Uganda: Stability At A Price
Uganda’s success is tied to stable government, but some key economic features are lacking.
Uganda GDP and Economic Data
Includes Uganda real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Uganda economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Uganda best banks and safest banks are also available.
Advertisement
Source
International Reserves
USD 3.4 billion (2018)
World Bank, data retrieved October 2019
Source
Real GDP growth
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
| 8.1% | 10.4% | 8.1% | 7.7% | 6.8% | 2.2% | 4.7% |
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | ||
| 4.6% | 5.7% | 2.3% | 5% | 6.2% |
*Estimate
Source
GDP (PPP) - share of world total
| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2019* |
| 0.03% | 0.03% | 0.04% | 0.06% | 0.07% |
*Estimate
Source
Advertisement
Source
GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 24.2%
- industry: 19.9%
- services: 47.6%
(2018 estimate)
Inflation
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019* |
| 5.4% | 5.5% | 5.6% | 2.6% | 3.2% |
*Estimate
Source
Unemployment rate
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
*Estimate
Source
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 34.3% | 37.1% | 39.7% | 41.4% | 43.6% |
*Estimate
Source
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| -4.7% | -4.8% | -3.8% | -4.2% | -6.6% |
*Estimate
Source
Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: B
Moody's: B2
Standard & Poor's / Moody's
Source
Market value of publicly traded shares
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source
Current account balance by percentage of GDP
-8.9% (2018 estimate)
Source
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
19.5% (2018)
Shares in world total merchandising export
0.02% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export
0.03% (2018)
Export commodities
Coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products; gold
Advertisement
Source
Import commodities
Capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals
Exports - major partners
Kenya 17.7%, UAE 16.7%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 6.6%, Rwanda 6.1%, Italy 4.8%(2017)
Imports - major partners
China 17.4%, India 13.4%, UAE 12.2%, Kenya 7.9%, Japan 6.4%, Saudi Arabia 6.3%, Indonesia 4.4%, South Africa 4.1% (2017)
FDI inflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 626 million | USD 803 million | USD 1,337 million |
FDI outflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 0.2 million | USD 0.3 million | USD 0.3 million |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
N/A
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
N/A
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking:
116 out of 190 countries
Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 169 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 113 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 168 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 135 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 80 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 88 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 92 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 121 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 77 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 99 out of 190 countries
Source
Global competitiveness ranking
115 out of 141 countries
(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 95 / Score: 59.7 (Mostly unfree)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
Source
Source
Languages
English (official language, taught in schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages and the language used most often in the capital), other Niger-Congo lan
Religions
Protestant 45.1% (Anglican 32.0%, Pentecostal/Born Again/Evangelical 11.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.7%, Baptist .3%), Roman Catholic 39.3%, Muslim 13.7%, other 1.6%, none 0.2%(2014 est.)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020* |
| 15.78 million | 21.82 million | 30.52 million | 35.49 million | 41.22 million |
*Estimate
Source
Advertisement
Source
Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2018 |
| 4.4% | 7.5% | 14.8% | 23.8% |
Literacy
Total population: 78.4%
Male: 85.3%
Female: 71.5%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day
69.9% (last available estimate, 2016)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
42.8 (last available estimate, 2016)
(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Source
Freedom House rating
Not Free
Political Rights: 6
Civil Liberties: 5 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 0.4%
Mobile: 57.3%
(2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)