Economy of Uganda

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Economy of Uganda

Kampala, the financial centre of Uganda
Currency	Ugandan shilling (USh)
Fiscal year	1 July – 30 June
Trade organisations	AU, EAC, COMESA, WTO
Country group	Least Developed[1] Low-income economy[2]
Statistics
GDP	$36.484 billion (nominal, 2020 est.)[3] $113.476 billion (PPP, 2020 est.)[3]
GDP rank	90th (nominal, 2017)
GDP growth	3.9% (2017) 5.9% (2018) 6.1% (2019e) 6.5% (2020f)[4][note 1]
GDP per capita	$916.156 (nominal, 2020 est.)[3] $2,752 (PPP, 2020 est.)[3]
GDP by sector	Agriculture: 71.9% Industry: 4.4% Services: 23.7% (2017 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	3.2% (2019)[3]
Base borrowing rate	19.1% (31 December 2017 est.)[5]
Population below poverty line	21.4% (2017 est.)[6] 41.7% on less than $1.90/day (2016)[7]
Gini coefficient	42.8 medium (2016)[8]
Human Development Index	0.525 low (2021)[9] (166th) 0.396 low IHDI (2021)[10]
Labour force	16,833,878 (2019)[11] 48.0% employment rate (2017)[12]
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 71% industry: 7% services: 22% (2013 est.)[6]
Main industries	sugar processing, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement, steel production[6]
External
Exports	$3.339 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Export goods	coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products, gold[6]
Main export partners	Kenya 17.7%  UAE 16.7%  DR Congo 6.6%  Rwanda 6.1%  Tanzania 4.8% (2017)[6]
Imports	$5.036 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Import goods	capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies, cereals[6]
Main import 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)[6]
FDI stock	$10.909 billion (2016)[13]
Current account	−$1.212 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Gross external debt	$7.163 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[6]
Public finances
Government debt	$25.3 billion ($11.7 billion, domestic) (2023)[14]
Budget balance	–4.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[6]
Revenues	$3.98 billion (2017)[15]
Expenses	$7.66 billion (2017)[15]
Economic aid	$3.68 billion (2017)[15]
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's: B[16]
Foreign reserves	$3.654 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[6]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Uganda has a great potential and appears poised for rapid growth and development.^[17] Uganda is endowed with significant natural resources, including ample fertile land, regular rainfall, and mineral deposits.

Chronic political instability and erratic economic management since the implementation of self-rule has produced a record of persistent economic decline that has left Uganda among of the world's poorest and least-developed countries.^[18] The informal economy, which is predominantly female, is broadly defined as a group of vulnerable individuals without protections in regards to their work.^[19] Women face a plethora of barriers specific to gender when attempting to access the formal economy of Uganda, and research revealed prejudice against lending to women in the informal sector.^[20][21] The national energy needs have historically exceeded the domestic energy generation, though large petroleum reserves have been found in the country's west.^[22]

After the turmoil of the Amin period, the country began a program of economic recovery in 1981 that received considerable foreign assistance. From mid-1984 onward, overly expansionist fiscal and monetary policies and the renewed outbreak of civil strife led to a setback in economic performance.^[23]

The economy has grown since the 1990s; real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average of 6.7% annually during the period 1990–2015,^[24] whereas real GDP per capita grew at 3.3% per annum during the same period.^[24] During this period, the Ugandan economy experienced economic transformation: the share of agriculture value added in GDP declined from 56% in 1990 to 24% in 2015; the share of industry grew from 11% to 20% (with manufacturing increasing at a slower pace, from 6% to 9% of GDP); and the share of services went from 32% to 55%.^[24]

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