Uganda

Republic of Uganda

English, Swahili Ugandan Shilling (UGX) English common law, customary law
AU, EAC, COMESA, AfCFTA, Commonwealth, WTO
Uganda is an East African economy with strong agricultural foundations and emerging oil and gas potential. The country's Lake Albert oil fields (operated by TotalEnergies and CNOOC) and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to Tanzania's Tanga port represent transformative investments expected to begin production soon.

Agriculture employs approximately 70% of the population, with coffee as the primary export commodity (Africa's largest exporter of robusta coffee). The services sector, particularly financial services and telecoms, has grown significantly. Kampala is emerging as a startup hub with companies like SafeBoda and Tugende.

Challenges include high youth unemployment, infrastructure gaps, and governance concerns. Uganda benefits from EAC membership providing access to a 300+ million person market.

Snapshot

Population~48.0 MWorld Bank WDI
GDP (current USD)$65.0 BIMF WEO
GDP per Capita$1,060IMF WEO
GDP Growth6.00%IMF WEO
Inflation (y/y)~3.40%Central Bank / IMF
Policy Rate (CBR (Bank of Uganda))9.50%Central Bank
Unemployment2.80%ILO / National Stats
Internet Use~26.00%World Bank WDI
Electrification~42.00%World Bank WDI
CPI Score (Rank)26.0/100 (#141)Transparency Intl
HDI (Rank)0.550 (#166)UNDP HDR
Credit RatingB- (S&P) / B2 (Moody's) / B+ (Fitch)S&P / Moody's / Fitch
MarketUganda Securities Exchange (USE)

Focus Sectors

Agriculture (coffee
tea
fish)
Oil & Gas (Lake Albert)
Mining
Tourism
ICT
Manufacturing
Construction
Financial Services
Education
Healthcare

Regulations & Taxes

Corporate Income Tax30% standard
VAT / Sales Tax18% standard
Data Notes: Population, GDP, and GDP per capita are latest IMF WEO / World Bank estimates. Inflation is year-over-year. Trade data from UN Comtrade/OEC (2023). Tax rates from PwC/KPMG country guides. CPI from Transparency International. HDI from UNDP Human Development Report.
Narrative last updated: April 8, 2026.