs in retail, logistics, or telecom.
• Teacher Education / Education
  Most become primary or secondary school teachers and teaching assistants. Others move into tutoring, education NGOs, or training roles at private companies.
• Accounting
  Common landing spots include audit assistant, accounts payable/receivable, payroll clerk, and junior accountant. Banks and microfinance firms also hire for back-office functions.
• Nursing
  New nurses join hospitals and clinics in medical-surgical wards, maternal health, and community outreach. Health NGOs hire for vaccination campaigns and rural programs.
• Economics
  Grads go into banking, microfinance, research assistant roles, monitoring and evaluation for NGOs, and policy support in ministries. Many pivot to data or analytics.
• Civil Engineering
  Entry roles include site engineer, quantity survey assistant, and quality control tech for roads, bridges, water, and housing projects. Construction management is a fast track.
• Information Technology / Computer Science
  Early roles range from IT support and systems admin to junior software developer and QA tester. Many work in telco, fintech, and government digitalization projects.
• Agriculture / Agribusiness
  Graduates serve as extension officers, farm managers, seed and inputs sales reps, and supply chain coordinators. Some move into food processing and quality control.
• Public Administration / Development Studies
  Popular roles are program officer, case worker, grants coordinator, and admin in government or NGOs. Strong pathway into policy and service delivery.
• Medicine (where it starts at the undergraduate level)
  Graduates enter supervised clinical rotations leading to general practice. Others spend time in public health campaigns and rural clinic placements.
• Electrical Engineering
  New grads work in power distribution, maintenance, solar installation, telecom infrastructure, and manufacturing. Field service is common and builds skills quickly.
• Mechanical Engineering
  Roles include maintenance technician, production line engineer, and service engineer for heavy equipment. Energy, cement, and manufacturing plants hire aggressively.
• Law
  Common first steps: paralegal, legal clerk, compliance assistant, and contract review. NGOs and public agencies hire for legal aid and regulatory work.
• Finance / Banking / Insurance
  Entry roles include credit officer, risk assistant, teller supervisor, claims processor, and financial operations. Microfinance and mobile money create extra demand.
• Logistics / Supply Chain
  Graduates land as warehouse supervisors, procurement assistants, dispatch coordinators, and import/export documentation officers. E-commerce is a newer pathway.
• Marketing / Communications
  Many begin in social media, content, field marketing, and sales promotion. Others join NGOs or public sector comms teams focused on community programs.
• Statistics / Mathematics
  Grads step into data entry plus analysis, survey design, market research, and monitoring and evaluation roles. With basic coding, doors open in fintech and telecom.
• Environmental Science / Water & Sanitation
  Popular roles include environmental officer, lab tech, WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) program assistant, and community liaison on infrastructure projects.
• Social Work / Sociology
  Graduates support case management, youth programs, humanitarian response, and community development. Many coordinate services across NGOs and local agencies.
• Entrepreneurship / Small Business Management
  Some start micro-enterprises in retail, services, or agri-processing. Others join startups as generalists handling ops, sales, and customer relationships.

A few realities worth keeping in mind. First, demand is local. Health, education, infrastructure, and food systems create steady entry-level roles because they’re core to daily life. Second, credentials matter, but proof beats promises. If you’re studying IT, show a small web app, a help-desk workflow you improved, or a data dashboard you built for a local nonprofit. If you’re in agriculture, document yield improvements or a cooperative you helped organize. If you’re in business, track a sales pipeline and show how you boosted conversion. Short projects that solve real problems make hiring managers pay attention.

Third, geography shapes openings. Capital cities and regional hubs offer more internships, especially with NGOs, banks, and telecoms. Smaller towns lean toward education, health, government administration, and agri-value chains. None of that is good or bad. It’s just the map. Use it to plan your next step.

Finally, if your dream job isn’t a neat match to your major, you’re not doing it wrong. You’re doing it right. Show up on time. Learn quickly. Communicate clearly. Do what you say you’ll do. Those habits travel with you from your first entry-level role to your second, and that’s where the compounding starts. Your major opens the door. Your work builds the career.