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Economic activity

Statistics House in Kampala, headquarters of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics
GDP Growth

Economy grows 6.6% despite quarterly slowdown

Uganda’s economy expanded in April–June, but weaker services slowed quarterly growth and household spending barely increased
Entrance to the personal banking section of a bank
Purchasing Managers’ Index

Private sector picks up pace in April despite fuel-driven cost pressures

Uganda's private sector expanded for a 15th month as the PMI rose to 55, though rising fuel costs and a declining BTI weighed on firms
An aerial view of a bright green Evergreen shipping container being transported on a red automated guided vehicle across a paved port terminal.
Purchasing Managers’ Index

Fuel costs temper steady private-sector expansion at quarter-end

Uganda’s PMI rose to 54.3 in March while BTI eased, as fuel costs and weak construction tempered momentum
The offices of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in Kampala

Uganda’s oil moment approaches — but the risks are multiplying

Uganda's first oil is due in H2 2026, but timing risks, fiscal pressures, and a Middle East conflict cloud the outlook
High-angle view of an expansive industrial warehouse showing systematic stock accumulation in yellow bins and tiered racking.

Business conditions strengthen in February

The Stanbic Bank Uganda PMI jumped to 54.2 in February as output, employment, and new orders all rose across monitored sectors
A polling station at an unknown location in Uganda

Private sector extends growth streak to a year

Uganda's PMI reading of 52.6 extended the private sector's growth streak to a year, despite some disruption from the election period
A flatbed lorry loaded with stacks of cement bags on a street in Jinja, Uganda.

Private sector growth gains momentum at year-end

Business conditions in Uganda’s private sector strengthened at the close of 2025, with growth edging higher in December according to the latest survey of purchasing managers
A high view of a large storage area with various racks and containers

Private sector growth accelerates in November

Business conditions in Uganda's private sector strengthened in November, with growth accelerating for the second time in three months, according to a closely watched survey
An outdoor discussion, with two female panellists seated in the chair, and other female holding a microphone and standing, as well as an audience

IMF upgrades sub‑Saharan Africa forecast as reforms blunt external shocks

The IMF has raised its growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa, crediting improved macroeconomic management in several large economies and resilience amid external pressures

More Economic activity

1 July 2019

Economy gets off to a slower start in 2019

The Bureau of Statistics says Uganda's economic growth lost some steam in the first three months of 2019, after rebounding in the last two quarters of 2018

African women sorting farm produce.
2 April 2019

Uganda economic growth strengthens in last three months of 2018

Uganda's economic growth continued to strengthen in the fourth quarter of 2018, expanding at the fastest rate in five quarters

2 December 2018

Uganda’s 2017/18 economic growth beats forecasts

Uganda's gross domestic product growth rebounded strongly in the 2017/2018 financial year on the strength of a pick-up in investments and exports, according to the World Bank

A mobile phone mast
8 November 2018

GDP growth slows in Q4

Uganda's economy posted its slowest growth since early 2017 in the three months to the end of June as the trade and repairs sub-sector contracted while expansion in manufacturing and education cooled down.

A mobile money kiosk in downtown Kampala. Credit: Edgar Batte/Uganda Business News
3 July 2018

Uganda’s GDP growth robust at start of 2018

Activity in Uganda's real economy in the first three months of 2018 improved at a healthy rate from the same period a year earlier. But the economy lost a little pace as the annual quarterly GDP growth rate recorded its second straight drop