With the exception of the nuances the bank warned of, the new World Bank report on the Ugandan economy appears encouraging.
The report projects that Uganda’s economy will expand by 5.5% during the 2022–2023 fiscal year, up from 4.7% the year before.
The World Bank’s 20th edition of the Uganda Economic Update, which described how Uganda’s economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, made the estimates public.
On December 15th, 2022, the 20th edition of the Uganda Economic Update was published in Kampala.
In addition, the report indicated that Uganda’s economy is projected to expand by as much as 6% in 2024, highlighting its resilience in the face of global economic uncertainty.
Uganda’s economy suffered greatly during the pandemic because the lockdown procedures reduced economic growth in 2021 by 50%.
The nation’s economic recovery accelerated in 2022 as a result of the industries of services and manufacturing performing well, private consumption growing, and private investment rising.
Construction of new infrastructure and significant investment in oil production, according to the bank, will speed up the nation of east Africa’s economy’s growth in the upcoming years.
“Accelerated growth may reduce the poverty rate slightly to 41.9 percent by 2024, though this will depend on how circumstances evolve,” the World Bank report states in part.
The World Bank’s country manager, Ms. Mukami Kariuki, commented on the forecast, saying that “now, the Ugandan economy will need to grow even more rapidly, sustainably, and broadly to generate enough jobs for one of the fastest growing populations in the world, accelerate growth in incomes, and lift its population out of poverty. One strategy is to increase both domestic and international trade.
The World Bank did issue a few growth inhibitors, though. First off, the bank issued a warning that the country’s economy could suffer significantly if the Ebola outbreak there is not controlled.
The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic was also foreshadowed in the report. Along with health-related issues, another concern is amassing more external debt. The Ugandan government is currently able to service its debts, so this is not a problem. However, Uganda must be especially careful not to go over its current borrowing limit right now.
