Uganda’s economy has demonstrated resilience amidst the global, regional and domestic shocks is on an upward growth trajectory,Minister for Finance Matia Kaisajja has said
“Uganda’s economy remains robust, supported by stable inflation,growing economic activity, a stronger shilling and strong private sector credit growth. Going forward, we are going to pursue our Tenfold Growth Strategy which will propel us from a US Dollar 61 billion to a US Dollar 500 billion economy in the next fifteen years,”Kasaijja stated.
According to the minister In FY 2024/25, the size of the economy expanded to Shs 226.3 trillion(US Dollar 61.3 billion) from Shs 203.7 trillion (US Dollar 53.9 billion) in FY 2023/24.
Addressing the media in Kampala,Kasaijja said GDP per capita also increased from US Dollar 1,159in FY2023/24 to US Dollar 1,263 in FY2024/25. In real terms, GDP grew by 6.3 percent compared to 6.1 percent in the previous Financial Year.
“This growth was observed in all sectors of the economy i.e agriculture, industry and services such as ICT.4. This performance was mostly driven by continued implementation of Government interventions in particular, wealth initiatives such as the PDM, UDB, Emyooga, Small Business Recovery Fund; Agricultural Credit Facility brought new growth momentum to the economy,”Kassaijja said.
As of July 2025, Uganda’s economy was characterized by stable inflation, increased private sector activity, a stronger and stable shilling,prudent fiscal and monetary management.
Kasaijja said Inflation has been well-managed, with headline inflation easing to 3.8% in July 2025 from 3.9% in June 2025. This decline was driven by lower food crop prices (e.g., citrus fruits, leafy vegetables, Irish potatoes, and tomatoes) due to increased supply and reduced transport costs due to lower fuel prices..
According to the minister Investor confidence remains strong, driven by increased business orders, favorable demand, and rising employment and output across key sectors, including Agriculture, Construction, Manufacturing, Services, and Wholesale and Retail Trade.
Uganda’s currency continued to be competitive against the US Dollar. The shilling appreciated by 0.5 percent in July 2025 to an average mid-rate of Shs 3,586 per US Dollar from Shs 3,606 per USDollar in June 2025. This appreciation was partly driven by increased foreign exchange inflows from offshore investors, remittances, increased coffee export earnings, and the depreciation of the US Dollar against other currencies.
Consequently, our shilling has been ranked the most stable currency in Africa by the International Financial Statistics Division of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The stock of outstanding Private sector credit has grown in the last twelve months. This stock expanded by7.5 percent, reaching Shs 23.9 trillion in June 2025 from Shs 22.2trillion in June 2024.
As of the last twelve months ending June 2025, coffee’s contribution in total merchandise exports had significantly reduced from 75.6 percent in 1995 to 20.9 percent, paving way for other export items. The other major merchandise exports in 2024 were Gold (39.3%), cocoa beans (5.8%), base metals & products (2.1%) and sugar (1.9%)
In the last twelve months ending June 2025, merchandise exports surged by 64.3 percent to US Dollar 1.15 billion from US Dollar702.5 million in June 2024, due to higher receipts from export items such as coffee, mineral products, tea, fish and flowers, among others.
Uganda’s service exports also continued to increase for instance, tourism inflows grew to US Dollar 1.52 billion in 12 months to March 2025, from US Dollar 1.36 billion during the same period in 2024. This growth is partly attributed to sustainable peace, increased competitiveness of Uganda’s tourism industry, and Government investment in strategic tourism infrastructure, including Uganda Airlines.
Uganda continued to register growth in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows amounting to US Dollar 3.30 billion in 2024 from US Dollar 2.99 billion in 2023.
Uganda received remittances worth US Dollar 1.4 billion.
On domestic Revenue Mobilization and Grants in FY2024/25, revenues performed above target, amounting to Shs 32.08 trillion against the target of Shs 31.98 trillion, posting a surplus of Shs 96.69 billion.
Similarly, at the beginning of FY2025/26 (July 2025), totalrevenues and grants generated were worth Shs 2.54 trillion, against the planned target of Shs 2.46 trillion, reflecting a surplus.
The surplus recorded in July 2025 was attributed to an impromptu receipt of grants worth Shs 168.21 billion.
In 2024, Uganda met conditions for graduation to lower-middle income status.
According to the Human Development Report 2025, Uganda moved two positions up from 159th to 157th rank out of the 193 economies assessed. Uganda Human Development Index (HDI) improved from 0.550 in 2022 to 0.582 in 2023, placing the country in the medium human development category.
The proportion of people living below the poverty line reduced from 20.3 percent in FY2019/20 to 16.1 percent in FY2023/24. In the same vein, income inequality, as measured by the Gini co efficient,reduced from 0.413 to 0.382 over the same period.
The economy is projected to grow faster by at least 7.0 percent in this current Financial Year FY2025/26, and to double digits in the medium-term following commencement of oil and gas production.
Over the next fifteen years, the economy is expected to expand to US Dollar 500 billion, and this will be pursued through the Ten-fold Growth Strategy that is hinged on four priority sectors: Agroindustrialization, Tourism development, Mineral-based Industrial development; Science, Technology and Innovation including ICT and creatives.
