Uganda is a market-based economy rich in natural resources and has one of the fastest growing and youngest populations in the world. Uganda’s rapidly growing consumer base welcomes U.S. investment and export products. Top prospects include renewable energy and power grid technology, agriculture value addition, construction, information and communication technology, healthcare, and extractives, with estimated recoverable oil reserves of over 1.4 billion barrels. The government is pursuing an aggressive strategy to increase the economy by ten-fold to $500 billion annual GDP by 2040, focusing on agro-industrialization, tourism, mineral development, and science, technology, and innovation.
Uganda enjoys steady economic growth and a relatively stable monetary policy. In the last five years, Uganda’s economy averaged 5.2% growth according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, registering increased growth since Fiscal Year 2021/22 (Uganda’s fiscal year runs from July-June), when the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns were lifted. Uganda’s recent growth prospects are driven by oil-related investments, as pre-production activity increases to achieve first oil in 2026. The IMF forecasts an average 10% GDP growth over the next five years once oil production begins. Inflation averaged 4.2% over the last five years, despite reaching a 12-year high of 7.4% in 2022/2023, according to Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
Uganda’s approximately 2.9% annual population growth rate is among the highest in the world, according to the World Bank, with 73.5% of Ugandans under the age of 30 and half the population under the age of 15. Uganda’s middle class continues to expand with growing tastes for U.S. consumer goods. The World Bank estimates that with Uganda’s $980 per capita income, the country is on track to achieve lower-middle income status. Uganda’s membership in the East African Community Customs Union enables duty free exports to the more than 200 million-person EAC market. In 2024/25, Uganda’s total GDP was estimated at $61.3 billion, expanding 6.3% from 2023/24. The industrial sector, which represented 24.5% of total GDP in 2024/25, grew by 7%. The services sector, which contributed 41.9% of GDP, grew by 5.4%, whereas agriculture, which employs 68% of the working population and contributes 26.1% to GDP, grew by 6.6%.
The agriculture sector continues to be primarily based on subsistence or smallholder production, although there is a noticeable increase in cash crop production, in part driven by increased coffee exports and Government of Uganda initiatives to improve production and exports. The Ugandan government plans to spend $19.4 billion in its FY 2025/2026 budget, 0.5% higher than the 2024/2025 budget. The World Bank estimates that approximately 41.2% of Uganda’s population lives below the international poverty line of $2.17 per day. Uganda’s debt to GDP ratio increased to 52% at the end of March 2025 from 47.3% in March 2024. At least 55.8% of Uganda’s external debt is held below market interest rates with longer grace periods at concessional terms. The IMF classifies Uganda’s debt position as sustainable, noting that the country is not at risk of default. The cost of debt service continues to rise, with the IMF placing it at 32% of government revenue due to increased use of domestic borrowing to fund the deficit.
Additional statistics on Uganda’s economy and budget are available from the sources linked below:
National Budget Speech 2025/26
Uganda maintains an open trade and foreign exchange regime. Corruption, financial mismanagement, an onerous tax regime, and restrictions on civil liberties pose challenges to foreign investment. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, is running for reelection in January 2026 election.
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, in 2024 the top three countries exporting goods and services to Uganda were China ($2.16 billion), India ($1 billion), and The United Arab Emirates ($989 million). Uganda Bureau of Statistics reported that in 2022 the United States exported goods and services worth $147.7 million.
In 2024, the top three countries importing goods and services from Uganda were the United Arab Emirates ($2.2 billion), Kenya ($583 million), and the Democratic Republic of Congo ($489 million), according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. The United States imported goods and services worth $104.6 million from Uganda during that period.
Uganda does not have a Bilateral Investment Treaty or Free Trade Agreement with the United States. The United States signed Trade and Investment Framework Agreements with the East African Community in 2008 and with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa in 2001. Uganda is a member of both the East African Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa regional organizations. In 2018 Uganda formally ratified the agreement establishing the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
World Bank – World Integrated Trade Solution
U.S. Trade Representative - Uganda
Political Environment
Visit the State Department’s website for background on the country’s political and economic environment.