About

Overview In 2022, Uganda was the number 92 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 135 in total exports, the number 147 in total imports, the number 170 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 94 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Uganda are Gold ($1.92B), Coffee ($753M), Fish: dried, salted, smoked or in brine ($69.5M), Raw Sugar ($61.7M), and Cocoa Beans ($60M), exporting mostly to United Arab Emirates ($1.22B), India ($464M), Hong Kong ($350M), Kenya ($312M), and Italy ($265M).

Imports The top imports of Uganda are Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($235M), Packaged Medicaments ($230M), Cars ($139M), Motorcycles and cycles ($115M), and Broadcasting Equipment ($112M), importing mostly from China ($1.08B), Kenya ($677M), India ($594M), United Arab Emirates ($305M), and Tanzania ($264M).

Location Uganda borders Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Tanzania by land.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

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Y-AXIS SCALE

The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Uganda.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

* Trade values are converted to USD using each month's exchange rate. For December 2023 data, the exchange rate from December 30, 2023 is used.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2022)Gold$1.92B
Top Destination (2022)United Arab Emirates$1.22B

In 2022, Uganda exported a total of $3.99B, making it the number 135 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Uganda have changed by $584M from $3.4B in 2017 to $3.99B in 2022.

The most recent exports are led by Gold ($1.92B), Coffee ($753M), Fish: dried, salted, smoked or in brine ($69.5M), Raw Sugar ($61.7M), and Cocoa Beans ($60M). The most common destination for the exports of Uganda are United Arab Emirates ($1.22B), India ($464M), Hong Kong ($350M), Kenya ($312M), and Italy ($265M).

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Exports (2022)
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Destinations (2022)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Fastest Growing Export Markets (2021 - 2022)
India$384M (+ 479%)
Hong Kong$311M (+ 787%)
United States$88.4M (+ 102%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2021 - 2022)
Hong Kong$12.9M (+ 94.9%)
Belgium$11.4M (+ 7.81%)
Ireland$7.44M (+ 19.2%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2021 - 2022)

Service Trade

Service Trade

Uganda Exports Services (2018)$1.97B
Uganda Imports Services (2018)$2.54B

In 2018, Uganda exported $1.97B worth of services. The top services exported by Uganda in 2018 were Personal travel ($880M), Government services, n.i.e. ($398M), Other business services ($195M), Transportation ($181M), and Business travel ($147M).

The top services imported by Uganda in 2018 were Transportation ($1.41B), Other business services ($718M), Personal travel ($137M), Construction services ($80M), and Insurance services ($74.4M).

Service Exports (2018)

Service Imports (2018)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)-0.81Rank 94 of 124
Economic Complexity (Technology)-1.32Rank 85 of 96
Economic Complexity (Research)0.18Rank 47 of 135

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Uganda has a high level of specialization in Vanilla (285), Coffee (98.6), Fish: dried, salted, smoked or in brine (56), Cocoa Beans (43), and Gelatin (39.4). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Uganda observed and expected exports in each product.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Uganda according to the relatedness index, were Manganese Ore (0.16), Palm Oil (0.15), Niobium, Tantalum, Vanadium and Zirconium Ore (0.15), Molasses (0.15), and Coconuts, Brazil Nuts, and Cashews (0.15). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Uganda is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Uganda. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Uganda exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Diversification Frontier

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Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Uganda's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨nullth to the 94th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

Explore Rankings

ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

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